VRA 2022: DEIA Program Highlights
Greetings from the Equitable Action Committee!We would like to highlight the numerous Pre-Conference and Conference events that relate to the VRA’s equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility efforts. We hope you are able to join us virtually and/or in person.VRA 2022 Pre-ConferenceMonday, March 21
- 10:00am – 12:00pm EDT EAC Cash Rules Everything Around Me: Salary Negotiation Workshop
- 12:30pm – 2:30pm EDT Accessibility Guidance for Digital Cultural Heritage Workshop
- 4:00pm – 5:00pm EDT Major New Initiatives of the VRA Core and CCO Subcommittees
Tuesday, March 22
- 9:00am – 12:00pm EDT Accessibility Part Two: Building in Accessibility in Your Digital Collections Workflow
- 1:00pm – 2:00pm EDT Individual papers: Description Specialists and Artist’s Archive
- 2:45pm – 3:45pm EDT Balancing Acts: User Community Expectations and Art Information Transparency in a Shared Database
- 4:00pm – 5:00pm EDT Anti-Racist Work and the Solo Visual Resources Professional
VRA 2022 ConferenceTuesday, March 29
- 4:30pm – 5:30pm EDT Critical Cataloging Conversations in Teaching, Research, and Practice
Wednesday, March 30
- 10:00am – 11:00am EDT Community Building
- 4:30pm – 5:30pm EDT Convocation Keynote: Ashley Minner, “Repatriating the Archives: An Urban Reservation Reunion”
Thursday, March 31
- 11:15am – 12:15pm EDT Disrupting Our Teaching: Visual Literacy and Social Justice
- 12:30pm – 1:30pm EDT EAC Community Hour: Empowering Future Advocacy
Can’t attend this year? Not to worry! The EAC welcomes your suggestions for ongoing year-round initiatives; you may submit your ideas and comments here (https://tinyurl.com/2p8y6ca9), or email us at ea@vraweb.org.Contributed by Equitable Action Committee Co-chairs:Lael Ensor-Bennett, Johns Hopkins UniversityLesley Chapman, Colgate University
VRA 2022: Keynote Speaker Ashley Minner
Repatriating the Archives: An Urban Reservation ReunionThe place now known as Baltimore, like the rest of what is now known as the United States of America, has always been home to Native peoples. Baltimore is part of the ancestral homelands of the Piscataway and the Susquehannock, and a diverse host of American Indian folks from many nations have passed through or lived here at different times, and still do. In the mid-twentieth century, thousands of Lumbee Indians and members of other tribal nations migrated to Baltimore City, seeking jobs and a better quality of life. On the east side of town, they created a vibrant, intertribal American Indian community, which they affectionately referred to as their "reservation." In the decades since, due to a complex set of factors ranging from upward mobility, to Urban Renewal, to gentrification, most American Indian people moved away from the area, which continues to transform. In collaboration with her elders, Ashley Minner has been mining archives to repatriate their heritage and reconstruct East Baltimore's "reservation." She sees this as an urgent project of reclamation of history, space, and belonging.
VRA 2022: Back to Baltimore
The cancelation of VRA 2020 was a huge disappointment. Not only did we miss out on our collegial gathering, but many of us were also looking forward to exploring Baltimore. Fortunately, VRA 2022 is the return of the in-person conference and the return to Baltimore, Maryland.
Baltimore’s location and proximity to Washington DC makes travel easy. Flying? Baltimore Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport (BWI) is only 9.8 miles away from the conference hotel, the Royal Sonesta Harbor Court Baltimore, and Baltimore Penn Station (BAL-Amtrak/MARC), is only 1.9 miles away.See the Travel Details page on the conference website for complete information on flying, rail, driving, ride sharing, and parking. Valet and self-parking at the hotel will be available to conference attendees at discounted rates.When you’re ready to explore, take the free Charm City Circulator to all of the downtown tourist spots. Feeling adventurous? Take the MTA MARC Train to Washington DC for only $16 round trip. Feeling not so adventurous? Walk across the street from the conference hotel and investigate all of the attractions in the Baltimore Inner Harbor.
