VRA LA 2019: Spotlight on Friday Workshops

Dear colleagues,

Continuing on the theme of last week’s email, I’m writing again to give you some details on the workshops available to you on Friday at the VRA 2019 Annual Conference in Los Angeles. The final day of the conference features three technology-focused workshops designed to teach you new skills that you can take home and apply to your work. Again, participation in these workshops is limited, so don’t wait to register and take advantage of the great opportunities listed below.

• Advanced Embedded Metadata Export-Import in Adobe Bridge
  This workshop will introduce attendees to advanced use of the VRA Bridge export-import tool and Excel to streamline embedded metadata workflows. The export-import tool has several user controlled options including the ability to create custom field mappings. Combining these with strategies for text manipulation in Excel, users can reduce the time it takes to move metadata between media files and local databases. Topics covered:
  -Bridge Export-import tool options and custom field mapping
  -Preparing metadata for import in Excel (converting to and from text formats, batch transformations)
  -Troubleshooting Bridge export-import errors
  -User’s tips and tricks – tell us how you use it
  
  
• Mapping an Archive: Data, Data, Data
  As more faculty and students turn to visual representations and presentations of their research, whether it be for a class or a larger research project, we are tasked with interpreting and setting forth a path to help them carry their vision to reality. We are often left feeling overwhelmed and asking “How do I start such a large digital humanities project?” This workshop endeavors to present a case study in which a patron presents you with an archive of documents they would like to visualize on a map to answer one or more research questions. You will be guided through questions you should ask, best practices for setting up your data collection, models for employing student labor, and various mapping products that can display your data to a variety of ends (including pure visualization and narrative). Attendees will be expected to bring a laptop. We will focus on platform neutral online mapping programs, but will also discuss open source and desktop client software that is available. Although many tools are available, we will focus on selecting the right one for the project at hand, which includes budget, license, and skill level
  .
• Practical Coding for Visual Resources: Python & Version Control
  Learn to code in Python! Building off the excitement of last year’s Python workshop, we’re hosting another. Basic program design, version control, data management and task automation with tutorials and live coding exercises. This hands-on live coding workshop will help data managers learn Python and version control. Participants are required to bring their own laptop with a Windows, Mac, or Linux operating system (not a tablet, Chromebook, etc.) that they are able to install software on. Instructions for setup will be sent to registrants prior to the workshop.
  This workshop will take place from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, including a one hour break for lunch.

I’m looking forward to seeing many of you in a couple of months! As always, please feel free to email me if you have any questions.

Contributor:
Jacob Esselstrom
Vice President for Conference Program, VRA Executive Board

Summer Educational Institute Registration is OPEN!

Registration for SEI 2019 is now open! We are very excited about this year's curriculum, and hope to see many of you at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, June 4-7, 2019.

SEI is a fantastic learning and networking opportunity for professionals interested in creating and maintaining sustainable digital collections of cultural heritage materials, including librarians, archivists, museum curators, visual resources librarians, and graduate (and recent graduate) students. The workshop offers participants the chance to meet colleagues from various institutions who are facing similar challenges. Faculty and students share ideas and solutions to these challenges and make lasting professional connections. This intensive workshop has a limited number of seats and fills up fast, so be sure to register soon!

Don't forget that six Kress Scholarships are available to help with the costs of attending. The deadline for applications is February 8.
If you have questions, please don't hesitate to contact SEI Co-Chairs Lesley Chapman and/or Courtney Baron.

VRA LA 2019: Spotlight on Tuesday Workshops

Hello everyone!

We are now a little more than two months away from the start of VRA 2019 in Los Angeles. As part of the countdown to the conference I wanted to share the details of the three great workshops that are on the schedule for the morning of Tuesday, March 26th.

