Registration for VRA LA 2019 Opens this Friday, December 7
Early Bird Registration for VRA LA 2019, March 26-29, opens this Friday, December 7, 2018 and will run through February 15, 2019. The annual Visual Resources Association conference provides the opportunity for colleagues from diverse workplaces, including higher education, the corporate sector, and museums to engage and collaborate in the areas of digital asset management, intellectual property rights, digital humanities, metadata standards, coding, imaging best practices, and more.This year’s program includes workshops on fair use, visual literacy, linked open data, embedded metadata, GIS, Python coding, and public speaking, as well as sessions delving into topics such as copyright and archival film footage and the history, digitization, and presentation of the Ed Ruscha collection at the Getty Research Institute. During registration, you will have the opportunity to sign up for behind-the-scenes tours at the Japanese American National Museum, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), and the Huntington Library, Art Collection, and Botanical Gardens. Aside from the conference workshops, sessions, and tours, Los Angeles is brimming with attractions and world-class institutions. There’s the MOCA Geffen Contemporary, the Broad Museum, The Last Bookstore, the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Grand Central Market, The Underground Museum, Hauser & Wirth, A + D Museum, Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, Hennessey + Ingalls, J. Paul Getty Museum--Getty Center and the Getty Villa, FIDM Museum and Galleries, the Main Museum, Los Angeles Center For Digital Art (LACDA), California African American Museum, the California Science Center, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, USC Fisher Museum of Art, LA Artcore Union Center for the Arts, Craft and Folk Art Museum, the Norton Simon Museum, the USC Pacific Asia Museum, and the Torrance Art Museum–just to name a small selection! You can even try out Skyspace LA, a slide on the exterior of a skyscraper, to get a view from 1000 feet above downtown.Register early as workshops and tours will be filling up fast! On behalf of the VRA Executive Board and the VRA LA 2019 Local Planning Committee, we hope to see you soon in sunny LA.Contributors:Krystal BoehlertLocal Planning Coordinator, VRA LA 2019Visual Resources Specialist, University of California RiversideLael Ensor-BennettVice President for Conference Arrangements, VRA Executive BoardAssistant Curator, Visual Resources Collection, Johns Hopkins UniversityJennifer FaistLocal Planning Committee Member, VRA LA 2019Library Systems & Digital Collections Administrator, ArtCenter College of Design Library
Deadlines Extended: Call for 2019 Nominations: Distinguished Service Award & Nancy DeLaurier Award
Nomination deadlines for the Visual Resources Association's highest honors--the Distinguished Service Award and the Nancy DeLaurier Award—have been extended.
1) The VRA Distinguished Service Award honors an individual who has made an outstanding career contribution to the field of visual resources and image management. Nominees must have achieved a level of distinction in the field either through leadership, research, or service to the profession. Nominees can also be considered for outstanding innovation, participation, or project management in visual resources.
2) The VRA Nancy DeLaurier Award honors a single visual resources professional or a group of visual resources professionals for distinguished achievement in the field. “Achievement” is measured by immediate impact, and may take the form of published work, oral presentation, project management, software development, technology application, website creation, or other outstanding efforts.
Nomination letters for either award are being accepted to Dec 21, 2018.
This is a letter from the nominator(s) describing the nature of the nominee’s general achievements. Upon submission of your nomination letter, the Awards Committee will work with you to procure the nominee’s curriculum vitae.
Send nomination letters to Awards Committee Chair Steven Kowalik by Dec 21.
Supporting letters for either award are being accepted to January 18, 2019.
The Awards Committee will work with the nominator(s) to procure supporting letters. Supporting letters should be sent to Awards Committee Chair Steven Kowalik by Jan 18, 2019.
Recommendations from the Awards Committee are subject to approval by the VRA Executive Board. Nomination documents will be retained in the Association Archives. The awards presentation will take place during the 2019 VRA conference in Los Angeles.
We strongly encourage co-nominators, and the members of the Awards Committee are prepared to offer help and advice. For more information including a list of previous award recipients, please visit the Awards page on the VRA website.
Please nominate a worthy colleague for these prestigious VRA awards. One heartfelt letter sets the nomination process in motion!
Vote Today: 2018 VRA Executive Board Election and Constitution & Bylaws Vote Open
The VRA annual election of officers starts today, November 1st, 2018, and will end on November 30th, 2018. VRA Members, you should receive your invitation to vote in the 2018 VRA Election & Constitution and Bylaws Vote on November 1. If you do not receive an email with a link to the ballot, please contact Jacob Esselstrom, Vice President for Conference Program.Vote today!
