VRA Conference Minneapolis 2024

Invitation Only

Presented by the Equitable Action Committee

Many states have passed legislation in the last few years that prevent funds being spent on DEI-focused work. Many GLAMR spaces receive public funding and, as such, are unable to move forward with work that is classified as falling under the DEI umbrella. This panel session seeks to explore the ways that DEI-focused work in GLAMR spaces has been impacted by such legislation. How do we move forward when DEI becomes a divisive term? How can we continue to support our VRA colleagues, as well as our patrons? What responsibility does VRA have to its members--how can we engage with these issues moving forward and codify DEI in our organization’s work?

This session will consider the current legal and technological landscape of fair use with images through the lens of the VRA Statement on the Fair Use of Images for Teaching, Research, and Study from 2013. What circumstances led to the Statement’s creation and use and how does it complement or diverge from other best practice documents? What gaps have developed in the last decade? Where does it meet or fail to meet practitioner and user needs? Presenters and attendees will be encouraged to discuss real-world scenarios they have encountered in their positions and how we might work together as a profession to navigate uncertain or unaddressed use cases. Is a revision worth the momentous effort? Can we envision other solutions?

Refuel and connect with colleagues in between sessions!

Beverages: regular and decaf coffee, tea, assorted sodas
Snacks: assorted Kind bars, fresh whole fruit

This session is open to anyone using or interested in MDID, and everybody is encouraged to ask questions or share about their experiences and use of MDID at their institutions. Andreas Knab from vrcHost will give a very brief update of changes made to the MDID3 application over the past year, with most of the session time dedicated for open discussion.

The Madison Digital Image Database (MDID) is a freely distributed, open source web application originally developed at James Madison University and now supported mainly by vrcHost.

This SIG is sponsored by vrcHost

Practicing digital preservation in a mindful way is critical for institutions to ensure that they are safeguarding their digital assets for future generations of researchers. Being “mindful” includes creating institutional policies around digital preservation that identify what should be preserved, why, and where. These policies should inform staff practices and workflows, including those concerning digitization and access. However, policies and practices can vary greatly across institutions due to differences in institutional priorities, resources such as staff availability and knowledge, and type of digital assets an institution holds.

Through a series of 7-minute lightning talks, session attendees will learn about different strategies that a variety of institutions have taken to advocate for, craft, and implement digital preservation policies and/or practices, and the successes and challenges of digital preservation endeavors. Talks featured in this session include both large and small institutions at various points in their digital preservation journey.

Summer Shetenhelm, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University
Kendall Aughenbaugh, Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens
Scott Kirycki, University of Notre Dame
Ellen LeClere, Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University
Grant Mandarino, Providence Archives

Please note, the cost of this event is included in your conference registration fee. However, for catering arrangements, you must indicate whether or not you will attend when you register for the conference.

Join the Awards committee to recognize your colleagues and enjoy a provided boxed lunch!

The Awards + Recognition event a special highlight of every annual Visual Resources Association conference. This is the organization's opportunity to honor individuals and teams of information professionals for distinguished achievements or outstanding career contributions. This event shines a light on leading-edge efforts and accomplishments in the educational, cultural heritage and commercial image management environments. It potentially includes the VRA Distinguished Service Award, the Nancy DeLaurier Award, the Honorary Life Members Award and the new vrcHost Membership Awards. These are bestowed to acknowledge and celebrate the highest achievements in the visual resources profession.

This event is sponsored by Clarivate.

Since our last pre-pandemic meeting, digital humanities has truly become a significant aspect of the expanded role of many visual resources professionals. This group session seeks to revive the VRA Digital Humanities SIG, building a renewed professional network that supports open knowledge sharing and a sprit of technological adventure. In an informal environment, we will make introductions, share about our workplace roles and current projects, and discuss relevant topics and common trends as they emerge. We will also seek to define how the Digital Humanities SIG can best serve its members throughout the course of the year.