• Clean, Transform and Enhance Your Data – Getting Started with OpenRefine
  Spend less time editing more records while improving the quality of your data using OpenRefine (http://openrefine.org/), an open source program that offers a practical approach to efficiently clean and transform data. Data comes from multiple sources and is messy. Cleaning data takes time, and is challenging when staffing and resources are limited. In this workshop, you will be given an overview of the program, learn how to analyze your data, and transform it with text faceting, filtering, clustering, and using GREL (General Refine Expression Language) expressions that will allow you to write code to further manipulate data.
  
  One of OpenRefine's most advanced features is the reconciliation service which allows you to connect to Linked Open Data (LOD) on the Web and enrich your data with additional information (Wikidata, Getty vocabularies, LCSH and LCNAF, VIAF, and more).  Use of the built-in Wikidata reconciliation service will be demonstrated in a pre-recorded video by Samantha Norling (Digital Collections Manager, Newfields).
  
  Participants will need to bring a laptop to follow along with the exercises. Instructions on how to download and install OpenRefine, data sets, and additional documentation, will be emailed to you prior to the workshop.
  
  
• Lesson Planning for Fair Use and Visual Literacy
  The open access e-book Fair Use in the Visual Arts: Lesson Plans for Librarians (ARLIS/NA Occasional Paper No. 17, 2018) builds off of the CAA Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for the Visual Artsto guide art information professionals in designing and delivering active learning experiences that empower students to understand copyright and take advantage of fair use in their art, design, and academic practices. This workshop, featuring instructor Dani Brecher Cook (Director of Teaching & Learning, Library, University of California, Riverside), will introduce art information professionals to frameworks and best practices for user instruction and equip them with tools and strategies to teach fair use in their own institutions. The workshop will give attendees an understanding of fair use and other visual literacy issues and how to integrate them into library instruction.
  
  
• The Only Thing to Fear is Fear Itself: Public Speaking for Introverts and Other Reluctant Presenters
  Many of us have a fear of public speaking that prevents us from sharing our great ideas and experience, and even those who speak frequently admit that getting up in front of a room can still induce trembling hands and sweaty palms. While useless tips like imagining your audience in their underwear to banish nerves abound, in truth simple steps can be taken to help you survive and even thrive before a crowd. Betha Whitlow, in a highly supportive and interactive environment, will lead workshop participants in an exploration of the causes (and even potential benefits!) of stage fright, and discuss how to mitigate it through mindfulness and other stress reduction techniques, the fear minimizing power of a well-crafted talk, and cover other techniques for public speaking. After taking this workshop, you may still not actively court the limelight. But you will have the tools--and ideally newfound confidence--to transition from perpetual audience member to speaker on the stage.

These workshops only have a limited amount of seats available, so register for the conference soon! If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.

Contributor:
Jacob Esselstrom
Vice President for Conference Program, VRA Executive Board

Public Domain 2019 Round-Up

January 1, 2019 marked the first time in over twenty years that works entered the public domain in the United States. In 1998, an embargo was placed on expanding the public domain due to concerns in the entertainment industry that the contemporaneous copyright term was too short. As previously stated in the VRA “IPR Committee Brief,” “In 1976, the Copyright Act served to make copyright registration automatic (upon ideas being fixed in a medium) and extended the copyright to life plus 50 years. Prior to 1976, copyright protection only existed for 28 years after registration, with the option of a 28 year renewal. As Masnick states, ‘And when that term of copyright [established in 1976: life plus 50 years, for a maximum of 75 years] threatened to expire and move Mickey Mouse into the public domain, Congress rushed to Disney’s rescue and added another 20 years to make the term life plus 70 years’” (1).

Still from Safety Last! Now in the public domain.  