Apply for a VRA LA 2019 Travel Award
The VRA offers several awards to assist with attendance at the VRA Annual Conference. The Travel Awards Committee especially encourages applications from new members/first time conference attendees; veteran members who have not been able to attend conferences for several years; international members; solo, isolated, and part-time VR professionals; students considering careers in visual resources; and any member actively participating in the conference who lacks sufficient funding to attend.Travel Awards are intended to provide partial support for an individual’s conference attendance, and typically supplement support from one’s employer and/or personal resources. You do not need to be a member of the VRA to apply for a travel award, but please note that to receive an award an applicant must become a member of VRA and must attend the 2019 Conference.For 2019, we are fortunate to have generous financial support from sponsors and funds provided by the membership including:
- Two New Horizons awards of $850 each. These awards are aimed at members in the following categories: solo VR professionals, part-time VR professionals, geographically isolated VR professionals, VR professionals in smaller institutions, and/or first-time conference attendees
- New Horizons student award of $300, for a full-time student enrolled in an accredited degree program and considering a career in visual resources
- Kathe Hicks Albrecht award of $850
- Tansey fund awards ranging from $250 to $850 each. In order to allow funding to assist the greatest number of attendees, Tansey awards will be distributed according to financial need, i.e. full awards (up to $850) may be given to some, whilst lower amounts may be awarded to others with partial institutional and/or other support.
Before you apply, please read Travel Award Rules, Guidelines and Tips and Types of Travel Awards. Click here to apply.The deadline for receipt of applications is Friday, November 16, 2018, 11:59pm EST. The list of recipients will be announced via the VRA listserv on Friday December 14, 2018.
Meet the 2018 Executive Board Candidates: Marsha Taichman, Secretary
The VRA annual election of officers will take place November 1-30, 2018. Members will receive an email on November 1 with instructions for accessing the ballot. Please vote and show your support to the candidates and participate in the governance of the Association.About the CandidateMarsha Taichman is the Visual Resources & Public Services Librarian at Cornell University. She works primarily with the College of Architecture, Art and Planning, but also provides research and instruction to many disciplines in the Arts & Sciences. She has a Master’s degree in Art History from Concordia University, and a Master’s degree in Library and Information Studies from McGill University, both in Montreal, Quebec. Her undergraduate degree is from Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, and she studied English Literature and Literary Nonfiction there.Marsha has co-chaired the VRA Education Committee with Beth Haas since 2015, and has been an Education Committee member since 2012. Between 2015-2017, she chaired the VRA Online Learning Task Force, and, with a team comprised of VRA members Jasmine Burns, Marie Elia, Stephen Patton, Chris Strasbaugh and Betha Whitlow, she reviewed the online learning initiatives of other professional organizations, piloted webinars for the VRA membership, and wrote a report that will inform how the VRA Board will proceed with promoting online learning. Marsha is currently a member of the VRA Awards Committee and has been a member of the Development Committee.
Goals
My membership with VRA has truly enriched my experience as a visual resources librarian. The VRA community has provided an educated and supportive professional network that has been incredibly useful to me work-wise and personally, and the relationships that I’ve formed within this group are very meaningful.As the VRA Secretary, my intention would be to give back to the membership by supporting the Board with administrative and organizational tasks. I have worked with ARLIS and VRA on regional conference planning, and in my dedication to the Education Committee, where it is our collective responsibility to build and support programming for the national conference. My previous and current involvement chairing committees would allow me to join the Board with a good sense of how to support these entities, and would prepare me to be an even more productive member of these and other groups in the future.