Lael Ensor-BennettLocal Planning Coordinator, 2022 Baltimore Local Planning CommitteeCurator, Visual Resources Collection, Johns Hopkins UniversityJodi Hoover2022 Baltimore Local Planning CommitteeManager, Best & Next Department, Enoch Pratt Free Library
VRA 2022: Pre-Conference Highlights
VRA 2022 is around the corner! We are just three weeks out from the Pre-Conference (March 21–22) and one month from the start of VRA 2022 in Baltimore (March 29–31). As we gear up for this annual event, we will be sending emails on Mondays and Thursdays with information about the conference program and Baltimore.Today we want to highlight the VRA 2022 Pre-Conference program, a new addition to our annual conference schedule. These two days of workshops and sessions are fully remote (over Zoom) the Monday and Tuesday before the Baltimore Conference. The $50 Pre-Conference rate is available to everyone, members and non-members. If you register for the Conference in Baltimore, the Pre-Conference is included!Do you want to learn more about salary negotiation?Why don’t you check out the AAUW Work Smart / EAC Cash Rules Everything Around Me: Salary Negotiation workshop on March 21, 10:00am–12:00 pm ET.Are you wondering how to make your collections more accessible?There are two workshops that will help you to evaluate your data and manage your workflow. Accessibility Guidance for Digital Cultural Heritage is scheduled for March 21, 12:30–2:30 pm ET (this workshop is capped at 30. sign up when you register). Accessibility Part Two: Building in Accessibility in Your Digital Collections Workflow is scheduled for March 22, 9:00am–12:00 pm ET. We also suggest you attend Major New Initiatives of the VRA Core and CCO Subcommittees' session March 21, 4:00–5:00 pm ET, to learn about the exciting plans for VRA Core schema and Cataloging Cultural Objects (CCO) that include built-in support for accessibility.Are you curious about new work in the visual resources profession?Sometimes it is nice to step back and see what others are doing and how they are doing it. Don’t miss these three sessions on Tuesday: Individual Papers: Description Specialists and Artist’s Archive March 22, 1:00–2:00 pm ET, Balancing Acts: User Community Expectations and Art Information Transparency in a Shared Database March 22, 2:45–3:45 pm ET, and Anti-Racist Work and the Solo Visual Resources Professional March 22, 4:00–5:00 pm ET.Is retirement on your radar?Stories from the Start is always one of our most popular sessions. Now you can hear about the other end of the spectrum from our seasoned professionals who are retired or whose retirements are pending. Join them for Stories from the Stop (and Re-Start): Visual Resources Professionals Face Retirement March 21, 2:45–3:45 pm.You can sign up for the Pre-Conference at this link. If you are attending the Pre-Conference and the Conference, sign up using the VRA 2022 Conference link—remember, the Pre-Conference programing is included!
VRA 2022: CfP Poster Session
Proposals are now being solicited for the VRA 2022 Poster Session in Baltimore, MD! The Poster Session is part of our VRA Community event scheduled for March 31, 2022, 3:00–4:30 pm ET. Remote presenters will be able to participate in the session alongside in-person participants. Proposals are due by 11:59 ET March 7, 2022. Notifications will go out by the end of the day March 9, 2022.The Poster Session is an opportunity to present a professional topic both graphically and through direct interaction with conference attendees in Baltimore. In addition to the traditional 30” x 42” poster, the VRA Executive Board will also accept “digital posters” consisting of a series of no more than three presentation slides on a laptop. We hope this format will also encourage the one-on-one discussions and self-paced viewing of physical posters, while also easing some of the inconveniences of bringing a physical poster to the conference. Regardless of format, posters may depict workplace initiatives, research works in process, and other library/visual resource topics of contemporary interest.Submit your poster proposal via our online submission form.A poster consists of a visual display accompanied by pertinent handouts. The physical poster display can take any form or look, provided it is confined to the 30” x 42” area. The digital poster may contain up to three slides (PowerPoint, Keynote, PDF, etc.), displayed on a laptop, and may include embedded audio and video. Creating the opportunity for conversation is the main goal of the poster session.Beyond the display panels and certain basic mounting supplies, poster presenters will be required to bring all materials and mount their own display at the designated time. Presenters opting to display digital posters in-person are responsible for their own laptop and technical troubleshooting. Full details will be provided in March, following selection and confirmation of poster presenters.Please contact vpcp@vraweb.org if you have any questions regarding the poster formats or proposal process. Thank you and we look forward to your submissions!
VRA 2022: Registration is Open
Registration for VRA 2022 Baltimore is open! We invite you to join us for five days of presentations, workshops, discussions, and events divided into a fully remote Pre-Conference (3/21-3/22) and a hybrid Conference in Baltimore, Maryland (3/29-3/31). Topics include digital asset management, intellectual property rights, digital humanities, metadata standards, coding, imaging best practices, and more! We also have a wonderful keynote speaker, Ashley Minner, a community-based visual artist and Curator at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian.You can browse our online program, where you can view sessions, workshops, and create your custom schedule at https://vra2021.sched.com. Sign up for VRA 2022 on our conference website at http://vraweb.org/2022-baltimore/. Direct links to the registration forms are also included below. Please note: the registration fee for the Conference in Baltimore (in-person or remote) includes access to the Pre-Conference programming. If you are only able to attend the Pre-Conference, you can register for it separately.VRA welcomes all attendees, new and returning. We are committed to strengthening our community by creating an equitable environment that values and encourages diversity in its membership and work. While the VRA Equitable Action Committee, formed in 2019, serves as a resource to the organization, members are expected to take an active role in promoting and supporting our BIPOC colleagues, colleagues with disabilities, and colleagues who have been historically discriminated against or excluded for any reason.Direct link to sign up for the Pre-Conference ONLY: https://vra.memberclicks.net/2022vra40preconference Direct link to sign up for the Conference (which includes the Pre-Conference): https://vra.memberclicks.net/2022VRA40
Registration Open for ArLiSNAP and VREPS 2021 Fall Virtual Conference
Art Library Students and New ARLIS/NA Professionals (ArLiSNAP) and Visual Resources Association's Emerging Professionals And Students Group (VREPS) invite you to register for our 2021 Fall Virtual Conference.
This conference is open to all, but focuses on the needs of students and new professionals. Attendees interested in art librarianship or visual resource management will have the opportunity to learn from peers and celebrate each other's work through virtual posters and presentations. Via this conference, we're seeking to foster a sense of belonging and growth in our community, and we invite all interested students and new professionals to participate.