Unexpectedly, as January 1, 2019 approached, lobbyists for the entertainment industry did not pursue further legislation that would increase the terms of copyright, stating, "We are not aware of any such efforts, and it's not something we are pursuing,” according to a spokesman for the Recording Industry Association of America (2). As ArsTechnica points out, however, simply because a work was created in 1923 does not necessarily mean that its unrestricted usage will be permitted; trademark protections will still be in place, and legislation such as the Music Modernization Act can complicate the matter for non-textual objects (3). For more in-depth discussion of facets surrounding the public domain in 2019, see the following sites:

Brief overview of the public domain:

• Fleishman, Glenn. “For the First Time in More Than 20 Years, Copyrighted Works Will Enter the Public Domain.” Smithsonian Magazine.
• Emerson, Sarah. “A Massive Number of Iconic Works Will Enter the Public Domain on New Year’s Eve.” Motherboard.

In-depth overview of the public domain:

• Fleishman, Glenn. “A Landslide of Classic Art Is About to Enter the Public Domain.” The Atlantic.

History of the public domain and lists of works that entered the public domain in 2019:

• “Public Domain Day 2019,” Center for the Study of the Public Domain, Duke Law.
• “Class of 2019.” Public Domain Review.

Public domain’s intersection with trademark law:

• Lee, Timothy B. “Mickey Mouse will be in the public domain soon - here’s what that means.” ArsTechnica.

Amy Lazet, Visual Resources Specialist, College for Creative Studies

Sources:

1. IPR Committee Brief: httpS://vraweb.org/ipr-committee-brief-register-of-copyrights-selection-and-accountability-act/
2. Copyright extension: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/01/hollywood-says-its-not-planning-another-copyright-extension-push/
3. Music Modernization Act article: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2018/09/new-music-modernization-act-has-major-fix-older-recordings-will-belong-public

VRA LA 2019: Stay at the Conference Hotel in the Historic District of Little Tokyo

Don’t forget to register for VRA LA 2019 at early bird rates!

Next, make your hotel reservations at the Doubletree by Hilton Los Angeles Downtown in LA’s Little Tokyo.  Staying at the official conference hotel helps to insure the financial health of both the conference and the association.

The VRA LA 2019 conference will be taking place in one of the historic districts of downtown Los Angeles called Little Tokyo (established as such in 1986). As early as 1908, a number of Japanese businesses could be found along a two-block stretch of 1st Street near Los Angeles Street. Some of the original Little Tokyo buildings and restaurants can still be found there. Little Tokyo became the cultural, religious, commercial, and social nucleus for Japanese American communities in the LA region, and it still is, since LA has the largest Japanese American population in North America. At its peak in the 1940s, about 30,000 Japanese Americans lived in Little Tokyo alone, but the WWII incarceration of people of Japanese ancestry caused a diaspora. The conference hotel was part of a later urban renewal, built in 1977 as part of the New Otani chain, it has always been known for its rooftop Japanese garden with remarkable views of the downtown skyline. Many of the rooms also have views as well as traditional Japanese bathtubs and microwaves to reheat the ramen you couldn’t finish at the restaurants nearby. Little Tokyo’s churches, temples, shops, restaurants, and cultural centers create the impression of a small, international town right in the middle of downtown LA.

Art and culture, food and shopping, tend to draw the crowds to Little Tokyo—all walkable from the conference hotel. The Japanese American Cultural and Community Center has exhibitions, theatrical performances, and festivals in their facilities and plaza, the latter of which was designed by an Angeleno, Isamu Noguchi. There is public art of interest in the neighborhood, from Noguchi’s “To the Issei” (1982-1984) to the Go for Broke monument (1999) commemorating the Japanese Americans who served in the U.S.Army during WWII (among them, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, which is the most decorated unit of its size in U.S. military history).

The Japanese American National Museum is a short walk down historic 1st Street with the Hompa Hongwanji Buddhist temple close by. Opened in 1999, JANM is an affiliate of the Smithsonian with permanent and changing exhibitions documenting 130 years of Japanese American history.  Several tours are offered in the conference schedule, including behind the scenes.