Read the Latest Issue of the VRA Bulletin: Available Now to Members
The newest issue of the VRA Bulletin is now available! See the issue at: https://online.vraweb.org/vrab/ or click on one of the direct links below. Many thanks to the contributors for all of their hard work! This is one of our largest issues ever!If you’re interested in publishing in the Bulletin, consider submitting an abstract for our upcoming Special Themed Issue: “Cataloging Today: Enlarging the Sphere” slated for publication in Winter 2018/19. For more information, or to submit an abstract, please contact Guest Editor, Susan Jane Williams.To submit an article idea for the Spring 2019 issue, you can reach out to Hannah Marshall to discuss an article idea or review the submission steps and guidelines on the VRAB site.Maureen Burns, Content EditorHannah Marshall, Production EditorAmy Lazet, Incoming Production EditorAssociation News2018 VRA State of the Association Address by Jen W. GreenVisual Resources Association Treasurer’s 2018 Report - Jeannine Keefer, PhDCataloging and Metadata Practices Survey Report - Zoe Waldon, Greg Reser, Margaret N. Webster, Layna White, Susan Jane Williams, and Lynda WhiteFeature ArticlesBasics of Photogrammetry for VR Professionals: 3D Visualization of Cultural Heritage Objects by Otto Luna (Peer Reviewed)Preserving the Layers: Storage and Metadata for Geographic Information Systems by Jonathan D. Cartledge (Peer Reviewed)Maximizing Metadata: Embedded Metadata Tools by Marcia M. Focht (Peer Reviewed)Preserving and Integrating Conservation Photography at the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields as the 2016-2017 VRAF Intern by Rebecca Pattillo (Peer Reviewed)Intellectual Property Rights and New Media Art by Heather Seneff (Peer Reviewed)Information as Capital: The Commodification of Archives and Library Labor by Jasmine Burns (Peer Reviewed)PerspectivesInstant Architecture: Hosted Access to the Archivision Research Library with Built-in Image Management and Presentation Tools by Maureen A. Burns Ed.D. and Andreas Knab (Peer Reviewed)Move Over Google Maps! Marin County Library is doing some serious mapping! by Jeff Hurn and Jack Schaeffer (Peer Reviewed)
VRA LA 2019 Conference Program Live
From Jacob Esselstrom, VRA Vice President for Conference Program:I am happy to announce that the Sched for the VRA LA 2019 conference is now online:https://vra2019.sched.com/.The schedule will continue to evolve and grow over the next few weeks in the lead-up to conference registration opening in early December. Details about tours, social gatherings, and other regular conference events will be added soon. The session and workshop information is up-to-date and I wanted to share that with you now so you can start to plan your schedules and spread the word about the conference. I think we have an incredible line up of sessions, workshops, and meetings this year, and that credit goes to everyone that submitted a proposal, the VRA committees that helped to generate content, as well as the other members of the VRA Executive Board for their help in putting this all together. Thank you! As always, please contact me if you have any questions.
Registration Open for VREPS and ArLiSNAP Virtual Conference
VREPS (Visual Resources Emerging Professionals and Students) and ArLiSNAP (Art Library Students and New ARLIS Professionals) are pleased to announce our 2018 Fall Virtual Conference: New Media Challenges and Solutions for Art Information Professionals. The conference will take place at 1pm CST November 10, 2018.New media art, objects, and scholarly projects in the digital realm are challenging our traditional definitions and methodologies for collection, preservation, and research. We are pleased to welcome Coral Salomón, Digital Initiatives Librarian at the University of Pennsylvania, who will present a keynote lecture.Our keynote lecture will be followed by an hour of presentations and a period of questions and conversation with our panel of speakers and conference attendees. Our presenters will be:Kat Buckley, University of ChicagoNo More Reality: Philippe Parreno and the Difficulties of Cataloging New MediaJean Moylean, Solomon R. Guggenheim MuseumSurveying Digital Media Production Workflows in Arts InstitutionsMichelle Wilson, ArLiSNAP Conference Planning Liaison and Digital Publishing Librarian at Columbia University, will moderate the discussion. Any questions about the event can be addressed to Michelle at mew2232@columbia.edu.Register at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3476474741821302274After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
Meet the 2018 Executive Board Candidates: Sara Schumacher, Vice President for Conference Program
The VRA annual election of officers will take place November 1-30, 2018. Members will receive an email on November 1 with instructions for accessing the ballot. Please vote and show your support to the candidates and participate in the governance of the Association.About the CandidateSara Schumacher is the Architecture Image Librarian at Texas Tech University, a position she has held since January 2018. Prior to this, Schumacher was the Technical Services Librarian and Art History Instructor at the University of the Cumberlands (2011-2017). She received her BA in Art History from the University of Texas at Austin (2005), MA in Art History from the University of Oregon (2007) and her MS in Information Studies from the University of Texas at Austin (2011).She is currently pursuing opportunities to become more involved in the VRA, and to that end is a member of the VRA Development Committee (2018-). Schumacher is also a member of the Visual Literary Task Force to update the ACRL Visual Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. She has previously worked with other professional associations including the Kentucky Library Association (KLA), serving as the Chair of the Academic Libraries Association and 2-time Academic Library representative to ALA’s National Library Legislative Day (NLLD) for Kentucky (2015-2016). She was also the 2017 Chair of the KLA Library Awareness Committee, designated as the point person for the Kentucky delegation to 2017’s NLLD.Her research interests include ethics and visual media and applying visual literacy ideas to discipline specific conventions and professional applications. Her publications include the forthcoming “Placing Research on their Map: Curriculum Mapping as a Collaboration Tool for an Architecture Branch Library” co-authored with Bonnie Reed, Hillary B. Veeder and Brian C.R. Zugay for Art Documentation. Some of her recent