Please register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcpfu-oqzojGdHnnXsq6bJ7tj2-j7jMTp2P
You will receive a link to join via Zoom when you register. If you have any questions, please send an email to arlisnap.na@gmail.com
SAVE THE DATEThe virtual conference will take place on Saturday, November 13th. The full program and registration information will be released on the ArLiSNAP blog and VREPS blog. To stay up-to-date, subscribe to the ArLiSNAP listserv, follow ArLiSNAP on Twitter / Instagram, and check the VREPS blog.
Schedule1:00 pm ET | 10 am PT - Welcome!1:10 pm ET | 10:10 am PT - Fresh Eyes Lighting Talks2:00 pm ET | 11:00 am PT - Skill Shares2:20 pm ET | 11:20 am PT - Break2:30 pm ET | 11:30 am PT - Poster Q&A + Social3:30 pm ET |12:30 pm PT - The End!
Vote today!
The VRA annual election of officers starts today, November 1, and will end on November 30. The 2021 ballot also includes a referendum on disaffiliation from the CAA. Please review the Executive Board’s recommendation before voting. VRA Members, you should receive your invitation to vote in the 2021 VRA Election on November 1. If you do not receive an email with a link to the ballot, please contact Chris Sawula, Vice President for Conference Program.
Vote today!
Meet the 2021 Executive Board Candidates: Margaret McKee, Candidate for Public Relations and Communications Officer
About the Candidate
Margaret C. McKee is the Digital Asset Manager at the Menil Collection in Houston, Texas, where she oversees photography of collection objects, digitization of analog photography, rights and reproductions, and the implementation of a digital asset management system. Previously, she worked in photographic and imaging services at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. She began her professional career as the Slide Librarian at Southwestern University. She holds an AA from Bard College at Simon’s Rock, a BAFA in Art History from the University of New Mexico, and an MS in Information Studies from the University of Texas at Austin.
Margaret first joined the VRA in 2003 and has participated in multiple VRA conferences, including moderating and speaking in sessions. She served as co-chair of the Intellectual Property Rights Committee from 2017-2019 and as a member of the Identity Task Force from 2018-2020.
Goals
The VRA has been a rich resource for me throughout my career, and I would be honored to have the opportunity to give back to the organization by serving as part of the Executive Board. As Public Relations and Communications Officer, I would strive to maintain and further develop the association’s public relations program. Serving on the Executive Board would be a wonderful opportunity for me to further develop my communications skills while learning more about association governance. It would be a privilege to work closely with the Social Media Manager, Website Content Manager, Communications Technology Advisor, Jobs Digest Coordinator, and Bulletin editors to facilitate communication within the organization and also ensure we are communicating our organization’s continued vibrancy and relevance through our public-facing channels.
Meet the 2021 Executive Board Candidates: Ann McShane, Candidate for Treasurer
About the Candidate
Ann McShane is currently the Digital Asset Librarian at Pitts Theology Library. In their current position, Ann coordinates a digitization program for Special Collections, maintains legacy digital access projects, manages new digital collections projects, and writes grants. Their professional interests include digitization, open digital access, library labor issues, and empathy in the workplace.
Ann has a BA in History from Earlham College, a Master’s in Archival Studies from Clayton State University, and is a Certified Archivist through the Academy of Certified Archivists. They currently serve on the VRA Awards Committee and the Atla Scholarly Communications and Digital Initiatives Committee.
Goals
My name is Ann McShane and I am running for Visual Resources Association (VRA) Board Treasurer. As a worker, I am an enthusiastic collaborator, a quick study, and a creative problem-solver. Prior to my current position, I gained a breadth of experience in the odd jobs that crop up in small libraries’ “other duties as assigned.” These duties included payroll, desktop IT support, web design, food service, and podcast production, among other things. Roles in professional organizations fill a similar niche of small teams splitting up odd jobs, and it is a kind of teamwork I find interesting and fulfilling.
More personally, I am a digital librarian nearing the end of what might charitably be called my early career. I have the time and the administrative support to give back to organizations that supported me during my paraprofessional and early professional work. VRA is an organization that provides services well beyond its member base. It is an organization I benefited from before I could become a member, and one I continue to benefit from now. I want to help however I can.
My own interests and goals aside, there is an ongoing global pandemic during my candidacy for Treasurer. The future is always uncertain, but this moment seems to bring reminders of that uncertainty daily. Listing the ways our profession, our coworkers, and our neighbors have been affected by the past two years would be a list of individual entries. I want to avoid an uncritical tendency towards “going back to normal” for its own sake and be mindful of what makes sense for VRA going forward.
Thank you for your consideration.
Meet the 2021 Executive Board Candidates: Brian Shelburne, Candidate for Vice President for Conference Arrangements
About the Candidate
Brian Shelburne is Head of the Digital Scholarship Center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He has worked in the Visual Resources field in a variety of positions and at several institutions for nearly 30 years. He has worked in Visual Resources Departments at Bryn Mawr College, the Philadelphia College of Textiles & Science (now Philadelphia University), Virginia Tech, and UMass Amherst. He holds a graduate degree in Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology form Bryn Mawr College and an MLIS from the University of South Carolina. His academic background is in Classical archaeology, and he has 10 seasons of field experience working with excavations in Greece, Italy, and Cyprus.