There are many specialized restaurants serving various types of Japanese cuisine in the neighborhood—from donburi to shabu shabu to ramen to yakitori—and sushi’s California roll was born in Little Tokyo at Tokyo Kaikan. The Japanese Village Plaza and other shops scattered around Little Tokyo carry everything from traditional Japanese sweets (wagashi) to Hello Kitty.  Go Little Tokyo and Culture Trip are fun websites to explore for more information.

Among the other LA must-sees near Little Tokyo are the Museum of Contemporary Art’s Geffen facility, the Arts District,  City Hall, and Grand Park as well as MOCA itself, the Broad Museum, the Music Center, and the Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels a little further out. 

All providing many reasons for you to bring your chopsticks and come to VRA LA 2019 in Little Tokyo!

Contributor:

Maureen Burns
Development and Tour Coordinator, VRA LA 2019
IMAGinED Consulting and Archivision

2018 VRA Election & Constitution and Bylaws Vote Results

Dear VRA Members,

I am pleased to announce the names of the newly elected VRA Executive Board Officers.  Congratulations to:

Jeannine Keefer (Visual Resources Librarian and Art and Art History Liaison in Boatwright Memorial Library at the University of Richmond) was elected to the office of President-Elect.

Marsha Taichman (Visual Resources & Public Services Librarian at Cornell University) was elected to the office of Secretary.

Sara Schumacher (Architecture Image Librarian at Texas Tech University) was elected to the office of Vice President for Conference Program.

New officers will begin their terms on March 27, 2019, at the conclusion of the Annual Business Meeting during the VRA Conference in Los Angeles.  We are looking forward to working with these terrific new VRA Board members.

On behalf of the Executive Board and the VRA membership, I sincerely thank these dedicated and active members who are contributing their time and energy in service to the Association in a leadership role where they will participate in shaping its future.

Please join me in congratulating Jeannine, Marsha, and Sara!

Results of the ballot question (recommended by the VRA Constitution and Bylaws Task Force with Executive Board endorsement):

Adoption of the proposed revisions to the VRA Constitution and Bylaws:

116 votes Aye; 2 votes Nay; 4 no selection – PASSED

Total ballots returned was 122.

I would like to thank Allan T. Kohl and the members of the Nominating Committee, who developed this year’s slate of excellent candidates, along with Krystal Boehlert and Elaine Paul, who served so efficiently as the election tellers.  Also, please join me again in thanking the members of the VRA Constitution and Bylaws Task Force, for their thoughtful and thorough review of the VRA Constitution and Bylaws. Chaired by Allan Kohl and Stephen Patton the members of the Task Force were Marcia Focht, Heidi Rempel, Lael Ensor-Bennett.

Warm regards,

Stephen Patton
VRA Executive Board President

SAVE THE DATE!

We are delighted to announce the dates for the 2019 Summer Educational Institute for Visual Resources & Image Management.

SEI 2019 will be held at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque from June 4-7, 2019. Registration will open on January 14, 2019.

This intensive three and a half-day series of workshops features a curriculum taught by expert instructors who will cover:

• Intellectual Property Rights
• Reformatting
• Metadata and Cataloging
• Project Management
• Digital Curation
• Digital Repositories
• Digital Asset Management
• Instructional Design & Outreach

This year’s faculty includes:

• Greta Bahnemann, Metadata Librarian, Minnesota Digital Library, University of Minnesota
• Courtney Baron, Teaching & Learning Librarian, Oxford College Library, Emory University
• Nicole Finzer, Digital Curation Librarian, Northwestern University
• Jesse Henderson, Digital Services Librarian, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Julie Rudder, Repository Program Librarian, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
• Nancy Sims, Copyright Program Librarian, University of Minnesota

SEI is a fantastic learning and networking opportunity for professionals interested in creating and maintaining sustainable digital collections of cultural heritage materials, including librarians, archivists, museum curators, visual resources librarians, and graduate students. The workshop offers participants the chance to meet colleagues from various institutions who are facing similar challenges. Faculty and students share ideas and solutions to these challenges and make lasting professional connections.