conference presentations include “Media Literacy: Making an ImPACT” at the 2017 Kentucky Library Association Fall Conference, “Be ‘More Library’ with State and Federal Advocacy” at the 2017 Kentucky Library Association Spring Conference (Academic and Special Sections), “Beyond the Basic (Google) Image Search” at the 2017 Appalachian College Association Professional Development Day, and “Visual Literacy: Out in Front” at the 2015 Kentucky Library Association Fall Conference.GoalsMy goals as the Vice President for Conference Program would be to facilitate the aims of the VRA Strategic Plan, 2018-2022 through collaboration, creativity, and a careful balance of new ideas and traditions. I would like to address each tenant of the Strategic Priority 4.3 that mandates “conferences meet the professional development needs of current and potential members as defined by the mission statement,” and how I see myself undertaking each mission.4.2.1. Develop broader areas of professional practice in conference programming in order to reach a wider audience.VRA’s leadership is integral to maintaining high standards and professionalism in visual media research, education, and management. As disciplines intersect, new practitioners and entrepreneurs come into the field without necessary core knowledge and values. As an organization, we can reach out through branding initiatives and conference marketing that will connect us to different audiences. I firmly believe our members are our best advocates, so I would work on communications that would highlight the impact and reach of the work being done by VRA professionals.4.2.2. Engage diverse member perspectives to consider new ideas for conference models, programming, and scheduling in order to meet the professional development needs of members.I believe that diversity reflects the vibrancy, quality, and long-term success of any organization and our conferences should be a way of celebrating the “professional, socioeconomic, racial and ethnic, gender, age, sexual orientation, and geographic diversity” of our members and prospective members. I would start by seeking out perspectives from across our membership and work at supporting them to share their voice in the conference, through formal and informal programming. Sometimes “unconference” type events can empower people to get more involved and set up more diverse “conference” type events in future years.4.2.3. Coordinate with chapters or groups of chapters to build a regional conference program that complements the Association’s annual conferences.Professional funding and issues due to your career stage can often impede full participation in annual conferences, but regional conferences and chapter programming at annual conferences can provide ways of keeping engaged and facilitate collaborations. I would work with chapter leadership to identify goals and seek ways we can share resources (people, money, time, assessment data) that would enhance the quality of all conference programming.4.2.4. Publicize conference proceedings in order to promulgate the expertise of the Association to external audiences. In addition to communicating our identity to a wider audience, conference proceedings can be one way of celebrating the hard work and accomplishments of conference presenters. I would seek out the opinions and advice of other professional organizations that publish conference proceedings and with the help of the Executive Board and VRA Bulletin editors present our membership with publication options.VRA is a dynamic organization with a prominent history, and I am excited to tackle leadership roles where I can stimulate future successes for the VRA, its’ members, and myself.
Meet the 2018 Executive Board Candidates: Jeannine Keefer, President-Elect
The VRA annual election of officers will take place November 1-30, 2018. Members will receive an email on November 1 with instructions for accessing the ballot. Please vote and show your support to the candidates and participate in the governance of the Association.About the CandidateJeannine Keefer is the Visual Resources Librarian and Art and Art History Liaison in Boatwright Memorial Library at the University of Richmond, Richmond, Virginia. She held similar positions at the University of Mississippi, The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, and Cornell University. She received a BA in Art with a concentration in Art History from Saint Mary’s College in 1995. In 1998 she obtained an MA in Architectural History and a certificate in Historic Preservation from the School of Architecture at the University of Virginia. Jeannine received her PhD in Art History from Binghamton University in 2013.Dr. Keefer has been an active member of the Visual Resources Association (VRA) since 1998. She has served as chair of the Upstate New York Chapter and co-chair of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter. She is a past member of the Nominating Committee, served as co-chair of the Travel Awards Committee, and most recently held the position of Treasurer of VRA. She has presented and chaired sessions at VRA, SECAC, and the Keystone Digital Humanities conference as well as at numerous local meetings and conferences.GoalsI had the privilege to serve on the Board as VRA Treasurer from 2016-2018. In this position I became aware of the challenges and opportunities facing the organization. Today VRA has the potential to reach working professionals in so many aspects of librarianship, including in research, scholarship, and instruction. It is worth noting that just when VRA is needed most by the professional community, that many individuals see the organization as antiquated and irrelevant. One of my goals as President will be to change that perception and grow our membership. Another goal is to more fully engage our younger members.Our membership is more varied and younger than it has been in some time and this affords the organization the opportunity to capitalize on new ideas and harness the new energy in the organization. The organization is only as strong as its participating members and I would like for every member, whether new members or seasoned professionals, to feel as if their voice and their contributions are appreciated and valued.Having served as a Board member recently, I appreciate the commitment it takes to steer the organization into the future. I am aware of the financial, membership, and visibility challenges we face and the role the VRA President plays in navigating the organization. If elected, I will carry on the work of past presidents and lay the groundwork for future presidents.