Brian has served the VRA in a variety of ways. He was Vice President for Conference Arrangements from 2008-2012, overseeing the transition from a 5 day conference model to a 3 day model as well as serving as the VRA’s conference planner for the second joint VRA ARLIS/NA conference in Minneapolis. He is currently serving in that same position, having been elected in 2019. He has served on a variety of committees and task forces in the organization, most recently on the VRA Identity Task Force. He was New England chapter chair from 2016-2018. He served on the VRA Foundation Board of Directors from 2012-2015. He has presented regularly at the VRA Conference and is currently the organizer of the Digital Humanities/Digital Scholarship SIG.
Currently Brian’s role is working with what some might consider the next generation of visual resources technologies. His office works with aspects of digital scholarship such as online exhibitions, digital publishing, and data visualization, though traditional image work is still a large part of his regular work.
Goals
The past couple of years has been an interesting time to be involved in conference planning efforts. The next few years also promise to be quite interesting as the forced introduction of remote and hybrid meetings into our lives have opened up the possibilities for how we approach VRA events. In a potentially highly transformative time for the conference model, I’m happy to be a candidate for Vice President for Conference Arrangements. The ripple effects of the COVID pandemic are likely to continue, and while they do we will likely explore different models for networking and for sharing our work, research, and ideas. I hope to continue the work that has begun during the last two years and help ensure that the events of the organization are on secure footing regardless of format or location.
ArLiSNAP and VREPS: 2021 Fall Virtual Conference
Art Library Students and New ARLIS/NA Professionals (ArLiSNAP) and Visual Resources Association's Emerging Professionals And Students Group (VREPS) invite you to save the date for our 2021 Fall Virtual Conference.
This conference is open to all, but focuses on the needs of students and new professionals. Attendees interested in art librarianship or visual resource management will have the opportunity to learn from peers and celebrate each other's work through virtual posters and presentations. Via this conference, we're seeking to foster a sense of belonging and growth in our community, and we invite all interested students and new professionals to participate.
Our calls for students and new professionals to present in different sessions are outlined below. If you have any questions in the meantime, please send an email to ArLiSNAP: arlisnap.na@gmail.com.
SAVE THE DATE
The virtual conference will take place on Saturday, November 13th. The full program and registration information will be released on the ArLiSNAP blog and VREPS blog. To stay up-to-date, subscribe to the ArLiSNAP listserv, follow ArLiSNAP on Twitter / Instagram, and check the VREPS blog.
TIMELINE
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Wednesday, 10/20: Deadline for all callsPlease submit a form for each session category in which you are interested.
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Friday, 10/22: All applicants will be informed of the conference team’s decision for each submission
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Friday, 10/29: Deadline for selected submissions to accept participation in the conference
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Week of11/08: Technology Check Session
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Tuesday, 11/09: Deadline for materials (virtual posters and presentation slides)
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Saturday, 11/13: Conference date
SUBMISSION FORM
You are welcome to submit for more than one of the categories below. Please submit a form for each session category in which you are interested.https://forms.gle/KaLhwP1c6htRNm1SA
CALL FOR VIRTUAL POSTER PRESENTATIONS:
ArLiSNAP and VREPS welcome proposals from students and new professionals with an interest in art librarianship or visual resources management to share newly completed or in-progress projects, be they research or outcomes from an internship/practicum, at the virtual poster presentation at our 2021 Virtual Conference. This is an opportunity for emerging professionals to share their work in a supportive and engaging space while connecting with other students and early career information professionals. Proposals are open to individual presenters and co-presenters. Virtual posters will be available for asynchronous browsing by attendees, with a live Q&A for all presenters during the conference followed by a social hour. Formatting details will be sent if selected.
CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS:
Fresh Eyes: Celebrating Our Successes as New Professionals
Are you a student or emerging professional who solved a problem for your school or institution? Did you complete a huge project during an internship, suggest a new workflow that helped speed up digitization or researcher requests, or start an amazing new program for community members? We want to hear from you!
Students and emerging professionals have the opportunity to bring "fresh eyes" to an institution. These "fresh eyes" can often add valuable perspectives, allowing for opportunities to ask questions, make suggestions, and create new approaches to work that's been done "the way we've always done it." In the session, speakers will present via lightning talks case studies detailing how they experienced a workflow or problem, and how their suggestions and perspectives as students and emerging professionals helped create a better process or environment. This is a space for us to celebrate the valuable contributions students and emerging professionals can bring to an institution.
This session will feature virtual lightning talks of five to seven minutes from five to six presenters, followed by live Q&A.
Building Belonging
ArLiSNAP and VREPS invites you to share current initiatives in the field of art information focusing on fostering a sense of belonging. Proposals can encompass ongoing, completed or in-progress projects that aim to reshape our art information spaces physically or virtually, for you, your colleagues, or patrons. This prompt is purposefully open-ended to encourage a variety of lenses on how we can rethink and reshape our field. Presentations from students and new professionals can be solo or collaborative.
This session will feature three 15-minute virtual presentations with a live Q&A. Please note we will confer with selected presenters if they wish to be recorded or not.
CALL FOR SKILL SHARE MINI WORKSHOPS:
We are committed to learning and a community that extends beyond our scheduled sessions and agenda. Do you have something you’re currently working on, passionate about, recently discovered, or a practice you find helpful or restorative? During our breaks between sessions, we are looking for volunteers to share their passions and skills with us. Some ideas include a guided breathing exercise, new pandemic hobby, self-care strategy, or in-progress project. These skill shares are meant to be casual and offer space to learn and share what we’re learning with each other.