For more information on SEI 2019, visit our website: seiworkshop.org

Have questions? Please feel free to contact one of our co-chairs:

Lesley Chapman (lchapman@colgate.edu)

Courtney Baron (courtney.baron@emory.edu)

Follow SEI on Facebook and Twitter: @seiworkshop

UPDATE: IPR Committee Brief: Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act

On May 2, 2018, S.1010 - Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act of 2017 (LINK) was introduced in the U.S. Senate. After being read twice, it was referred to the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration which held hearings on September 26th on the proposed bill. The Committee was to meet on December 4, 2018 to discuss and vote on S.1010; that hearing was subsequently “postponed until further notice” (1). Should the bill pass the Committee, it will go before the whole Senate for a vote. Those concerned that the proposed bill would unnecessarily politicize the role of Register of Copyrights are urging individuals to contact their Senators, telling them to vote “no” on S.1010 (2).

As a reminder, the U.S. House of Representatives passed their version of the bill: H.R.1695: Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act (LINK). This bill proposed moving the position of Register of Copyrights to a presidential appointment followed by a Senate confirmation hearing, and the House voted to approve this on April 26, 2018. Many within the library community have expressed strong concerns that this bill seeks to make the position of Register of Copyrights overtly political when the position should be serving both the rights of copyright holders and the good of the public concurrently. Numerous organizations, including the American Library Association (LINK), have expressed concern that if the position were politicized in this way, copyright terms could be unduly influenced by business and special interest groups, namely the entertainment industry. For an in-depth look at H.R.1695 as well as an analysis of the arguments both for and against the bill, please see the previous “IPR Committee Brief: Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act” (LINK).

Amy Lazet, Visual Resources Specialist, College for Creative Studies

Sources:

“LINK:”

Text of S.1010: https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/1010?r=45

Text of H.R.1695: https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/1695?r=3

American Library Association Statement: http://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2017/04/ala-urges-senate-reject-bill-make-register-copyrights-presidential-appointee

IPR Committee Brief: httpS://vraweb.org/ipr-committee-brief-register-of-copyrights-selection-and-accountability-act/

Citations:

1. United States Senate Committee on Rules and Administration: https://www.rules.senate.gov/hearings/s-1010
2. Electronic Frontier Foundation, “Tell the Senate Not to Put the Register of Copyrights in the Hands of the President:” https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2018/12/tell-senate-not-put-register-copyrights-hands-president

Reasons to Renew Your VRA Membership

Dear VRA Members,

As the end of the year approaches, I want to remind current VRA members of some benefits received from the organization. The VRA has undergone some exciting changes over the last year, including preparing to transition the VRA Bulletin to an open access journal at the start of 2019. While all articles will be readily available to anyone with an internet connection (in keeping with the movement in many sectors towards information accessibility), VRA members will continue to be able to publish free of charge (non-members will pay a fee prior to publication).

Another benefit of membership which is probably on everyone’s mind is the steeply discounted registration rate for the VRA Annual Conference to be held March 26-29, 2019 in sunny Los Angeles, California. Some highlights of the program include sessions on visual literacy, digital humanities, and multiple sessions on intellectual property rights (x2).

VRA membership also provides numerous opportunities for monetary awards for: professional development; attending the VRA Annual Conference; and participating in the Summer Educational Institute, sponsored by both the national organization as well as chapters.

Finally, one of the benefits that I personally appreciate the most is the ability to network with others in similar positions. The conference provides the opportunity to connect in person with professionals in the field, as do local chapter meetings. There is also a strong online community as demonstrated by the VRA Listserv; another example is the Slack Channel established by and  for VREPS that is devoted to sharing resources for professional development, websites with downloadable images and information, and good old camaraderie and discussion.

The Membership Committee strives to advance the VRA’s mission to provide a forum for issues of concern in the field by strengthening membership retention and enrollment. As you reflect on the past year, please take moment to share a positive VRA membership experience via this Google Form. Your testimonial will be used for facilitating outreach to prospective members and marketing.