VRA Identity Task Force Assembled
From VRA President Stephen Patton:
In June of this year I informed the membership that the VRA Executive Board had developed a charge for the VRA Identity Task Force. The charge is outlined below this correspondence. This effort is in response to VRA Strategic Plan Goal 1.1. To guide the direction of the VRA Strategic Plan, it is necessary for the Association to review the organization’s identity, vision, mission, and values.
Two examples of goals that are dependent on the work of the VRA Identity Task Force are: Strategic Direction 3: Membership; and 5: Communications and Marketing. Strategic Priorities like the creation of an integrated marketing plan to increase membership need the focus of a vision in order to be successful.
VRA Strategic Plan (summary), 2018
Betha Whitlow and Carolyn Lucarelli have agreed to co-chair the VRA Identity Task Force. The VRA Executive Committee provided guidance through the VRA Identity Task Force charge, but the Board has granted the Task Force independence in their work and membership selection. Betha and Carolyn have assembled a great team representing the diverse nature of the organization and the work of our members. Please support the Task Force in their efforts.
VRA Identity Task Force
Co-ChairsCarolyn Lucarelli, The Pennsylvania State UniversityBetha Whitlow, Washington University in St. LouisMembersMarcia Focht, Binghamton UniversityPatricia Guardiola, University of PennsylvaniaMargaret McKee, The Menil CollectionJeff Mixter, OCLC ResearchBrian Shelburne, University of Massachusetts, AmherstSue Tyson, California State ArchivesKendra Werst, Williams CollegeCharge: Develop vision, mission, and core values statements that align with the Visual Resources Association (VRA) Strategic Plan Goal 1.1. Define the term “visual resources” and consider its relevance as a discipline and/or a field of practice to current and potential members (See Strategic Priorities 1.1.4). This may include a review of the name of the organization going forward. Evaluate the VRA’s current affiliate organizations and make recommendations for new affiliations that complement and strengthen VRA’s identity and membership. Identify peer organizations with similar membership numbers and functions as the VRA to provide a baseline for performance assessment and comparison. This entire process should be informed by membership feedback which could take the form of surveys, focus groups, web conferencing and any additional methods the task force deems effective. Review the VRA Strategic Plan 2018-2022, the VRA Professional Status Task Force Report, and any other research the Task Force finds informative. The approach should be transparent, inclusive, just, and incorporate diverse representation when possible. The task force’s recommendations will likely result in a vote by the membership.
Reminder: VRA Bulletin CFP: Cataloging Today: Enlarging the Sphere
Call for Papers: “Cataloging Today: Enlarging the Sphere”Special Themed Issue of the Visual Resources Association BulletinGuest Editor: Susan Jane Williams, Independent Cataloging and Consulting Co.Expected Date of Publication: December 2018 or January 2019 (Vol. 45, issue 2)This special themed issue of the VRA Bulletin on the state of cataloging today seeks to explore our cataloging practices in light of the global semantic web. (Using "cataloging" as a verb, the act of attaching textual values to an object or digital asset, whether that involves encoding or not.) There is a body of literature outlining automations in creating (i.e. extracting) catalog records in text-based collections to the point that human-created records are referred to as "manual." Should we assume that cataloging images and cultural heritage objects will remain a "manual" (or "supplemented manual") pursuit? What inroads have been made to match and extract information from images?Further, cataloging has frequently had a tie with larger economic pressures and been subject to periodic cost-cutting measures. How do administrators actually assess cataloging for value and for efficacy? Have digital humanities projects and "big data" changed that value (and for whom)? Has crowd sourcing and tagging by the public been effective in adding value? Has linked open data changed the assessment of professional cataloging value (and for whom)? Will linked open data and the global semantic web finally conquer the silo, and what are the implications for our profession? Will the utility of linked "big data" on the web supersede the more traditional concept of shared data? This issue is meant to explore the creation of catalog records, but articles about data analysis and data migration are also welcome.For the first round of article submissions, please send a one-page abstract to Susan Jane Williams at williams.susanjane@gmail.com by October 15, 2018.Thank You!
Registration Open for VRAF Regional Workshop: Documenting Cultural Heritage at The George Eastman Museum
The Visual Resources Association Foundation (VRAF) is pleased to announce that registration is open for Documenting Cultural Heritage: Strategies and Spaces for Digital Capture, to be held on November 30, 2018. This workshop will be hosted by the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, NY, and is open to cultural heritage professionals, the information, museum, and educational communities, and anyone interested in visual culture. Documenting Cultural Heritage: Strategies and Spaces for Digital Capture is the first of four workshops being offered in the 2018-2019 VRAF Regional Workshop Program. The VRAF is grateful to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation for their continued support of this exciting opportunity to partner with cultural heritage and educational institutions.