We will have two breaks during which we want to highlight your knowledge, skills, and interests. If you would like to participate in our Skill Share, please tell us a little bit about what you would like to do and approximately how long you think it would take (3-10 minutes).
VRA 2022: Call for Proposals
Call for ProposalsBaltimore 2022The Visual Resources Association’s 2022 Annual Conference will include both an online Pre-Conference and an In-Person Conference. The In-Person Conference will be held in Baltimore, Maryland from Tuesday, March 29th through Friday, April 1st, 2022 at the Royal Sonesta Harbor Court Baltimore. Presenting at the VRA Conference provides you with the opportunity to see how your ideas, research, work, and passion connect to those of other dedicated professionals while building networks and friendships in an open, collaborative environment.The VRA Executive Board is soliciting proposals for papers, sessions, special interest/user groups, workshops, posters sessions, and committee meetings for the 2022 program until Friday, September 24th. All proposals are welcome, and if you have other conference ideas or suggestions that do not fit the conference proposal form, please reach out to the Vice President for Conference Program, Christopher Sawula. The conference proposal form also includes a section where you can specify whether you are only interested in presenting online, in person, or either. Please note a call for Lightning Round presenters will go out in the fall/winter, so that we can better accommodate recent innovations and activities, as well as students and emerging professionals.
- A paper is an individual idea submission, which will be reviewed for possible grouping into a session. Your ideas, whether they come to us alone or in a group, are equally valued in the Board’s proposal and selection process.
- A session is a maximum 60-minute moderated panel, usually consisting of no more than 3 presenters each, speaking for 15 to 18 minutes, followed by a brief facilitated question and answer period. If you feel your session topic requires more time, consider dividing it into two sessions, consisting of a Part I and a Part II.
- A special interest/user group is a 60-minute informal, community-driven, facilitated group discussion on topics related to a specific segment of the VRA membership.
- A workshop is a 2-, 4-, or 8-hour workshop to develop skills and experience in the field of visual resources with hands-on activities.
- A poster session presents a topic both visually and through direct interaction with conference attendees. Posters can depict workplace initiatives, research in progress, and other topics of contemporary interest.
What should you propose?Past conference schedules can give you an idea of the range of topics presented in previous years; you may also wish to read through the list below of suggested topics compiled from the 2019 and 2021 post-conference survey responses to find inspiration. Please, do not be afraid to deviate and propose something new or highlight an area of concern that you feel has not been adequately addressed previously, as you may find new collaborators and colleagues. Moderators may put out calls for presenters within a proposed topic before or after the submission of a proposal. The VRA Executive Board will be looking for articulate and concise submissions with lists of presenters, but submissions without presenter lists are encouraged as well.Click here to access the conference proposal form.Suggested topics:
- Coding (PHP, Python, SQL, etc.)
- Community outreach
- Copyright/Intellectual property
- Digital asset management, digital curation, digital preservation, etc.
- Digitization (workflows, digital capture and imaging technologies)
- Digital scholarship and digital humanities
- Diversity, equity, inclusion, cultural competencies, social justice
- Project management (communication, grant writing, prioritization, leadership, etc.)
- Linked data
- Materials/Objects collections
- Metadata/Cataloging ethics (decolonizing vocabularies, radical cataloging)
- Storytelling and oral history
- Technologies (GIS and mapping, 3D imaging, etc.)
- Tools: open source, evolution, future trends
- Workplace cultures and professional transitions (academic departments, libraries, cultural heritage institutions, archives, corporate, etc.)
The Equitable Action Committee (EAC) will be available to assist in providing guidance for annual conference session organizers and all presenters. Accepted organizers and presenters will be invited to consult the EAC to incorporate equity and inclusion best practices. Depending on the extent of support requested, the EAC will be able to provide one-on-one consultations to evaluate and discuss specific aspects of organizers’ in-progress plans. Discussions can involve (but are not limited to): assessing inclusivity in panelists and perspectives; identifying gaps in accessibility; addressing concerns about contentious topics; and directing organizers, moderators, and speakers to additional resources. This initiative will help promote VRA’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as create a more welcoming space for civil and critical engagement at the annual conference.Please contact the Vice President for Conference Program, Christopher Sawula at vpcp@vraweb.org with any questions or concerns.Again, the proposal deadline is Friday, September 24th, 2021. Click here to access the conference proposal form.We look forward to hearing your ideas!Christopher SawulaVice President for Conference ProgramVisual Resources Associationvpcp@vraweb.org
EAC & VREPS Community Hour: Cash Rules Everything Around Me
You asked and we listened! We are having a community hour based on our 2021 conference session, Cash Rules Everything Around Me! Join us on Wednesday, July 28, 11am PST / 12pm MST / 1pm CST / 2pm EST to discuss the following and more.
"Cash Rules Everything Around Me" gathered a diverse range of GLAM professionals to discuss financial/compensation transparency and how it relates to the field. Join EAC, VREPS co-chairs, and CREAM conference panelists, Jennifer Friedman and Margaret McKee, for a continuation of a fruitful discussion about compensation at various points in one’s career and across the field at large.
Everyone is encouraged to attend. We hope students and emerging professionals will leave feeling empowered with strategies to navigate employment, and managers/administrators will gain insight into potential discrepancies and inequities.
We invite you to review the survey results and presentation from the conference before the Hour, but we hope you will come prepared with your questions! If you prefer to participate anonymously, please send your questions in advance to Lael or Kendra or use private chat during the Hour.