Thank you for all your participation in and support of the organization. I hope you choose to renew your membership with the Visual Resources Association!

Sincerely,

Amy Lazet

Membership Committee Chair

Point A to Point B: Transportation to and around Los Angeles

First, don’t forget to register for VRA LA 2019 at early bird rates!  Second, time to arrange your transportation…  Here’s everything you need to know from Krystal Boehlert, Local Planning Coordinator, VRA LA 2019. 

Travel to Los Angeles is available by plane, train, bus, or automobile. Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is the largest airport and has direct flights to most major cities. Hollywood Burbank and Long Beach Airports are also options. There are several ways to get to the Little Tokyo neighborhood in downtown where the hotel is located.

GETTING TO LOS ANGELES

By Air:
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
Distance from hotel: 19 miles
Drive time to hotel: 30 minutes off peak

Hollywood Burbank Airport/Bob Hope Airport (BUR)
Distance from hotel: 15 miles
Drive time to hotel: 25 minutes off peak

Long Beach Airport (LGB)
Distance from hotel: 25 miles
Drive time to hotel: 30 minutes off peak

Airports to Hotel:
(Sorted by Price Descending)

Taxi & Ride Share
Traditional Taxis & Ride Share Estimates. Many taxis have a flat rate from LAX to downtown.

SuperShuttle
Shared van service from all airports.

LAX Flyaway
Bus service directly between Union Station & Los Angeles International Airport.

By Train and Bus:

Union Station (LAUS)
800 N Alameda St, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Distance from hotel: 0.7 miles
Drive time to hotel: 5 minutes off peak

Amtrak
National rail operator, connects America with regional and interstate routes.

Metro
Regional bus, light rail and subway.

Metrolink
Heavy rail service between five Southern California counties.

Megabus
Daily express bus service with trips to the bay area and Las Vegas.

Bolt Bus
Premium bus service with trips to the bay area and Las Vegas.

Union Station to Hotel:

Walking (0.6 mile, 15 min). Exit the main entrance of Union Station towards N. Alameda St. Cross the street towards El Pueblo Plaza. Turn left and follow Los Angeles St to the south to the DoubleTree at 2nd St. Google Maps

Taxi & Ride Share
Traditional Taxis & Ride Share Estimates.

Metro
Regional bus, light rail and subway.

LIttle Tokyo Gold Line Station to Hotel:

Walking: (0.4 mile, 10 min) Exit the station walking south towards 1st St. Turn right on 1st St. Turn left on San Pedro St. Turn Right on 2nd St. Google Maps

Taxi & Ride Share
Traditional Taxis & Ride Share Estimates.

Metro
Regional bus, light rail and subway.

By Automobile:

Navigate to:
DoubleTree by Hilton Los Angeles Downtown
120 S Los Angeles St, Los Angeles, CA 90012

Google Maps

Parking is available at the hotel for a daily fee. You can look for other parking options in the area using:  Parkopedia or SpotHero.

AROUND DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES

Little Tokyo, Arts District, Historic Core and other Downtown neighborhoods are very walking and transit friendly. There are buses, light rail, subway, bike share, taxis, and ride share options available. Google Maps is an efficient way of finding the right bus routes and times, and Metro has an app (iPhone/Android) with real time arrival data.

Taxi & Ride Share
Traditional Taxis & Ride Share Estimates.

Metro
Regional bus, light rail and subway.

TAP cards can be purchased from Metro vending machines. Base Fare $1.75 includes transfers >2hrs.

Metro Bike Share
Rent bikes by the hour.

OUTSIDE DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES

There are many points of interest in surrounding neighborhoods and cities in the Greater LA area. Travelling during off-peak times can make a huge difference in travel times. LA’s rush hour usually means high traffic into downtown in the morning hours (7am-9am) and out of downtown in the evening (4:30pm-7pm). Please use Google Maps to estimate distance and time for your desired departure/arrival.