Workshop Description: “Digital capture” encompasses a broad range of technologies and processes. While the role of a digitization space has historically revolved around slide and flatbed scanners, these represent just two of many possible approaches to digital imaging. The first part of this workshop will explore traditional methods for digital capture, including scanners, DSLR cameras, copystands, lighting, and specialized imaging devices for specific uses. Part two of the day will take participants beyond the basics by focusing on emerging technologies and their impact on the capture, dissemination, and storage of cultural materials. All workshop content will be framed within the important questions you should be asking when planning the present and future directions of your digital capture project or facilities. Participants will also receive significant supplemental material, including recommended equipment, buying guides, and a variety of workflow documents from several institutions. When combined with the presented information, participants will have the tools in place to build an efficient digitization space that is as unique as their specific resources and project needs.
Documenting Cultural Heritage will be taught by Chris Strasbaugh, Digital Library Archivist and Curator at the Knowlton School of Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and City and Regional Planning at The Ohio State University. As photographer, art historian, and now digital curator, Chris has always been driven to document and preserve cultural heritage. His work as a Digital Library Archivist and Curator is a perfect mix of his passions in preservation, photography, emerging technology, open access, and metadata management. He works with an archive of unique work, documenting the history of the various programs in the Knowlton School as well as highlighting new work that showcases the students in the programs.
Chris has recently presented on the topic of digitization at the 2+3D Photography – Practice and Prophecies – 2017 conference at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, HASTAC 2017 in Orlando, and the June 2017 Images: Digitization and Preservation of Special Collections in Libraries, Museums, and Archives, NISO Virtual Conference. In addition to conference presentations, he has also produced online learning trainings, taught local workshops, and has actively assisted special collections in designing and streamlining their digitization process.
To register for Documenting Cultural Heritage: Strategies and Spaces for Digital Capture and to learn more about the workshop, visit https://vrafoundation.com/current-regional-workshops/documenting-cultural-heritage-eastman-2/. The fee for this day-long workshop is $125. If you have questions about registration, feel free to contact Beth Haas, VRAF Director, bwodnick@princeton.edu or for questions about the program or venue, please contact Elizabeth Chiang, echiang@eastman.org.
Save these Dates: 2018-2019 VRAF Regional Workshops Schedule
The Visual Resources Association Foundation (VRAF) is pleased to announce the host sites for the 2018-2019 VRAF Regional Workshop Program. Now in its fourth year, and thanks to the continued and generous support from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, this program is allowing the VRAF to realize its mission to promote scholarship, research, education, and outreach in the fields of visual resources and image management.The 2018-2019 workshops are:Documenting Cultural Heritage: Strategies and Spaces for Digital Capture at the George Eastman Museum, Rochester, NY, to be held on November 30, 2018Something Mappy This Way Comes: An Introduction to Digital Mapping Technologies at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, to be held on January 25, 2019.Exhibit, Instruct, Promote, Collaborate: An Introduction to Omeka for Digital Scholarship at The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, to be held on March 1, 2019.Metadata and Management of Cultural Heritage Digital Media: From Fundamentals to Future Trends at The Smithsonian’s Freer|Sackler, Washington, D.C., to be held on April 26, 2019.With the VRAF Regional Workshop Program’s funding, host institutions will be able to offer a workshop without the burden of developing it from within, and provide valuable programming not only to their local constituents, but to their broader region. For a reasonable registration fee, the workshops provide an immersive experience on a single topic, framed in a manner that is relevant to image management professionals, users of cultural heritage information, and the larger information community. The call for host sites for the 2019-2020 VRAF Regional Workshop Program will be announced in summer 2019.For more information about the VRAF Regional Workshop Program, including this year’s offerings, please visit: https://vrafoundation.com/
SEI 2019: Implementation Team Announcement
VRAF and ARLIS/NA are pleased to announce the implementation team for the Summer Educational Institute for Visual Resources and Image Management (SEI) 2019, to be held at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, June 4-7, 2019.Senior Co-Chair: Lesley Chapman, Colgate UniversityJunior Co-Chair: Courtney Baron, Emory UniversityIncoming Co-Chair: Bridget Madden, University of ChicagoLocal Co-Chair and Treasurer: Cindy Abel-Morris, University of New MexicoCurriculum Specialist (VRA): Carolyn Lucarelli, Penn State UniversityCurriculum Specialist (ARLIS): Annie Sollinger, University of Massachusetts, AmherstDevelopment Specialist: Tina Budzise-Weaver, Texas A&M UniversityWebmaster/Publicity Specialist: Otto Luna, University of New HampshireVRAF Liaison: Jeannine Keefer, University of RichmondARLIS/NA Liaison: Lauren MacDonald, Saint Mary's CollegeSEI is a joint project of the Art Libraries Society of North America (ARLIS/NA) and the Visual Resources Association Foundation (VRAF). SEI seeks to provide information professionals with a substantive educational and professional development opportunity focused on digital imaging, the information and experience needed to stay current in a rapidly changing field, and the opportunity to create and be part of a network of supportive colleagues.