View the Community Hour doc here.
*NEW* If you’d like to receive a Google Calendar invite (generally Outlook friendly) to help as a reminder, please select yes on the registration form. Registrants will still be sent a registration link via email two days before the hour.
Best,Kendra and LaelEAC Co-Chairs
Who would you like to see win a Distinguished Service Award or Nancy DeLaurier Award in 2022?
Has someone or something positively impacted your work in the field of visual resources and image management? We would love to celebrate their achievements!The VRA Awards Committee is scouting for potential nominators and nominees for the Distinguished Service (career achievement) and Nancy DeLaurier (project, publication, or other accomplishments) 2022 Awards to be given at the Annual Conference in Baltimore. To learn more about these awards, please see: httpS://vraweb.org/about/committees/awards-committee/This is not a nomination, but a simple Google form that can be completed quickly to offer your ideas about deserving people or impactful projects. The Awards Committee will follow-up with you about your suggestions and provide assistance with any potential full nomination later this summer. See: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSexCYTy1fM3Q1jjPkKWjILrNCWXX6E1X1Dwi4JrVxlNdv5Cww/viewformAlthough nominations need to be initiated by Visual Resources Association members, the nominees themselves do not need to be members of the organization.Please consider contacting us about any colleagues deserving of recognition and take a few minutes to complete this new Google form. We so welcome your ideas and suggestions.All the best wishes for a wonderful summer,Maureen BurnsVRA Awards Committee Chair
EAC Community Hour: Re-evaluating Work-Life Balance “Post-Pandemic”
Join us on Wednesday, June 30, 11am PST / 12pm MST / 1pm CST / 2pm EST to discuss the following and more. Are you concerned about the “return to normal”? Are you surrounded by the rhetoric that “everything is fine now,” and it’s okay to forget the experiences and lessons of the pandemic?
- Has your institution set a “back to normal” date? Has the language surrounding return to work been concerned with community and the necessities of social interaction?
- Do you feel a disconnect between the work you’ve been successfully completing at home for the past year and the potential lack of flexibility for telework “post-pandemic”?
- If you have been in the office, are you concerned about the lessening of restrictions?
- Are the rules for eating, distancing, and interacting for the fall up in the air?
- Is it unclear whether you will be continuing on with your “regular” duties, as well as the tasks you have collected during the pandemic?
- What have you learned about the differences between working from home and in the office? Is there a way to create/advocate for a better balance between work and home separation while maintaining some measure of flexibility?
Just as all of these concerns rise to the forefront, now may be a unique time for advocacy! How can we use what we have learned and done in the past year to bolster our positions and ask for a better work-life balance? View the Community Hour doc here. *NEW* If you’d like to receive a Google Calendar invite (generally Outlook friendly) to help as a reminder, please select yes on the registration form. Registrants will still be sent a registration link via email two days before the hour. Click here to register!Best,Kendra and LaelEAC Co-Chairs
EAC Community Hour: Transparency and Stakeholder Power
Join us Tuesday, April 20, at 2pm EDT / 1pm CDT / 12pm MDT / 11am PDT for our April Community Hour.
Our Community Hour will host a power mapping workshop and discussion with Kate Thornhill (Digital Scholarship Librarian) and Ann Shaffer (Music and Dance Librarian), both of whom are union stewards for the University of Oregon Libraries. The overall topic of this workshop will be transparency and stakeholder power.
- Power Mapping 101 - EdJustice via National Endowment for the Arts
- Power Mapping Your Way to Success - Union of Concerned Scientists, Science in Action Toolkit
- Guide to Power Mapping - Restorative Justice Project, Diversion Toolkit for Communities
Please send any specific questions or concerns in advance to Lael or Kendra (if you wish to remain anonymous please let us know) or bring your questions to the Hour (where you can still be anonymous via private chat).
Click here to register and view the April Community Hour doc here.
Best,Lael & KendraEAC Co-chairs
Announcing the VRA Distinguished Service Award and Nancy DeLaurier Recipients
PRESS RELEASEMarch 29, 2021Contact: Visual Resources Association info@vraweb.orgOnline Address: httpS://vraweb.org/about/committees/awards-committee/VISUAL RESOURCES ASSOCIATION PRESENTS 2021 DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD TO MARCIA MEEKER FOCHT AND NANCY DELAURIER AWARD TO ANNA BERNHARD AND HEATHER LOWE FOR THEIR WORK FOUNDING THE VISUAL RESOURCES EMERGING PROFESSIONALS AND STUDENTS GROUPVIRTUAL CHICAGO, Illinois—The Visual Resources Association (VRA), a multidisciplinary organization dedicated to furthering research and education in the field of image management, proudly presented the 2021 Distinguished Service Award (DSA) to Marcia Meeker Focht, Binghamton University’s Visual Resources Curator, at the Virtual Chicago conference on March 25th. The VRA annually honors an individual who has made an outstanding career contribution to the field of visual resources and image management. DSA recipients have achieved a level of distinction through leadership, research, service to the profession, outstanding innovation, participation, or project management.