This SIG is sponsored by vrcHost

Since 2020, DPLA has worked with contributing partners to upload their open access digital content to Wikimedia Commons. Staff at Minitex and the Minnesota Digital Library were inspired by the success of the DPLA project and conceived of their own pilot to learn more about using the wiki-based, free-to-use media repository called Wikimedia Commons, along with its sister sites Wikidata and Wikipedia, to increase discoverability of content from digital collections. The outcomes from this successful pilot project included an expanded understanding of the Wikimedia platforms, increased discovery of digital content, and the recognized benefits of working together. Due to the enthusiastic success of the pilot project, we are continuing the project in 2024.

The presenters will discuss both the 2023 and 2024 Minitex Wikimedia projects, how we added archival images to Wikimedia Commons, WIkipedia, and added structured data (linked data) from Wikidata. Participants will learn about our goals, outcomes and impact on access and use, and some tips on how to get started with a Wikimedia project at your own organization.

Hands-On blended Pedagogies: Undergraduates, Special Collections, and Digital Collection building
Amanda Matava

The Digital Asset Management Department at Trinity College has partnered with a faculty member to pilot a course for undergraduates incorporating digital imaging, cataloging, and research in order to explore Trinity's new special collection of Thai buddhist amulets. Amanda Matava, Digital Archivist, will discuss the first two iterations of the class, lessons learned, and success stories with letting undergrads get hands-on with a copystand camera and cataloging platform.

Digitization: Practical Foundations for Digital Scholarship
Krystal Boehlert and Mark Buchholz

This paper will share how the UCR Library developed and implemented the 2023 Digital Scholarship Summer Certificate program for undergraduates. Our goals were that students would gain archival and digital research skills by engaging deeply with primary sources that highlight student activism and BIPOC student voices at UCR. The workshops roughly followed the digital project lifecycle by introducing archival research, imaging in the archives, metadata and data management, OCR, text analysis, and digital exhibits. In these workshops, we specifically highlighted digitization methods with low barriers to entry and accessible OCR tools. We also included mentions and demonstrations of higher-end imaging and processing tools such as digital copy stands, RAW processing workflows, and dedicated OCR applications such as Tesseract and ABBYY FineReader, in order to give students a roadmap for more advanced digital projects and their needs. Not only were we hoping to make the invisible labor visible, but we wanted students to understand the human decisions that go into creating research materials and how they as scholars make decisions about their research outputs.

Collaborative Stewardship: Revitalizing a Small Library Collection Through Faculty Student Partnerships
John Hosford

This presentation will showcase a successful collaboration between a librarian, an art historian, and students to research, preserve, and curate a digital and physical collection of 27 brass rubbings from 1967. I will discuss the process of bringing this collection to life, the steps taken to digitize and make the rubbings accessible, and the impact this project has had on my approach to librarian-faculty collaboration. I will also emphasize the potential for future collaborations between libraries, faculty, and students to create engaging educational experiences and meaningful digital collections. The value of partnerships that focus on preserving and showcasing library collections while enabling students to gain experience creating metadata in a collection management system is invaluable. This project has inspired future collaborative projects that combine library resources, faculty expertise, and student creativity.

Register for this tour (separate from conference registration)

Limited to 20 people — Free
Tour participants are responsible for transportation to and from the location.
Address: 2400 Third Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55404

PRIOR REGISTRATION REQUIRED

Join us for an exclusive visit to the Visual Resources Studio at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Participants will receive an overview of the latest techniques in cultural heritage imaging, including advanced methods for capturing, cataloging, storing and sharing reproduction media for works of art. This session is perfect for professionals interested in learning more about the current best practice for creating visual documentation of museum collections. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from experts and explore state-of-the-art imaging tools and processes.

Connect, create, kick back! Meet at Mia is a new series of free Thursday evening events for adults. Get to know us—and each other—with live music, art making, special programs, and unique food and drink (for purchase). No registration or secret handshake required.

Attendees are responsible for transportation to and from Mia.