VRA LA 2019: Conference Site Live
Visual Resources Association 2019 Annual ConferenceLos Angeles, CaliforniaMarch 26-29, 2019DoubleTree by Hilton Los Angeles DowntownNestled between Little Tokyo and the Arts DistrictProgram to be announced September 2018.Early bird registration begins December 2018.Engage and collaborate with colleagues from diverse workplaces, including higher education, the corporate sector, and museums, at an ideally-sized conference of about 200 attendees.Enjoy the long-standing conference culture of generous knowledge sharing while exploring digital asset management, intellectual property rights, digital humanities, metadata standards, coding, imaging best practices and so much more.New this year programming is limited to two sessions at one time with an extended schedule, so you will be able to benefit from more content and have fewer difficult decisions about which sessions to attend.And don’t forget the special registration rates for student, retired, and unemployed attendees. Everyone is welcome regardless of their career stage or employment status.
Call for 2019 Nominations: Distinguished Service Award & Nancy DeLaurier Award
The call for nominations for the Visual Resources Association's highest honors--the Distinguished Service Award and the Nancy DeLaurier Award--is now open. The awards will be presented during the 2019 VRA conference in Los Angeles.
Each year, the Visual Resources Association’s Awards Committee encourages worthy nominations from the membership for the Distinguished Service Award (DSA) and the Nancy DeLaurier Award (NDL). The Distinguished Service Award honors an individual who has made an outstanding career contribution to the field of visual resources and image management. The Nancy DeLaurier Award, named for one of the pioneers of the visual resources profession, honors either a single individual or a group of visual resources professionals for distinguished achievement in the field. “Achievement” is measured by immediate impact, and may take the form of published work, oral presentation, project management, software development, technology application, web site creation, or other outstanding effort or project.
Although nominations for the DSA and the NDL are initiated by Visual Resources Association members, the nominees need not be members of the Association.
A nomination dossier should consist of a cover letter from the nominator(s) describing the nature of the achievement, the candidates’ curriculum vitae, and supporting letters and documentation. Electronic nominations via e-mail or a file hosting service such as Dropbox™ or Google Docs are preferred; nomination dossiers are due November 2, 2018. Members of the VRA Awards Committee, upon reviewing submitted dossiers, may recommend one recipient for the Distinguished Service Award and up to two individual recipients or a single group recipient of the Nancy DeLaurier Award in any given cycle.
Recommendations are subject to approval by the VRA Executive Board. All nomination dossiers will be retained in the Association Archives.
We strongly encourage co-nominators, and the members of the Awards Committee are prepared to offer help and advice. For more information including a list of previous award recipients, please visit the Awards page on the VRA website.
We invite you to nominate a worthy colleague for one of these prestigious VRA awards. If you plan to prepare a nomination dossier, please contact Steven Kowalik, Chair of the Awards Committee, so he can coordinate the process.
VRA Bulletin CFP: Cataloging Today: Enlarging the Sphere
Call for Papers: “Cataloging Today: Enlarging the Sphere”Special Themed Issue of the Visual Resources Association BulletinGuest Editor: Susan Jane Williams, Independent Cataloging and Consulting Co.Expected Date of Publication: December 2018 or January 2019 (Vol. 45, issue 2)This special themed issue of the VRA Bulletin on the state of cataloging today seeks to explore our cataloging practices in light of the global semantic web. (Using "cataloging" as a verb, the act of attaching textual values to an object or digital asset, whether that involves encoding or not.) There is a body of literature outlining automations in creating (i.e. extracting) catalog records in text-based collections to the point that human-created records are referred to as "manual." Should we assume that cataloging images and cultural heritage objects will remain a "manual" (or "supplemented manual") pursuit? What inroads have been made to match and extract information from images?Further, cataloging has frequently had a tie with larger economic pressures and been subject to periodic cost-cutting measures. How do administrators actually assess cataloging for value and for efficacy? Have digital humanities projects and "big data" changed that value (and for whom)? Has crowd sourcing and tagging by the public been effective in adding value? Has linked open data changed the assessment of professional cataloging value (and for whom)? Will linked open data and the global semantic web finally conquer the silo, and what are the implications for our profession? Will the utility of linked "big data" on the web supersede the more traditional concept of shared data? This issue is meant to explore the creation of catalog records, but articles about data analysis and data migration are also welcome.For the first round of article submissions, please send a one-page abstract to Susan Jane Williams at williams.susanjane@gmail.com by October 15, 2018.Thank You!