In over 30 years of active participation in VRA, Focht has helped to shape the association through her empathetic leadership and extraordinary service record—two terms on the VRA Executive Board, participation in various committees, task forces, and other special interest groups, and currently, Chair of the VRA Foundation. This breadth of service is only surpassed by her considerable professional talents, sincere dedication, and engaging personality. For example, she is primarily responsible for the success of the VRA Mentor Program with 13 years of “cheerleading” and matching new members with nurturing veterans to contribute to positive conference experiences and to help with ongoing professional development. She has welcomed more people to VRA than any other member, mentored many a future leader, and contributed to member retention.A forward-looking embracer of new technologies, Focht successfully transitioned her image collection from analog to digital images, collaborated with other campuses in the SUNY system to find ways to share Binghamton’s growing collection, and she continues to experiment with new technologies through digital humanities initiatives. As Tom McDonough, a Binghamton professor, stated in his letter of support, “What I’d most like to emphasize here, however, is not so much her assistance to the Art History faculty—her role was never merely supplemental or supportive—but her groundbreaking role in introducing us to the research and pedagogical potentials of the new tools offered by digital technology. Marcia could never be mistaken for a complacent figure; she has consistently sought out new ideas, new opportunities, and brought them back to campus to share with students and faculty alike.” An “ambassador” of embedded metadata, she has presented and published on the innovative tools the VRA developed at regional, national, and international conferences.Focht’s career-long dedication has involved hard work, intellectual curiosity, and impressive productivity, all accomplished with boundless enthusiasm, genuine warmth, and an infectious sense of humor. VRA President, Jeannine Keefer, stated “Marcia exemplifies the numerous ways that members can participate and give back to VRA via committee and chapter participation, leadership roles, discussion contributions, and sharing our work with the world outside the association. Her mentorship and encouragement has meant the world to me over the years. I could not have asked for a better professional role model or a more dear friend.” Focht richly deserves the DSA award for her unparalleled spirit of volunteerism and career-long dedication to the visual resources profession. She has given “her head and her heart” to VRA and the membership has benefitted greatly from her generosity.
The Nancy DeLaurier Award (NDL), named for one of the pioneers of the Visual Resources profession, honors distinguished achievement in the field of image management. “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. The NDL was enthusiastically bestowed on Anna Bernhard and Heather Lowe for their foundational work with the Visual Resources Emerging Professionals and Students group (VREPS).Under the initial leadership of these two founding chairs, VREPS created a space where emerging VRA professionals can build kinship, network, exchange ideas, collaborate, and thrive. Anna, Heather, and the newfound VREPS group recognized that early professionals and students were entering a drastically different employment landscape than their more established VRA colleagues, and they sought to provide a variety of support for these association members. As the nominator, Jasmine Burns of Cornell University, shared, "Anna and Heather set a wonderful example of what emerging professionals could accomplish in and outside of the VRA. Their example gave me the confidence and eagerness to run for office, serve in chapter leadership, and continue building my job-related skills before I even hit the job market. The inclusive space that they created during my first-ever conference experience made me a long-lasting member and fostered my connections with other people in the same boat, many of whom remain my treasured, life-long colleagues."The group focuses on developing job searching skills, networking, and finding professional development opportunities, such as relevant webinars, workshops, and conferences. VREPS sponsors VRA conference sessions and workshops as well as the annual “Night Out,” an informal, open, social outing that provides emerging professionals an opportunity to get to know each other and form new relationships in an informal setting, both of which have become a formalized features of the VRA conference. They alert group members about calls for papers/proposals, fellowships, internships, scholarships/awards, employment openings, and other opportunities. The VREPS blog became the go-to source for job and internship opportunities in the field and inspired the creation of the VRA Job Digest. By the time Anna and Heather stepped down from their VREPS leadership roles, the group had firmly solidified its place within the VRA. Bernhard and Lowe have more than paid back any mentorship they received by developing this new mechanism to warmly welcome emerging professional and students to the field of visual resources.Visual Resources Association http://www.vraweb.org/
The VRA Board and EAC stand in solidarity with the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community
The VRA Executive Board and Equitable Action Committee stand in solidarity with the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community in the field of visual resources and beyond. Anti-AAPI racism is not new to the United States, but it has seen an ugly increase since the beginning of 2020. With the onset of COVID-19, reported anti-Asian and anti-AAPI hate crimes have risen by 149% percent even while overall reported hate crimes have decreased by 7%. The organization Stop AAPI Hate reported on 3,795 incidents from March 19, 2020 to February 28, 2021, which included verbal harassment, physical assault, civil rights violations, and online harassment. The Pew Center found in July 2020 that “three-in-ten Asian adults (31%) say they have been subject to slurs or jokes because of their race or ethnicity since the outbreak began” and “majority of Asian adults (58%) say it is more common for people to express racist or racially insensitive views about people who are Asian than it was before the coronavirus outbreak.” On March 16, 2021, eight massage parlor workers, six of whom were Asian women, were murdered as a result of white supremacist and misogynist violence: Xiaojie Tan, Daoyou Feng, Soon Chung Park, Hyun Grant, Suncha Kim, Yong Ae Yue, Delaina Ashley Yaun Gonzalez, and Paul Andre Michels. The VRA condemns this hate crime and sends its condolences to the family members and friends of those who were slain, and all those in the AAPI community who are mourning this loss. We understand that this violence, combined with the events of the last year, may have an understandably negative impact on the health and well-being of our AAPI colleagues. A non-exhaustive list of mental health resources for the AAPI community can be found below; please let VRA know if there are additional ways we may support you. You can email the board at conduct@vraweb.org to report incidents that occurred at any VRA conferences, affiliated events, or online forums. You may also always use this form to let the EAC know your concerns you have related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. Or, you can write the Board directly at board@vraweb.org or the EAC at ea@vraweb.org. It is critical that white people recognize that the United States was founded in white supremacy, and that anti-AAPI racism and violence are one painful part of our legacy. Read about a select handful of this history in this article. For more in-depth analysis of anti-Asian racism, see this reading list, and for information on Asian history, solidarity, and feminism, see this reading list. We must learn from the past, acknowledge what is going on today, and collectively act to bring about change for a better tomorrow. Anti-racist practices need to be embedded in visual resource work, as well, including but not limited to anti-racist hiring and retention practices, collections development, cataloging and description, curation, and programming and outreach. For those outside the AAPI community, please see opportunities for bystander intervention and financial support below. Training:
- Bystander intervention training to stop anti-Asian/American and xenophobic harassment, hosted by Hollaback! partnered with Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC. (Various dates)
- Bystander intervention pamphlet by Hollaback!