Pro-tip:  Google Maps on your smartphone will provide real-time data and traffic conditions. Google Maps in a desktop browser will allow you to predict your journey in advance and choose an optimal time and route.

Contributor:

Krystal Boehlert
Local Planning Coordinator, VRA LA 2019
Visual Resources Specialist, University of California Riverside

Scholarships available for SEI 2019

The Art Libraries Society of North America (ARLIS/NA) and the Visual Resources Association Foundation (VRAF), along with the SEI 2019 Implementation Team, are pleased to announce the Samuel H. Kress Foundation Scholarships for the 2019 Summer Educational Institute for Visual Resources and Image Management (SEI), to be held June 4-7, 2019, at the University of New Mexico at Albuquerque.

The Samuel H. Kress Foundation is once again generously funding six scholarships for SEI 2019. This intensive workshop is designed to serve a wide range of information professionals eager to learn about best practices and new technologies and/or update job skills in the realm of digital collections management, as well as to provide significant networking and professional development opportunities. The comprehensive curriculum seeks to address the requirements of today's cultural heritage information professional, including hands-on and lecture modules presented by expert instructors. SEI provides new professionals, current library school students, and mid-career professionals from a wide range of related fields the opportunity to stay current in an ever-evolving digital landscape. Museum professionals, archivists, visual resources professionals, digital librarians, art and architecture librarians, digital project managers, current and recent graduate students, and others in related fields are all encouraged to attend.

Details:

• The six Kress Scholarship recipients will each receive $833 towards the cost of SEI.
• Kress Scholarship applications are due by Friday, February 8, 2018.
• Recipients will be notified no later than Friday, March 8, 2018.
• Each Kress Scholarship recipient will be required to write a report detailing how they benefitted from SEI and the scholarship upon completion of SEI 2019.

Instructions:

• Submit a resume or curriculum vitae and a cover letter (no longer than two pages) describing the effect attending SEI would have on your studies and/or your career.
• All applications will be evaluated by three SEI co-chairs based on the criteria established for the award (including current or future career goals as well as financial need) and any additional directions from the Kress Foundation staff.
• Submit your application materials via e-mail in a single document (PDF preferred), using the following file naming convention: LAST NAME_FIRST NAME_KRESS2019 to SEI 2019 Senior Co-Chair Lesley Chapman at lchapman@colgate.edu.

SEI registration will open January 14, 2019.

Registration Open for VRAF Regional Workshop: Digital Mapping Technologies

The Visual Resources Association Foundation (VRAF) is pleased to announce registration is now live for “Something Mappy This Way Comes: An Introduction to Digital Mapping Technologies” hosted at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville on January 25, 2019.

This workshop will be a crash course in Digital Humanities mapping and related technologies. Examples of digital platforms will be given, with discussion of strengths, weaknesses, and budgets. Participants will learn about current DH mapping projects from the University of Richmond’s Digital Scholarship Lab and do a deep dive into what makes them successful and cutting edge. Discussions of data workflows and best practices will set the stage for learning about digital storytelling. Lastly, you will work with primary source data sets to create a digital mapping project that allows users to explore historical information with 21st century mapping technology.

The workshop will be taught by Justin Madron, the Digital Scholarship Lab’s GIS Project Manager & Analyst at the University of Richmond (VA). He is in charge of GIS related tasks and technologies required for the production and maintenance of American Panorama, a digital atlas of American history project. He has a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture from West Virginia University and a Master’s degree from Virginia Commonwealth University in Environmental Studies with a focus on Geographical Information Systems and Technologies. His graduate research was on the historical and present reforestation of red spruce in the Appalachian Mountains.

To register or read the full workshop description, visit here. The workshop fee is $125. If you have questions about registration, contact Beth Haas, VRAF Director. For questions about the venue, contact Lori Birrell, Head of Special Collections. Please register by January 18, 2019.

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.

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.