VRAF Announces 2018-2019 Internship Award Recipient
The Visual Resources Association Foundation (VRAF) Board of Directors announces the 2018-2019 VRAF Internship Award in visual resources and image management. This award was generously funded by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation.Adelaide McComb, of Louisville, Kentucky, is the winner of the VRA Foundation’s sixth Internship Award. She will receive $3,000 to work a minimum of 200 hours with the Lakota Dream Museum & Monument (https://www.lakotadream.org/). This is a new cultural center in Rapid City, South Dakota, and the first Indigenous-owned museum in the historic Black Hills. Its mission is to provide an accurate interpretation of The Great Plains tribes through documented resources, artifacts, and local historians with the intention to instill knowledge, a strong sense of identity, and hope into the Lakota and all Native people. In addition to a growing collection of religious and sacred objects, its programs include Lakota language revitalization, internships, workforce development, educational scholarships, small business loans, and more.Adelaide is pursuing curatorial studies and non-profit management graduate degrees at the University of Louisville. The objective of this internship is to create a database that captures the historical, visual, and culturally significant aspects of the museum’s artifacts. She will work with archeologists, anthropologists, and historians at the Lakota Dream Museum, and with semantic database experts at Semantic Arts on the software platform and ontology design. Her past experience as a software consultant has given Adelaide a comprehensive understanding of database management. This opportunity will allow her to learn the significance of cultural preservation, heritage, revitalization, and how data affect the way this information is shared. Her academic instruction in curatorial studies will provide guidance in collection exhibitions and visual resource management. Adelaide’s proposal includes a plan for Native youth to eventually receive training in visual resources and image management under the guidance of curatorial and anthropological staff, thus ensuring best practices while enabling community members to gain valuable skills and participate directly in this revitalization of their culture.Adonis Saltes, Chief Executive Officer of the Lakota Dream Museum & Monument, states “under direction from Spiritual Leaders, we elected to not hide our culture. We choose to allow visitors to view personal items which well-known leaders relied upon for strength and direction. They serve to remind us of Lakota who sought protection and direction during the challenging years of their lives…With many experts putting their minds together to help these items continue for generations to come, the historical, curatorial, and cultural context for these objects will help us preserve the culture of the Great Plains. This will be a great opportunity for Lakota Dream to move forward and prosper.”The Foundation is pleased to support the education and practical training of emerging professionals through this internship award. The VRAF Internship Award Committee received excellent applications for many fascinating and important projects this year, which made the selection process difficult. The Internship Award Committee (Linda Callahan, Beth Haas, Carolyn Lucarelli, Maria Nuccilli, and Elaine Paul, Chair) appreciates the careful thought that went into every proposal. We are grateful to the Kress Foundation for its assistance and for recognizing the potential of this award to foster the next generation of visual resource professionals.The VRAF Internship Award is part of the Foundation's mission to advance awareness of important issues for effective digital information management (including intellectual property and copyright); encourage the application of professional standards, innovative technology, and metadata cataloging protocols; and to facilitate workplace training. VRAF supports a range of educational offerings to help ensure that such information reaches a diverse, global audience. For more information about the Visual Resources Association Foundation, its mission and projects, as well as giving opportunities, please visit www.vrafoundation.com, or read the latest issue of our annual report at https://vrafoundation.files.wordpress.com/2018/06/vraf20162017ar.pdf.
Volunteer Opportunity: Call for SEI Development Specialist
Would you like the opportunity to gain some valuable, transferable skills, give back to the VRA and VRAF as a volunteer, and work with a great group of people? Then join the Summer Educational Institute for Visual Resources & Image Management (SEI) 2019 Implementation Team as our new Development Specialist!Although the thought of asking strangers for money may seem daunting, never fear! You will be working with an energetic and personable team who will help you every step of the way, and you won't be starting from scratch. The SEI team has worked hard for the past few years to create procedural documents, contact lists, and templates to help make your job easier.This is a year-long commitment that involves biweekly online meetings from October through April or May. Here is the complete description:SEI Development Specialist (One-year position, renewable for up to three one-year terms)The Development Specialist to the Summer Educational Institute Implementation Team (SEI-IT) serves as the general fund-raiser for the Institute. This includes finding sources for both financial and in-kind support for the SEI. The SEI Development Specialist communicates with ARLIS/NA Development Committee and the VRAF to make certain SEI development goals are clear and understood. Responsibilities include seeking prospects for SEI support from commercial vendors, organizations, and individuals; developing a ARLIS/NA and VRA Chapter travel award program for attendance at SEI; maintaining a donor history; working with the VRAF treasurer to track and receive contributions; keeping track of the SEI sponsors page; and participating in SEI Implementation Team meetings.If you are interested please send a brief letter (email is fine) explaining your interest by August 31 to Lesley Chapman, Senior Co-Chair SEI 2019. Please don't hesitate to contact Lesley if you have further questions.