- Stop AAPI Hate for more resources and information on how to report a hate crime
- Center for Anti-Violence Education for future training sessions
Organizations to donate to:Atlanta-area organizations:
- National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, Atlanta chapter
- Asian Americans Advancing Justice, Atlanta chapter
- Korean American Coalition Metro Atlanta
- Raksha
- Asian American Resource Center
- Asian American Advocacy Fund (Georgia)
- Center for Pan Asian Community Services
Justice advocacy organizations:
- Asian American Community Resource and Donation List - this document includes organizations to support by state, volunteer opportunities by state, small business and individual mutual aid opportunities, and upcoming vigils and rallies
- Red Canary Song
- Stop AAPI Hate
- Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund
- AAPI Journalists Therapy Relief Fund
- Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance
- Asian American Feminist Collective
- National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum
- Asian Americans Advancing Justice
- Empowering Pacific Islander Communities
- National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance
- Asian Pacific American Advocates
- Asian Pacific Islander American Health Forum
- Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations
- National Council of Asian Pacific Americans
- National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association
Mental health resources for the AAPI community:
- APISAA Therapist Directory
- Southasiantherapists.org
- National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association
- Inclusive Therapists
- National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network
- Asian American Health Initiative toolkits (1 & 2)
------References:https://sites.northwestern.edu/asag/about-us/who-is-apida/CAA:CAA Antiracism Working Group Statement in Support of the AAPI Community The Chicago Area Archivists’ Antiracism Working Group stands in solidarity with the Asian American Pacific Islander community within CAA and beyond. We unequivocally condemn the racist acts of violence and pervasive discrimination against Asian Americans. This past year has seen a dramatic and tragic rise in hate crimes against people of Asian descent in the United States, including the heartbreaking murders of eight people, six of whom were Asian women, by a white domestic terrorist that took place in Atlanta on March 16th. These incidents follow a long history of anti-Asian racism in the United States and underscore the urgent need to dismantle white supremacy in our country. We understand that this violence brings harm, anxiety, and grief to our AAPI members and offer our solidarity and support. A select list of national and local resources for AAPI folks and for others to support the AAPI community: In Wake Of Deadly Georgia Shooting, Chicagoans Are Combating Anti-Asian Violence Nationwide: ‘Be Part Of The Solution’ Block Club Chicago Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago Chicago Community Trust Asian Giving Circle Community Resources | Asian American Resource and Cultural Center | University of Illinois at Chicago Letter to Asian Diasporic Library Workers up//root Stop AAPI Hate 61 Ways to Donate in Support of Asian Communities New York Magazine Signed, CAA’s Antiracism Working GroupARLIS:[ARLIS-L] Condemning the Attacks Against Asian Americans Condemning the Attacks Against Asian AmericansThank you for taking the time to read this statement. The hope of the ARLIS/NA Diversity and Inclusion Committee (ARLIS/NA D&I) is for these words to resonate into efforts of support and compassion that extend beyond our roles in librarianship. When the former occupant of the White House introduced COVID-19 to America, he used his podium to blanket the virus in racially charged rhetoric associated with the rise in hate crimes in the Asian American community. According to a report by STOP AAPI HATE, a group composed of Asian American and Pacific Islander American civic organizations, between March 2020 and February 2021, verbal harassment made up 68% of attacks and by February 2021 physical assaults became the 3rd leading form of discrimination and made up 11% of incidents. On February 3rd, 61-year-old Noel Quitana was in the New York subway station on his way to work when he felt kicks in his back. Those kicks were followed by slashes that led to about 100 stitches to his face. Unfortunately, this violent incident is not isolated. On March 16th, a rampage ended with the murder of 8 people in 3 massage parlors, 6 were reported to be of Asian descent. Furthermore, “How San Francisco Erased a Neighborhood,” a report by VOX, examines a history often forgotten, a fight for fair-housing by Filipino immigrants who were brutalized by members of the surrounding community, segregated, then violently displaced through gentrification. As the country begins to examine a past littered with inhumanity, library professionals must be vigilant in eradicating the perpetuation of racist tropes, dehumanization, and the facilitation of segregative practices. The ARLIS/NA D&I Committee condemns these acts of persecution and stands with our Asian colleagues during this tumultuous time! The ARLIS/NA D&I Committee welcomes feedback on how we can better support the Asian community at this time and beyond! Please send suggestions to natisha.n.harper@gmail.com.
VRA 2021: Film Screening of '63 Boycott
