SPRING 1997 PROGRAM, CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA
"TRADITIONS AND TRENDS"
Plan ahead for MARAC's 25th anniversary costume celebration conference in Wilmington, DE, November 6-8, 1997.
PLENARY SPEAKER:
Edward Ayers, Professor of History, University of Virginia, will discuss the innovative ways he is using archival records as he develops a comparative study of Staunton, Virginia, and Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, before and after the Civil War. The materials he has found in archives are being digitized and made available to Internet users.
SESSIONS:
Session 1: ADMINISTRATIVE USES OF ARCHIVES
This session seeks to explore the information needs of administrators and the corresponding use of archival
records in two institutional settings: a large corporation and a government repository. Both speakers are
involved in the accumulation, evaluation, and analysis of data on the administrative uses of archival records.
They will describe how the use of archival information by administrators offers important insight into the
core element of the archival mission. The moderator will comment on the presentations and offer relevant
information about the administrative uses of archival records in a university setting.
Moderator: Jackie Esposito, Pennsylvania State University
Speakers: Leslie Simon, CIGNA Archives
John Celardo, National Archives, Northeast Region
Session 2: GENEALOGY FOR ARCHIVISTS
Genealogists comprise the largest constituency of many archival institutions, and they have frequently come
forward to support archival initiatives and activities. Nonetheless, there is a perception of tension between
genealogists and archivists. The speakers will discuss the expectations of the genealogist and the archivist,
and how best to meet the needs and goals of both.
Moderator: Conley L. Edwards, State Archivist, Library of Virginia
Speakers: Connie Potter, Genealogy Staff, National Archives
Kellee Blake, National Archives, Mid-Atlantic Region
Session 3: THE WORLD WIDE WEB AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
Copyright is a topic which many archivists find overwhelming. This issue is complicated now that institutions'
collections are increasingly available on the Web, and researchers are gaining access electronically without
archivists' supervision. Therefore, copyright and intellectual property rights are issues we can no longer avoid.
Attorney Eric J. Schwartz, an intellectual property specialist formerly with the U.S. Copyright Office, will
explain these legal issues, and Edward Gaynor, who has established a Web site at his institution, will discuss
issues from that perspective.
Moderator: Margaret Welch, Assistant Librarian, Winterthur Library
Speakers: Eric J. Schwartz, Special Counsel, Proskauer Rose Goetz & Mendelsohn
Edward Gaynor, Special Collections, University of Virginia Library
Session 4: FAMILIES DISPLACED BY THE SHENANDOAH NATIONAL PARK
Natural treasure or local tragedy? While we can enjoy and revere the spectacular beauty of the Shenandoah National Park, we must not forget that those mountains were once home for hundreds of families who had farmed there for generations. With the creation of the park, the families were displaced. The speakers will address these issues surrounding the establishment of the SNP.
Moderator: Nancy Martin-Perdue, Scholar-in-Residence in Anthropology, University of Virginia
Speakers: Charles L. Perdue, Professor of Folklore, University of Virginia
Session 5: ARCHIVES WEEK: AN ILLUSTRATED DISCUSSION OF WHAT HAS AND CAN BE DONE
This session is designed as a panel-led discussion with audience participation. The Outreach Committee has collected materials used for Archives Week in the MARAC Region and elsewhere and will make these available as examples for those planning future programs. Members of the committee will lead a discussion of what has and can be done to celebrate Archives Week.
Moderator: Maxine N. Lurie, Chair, MARAC Outreach Committee, and Department of History, Seton Hall University
Panelists: Rebecca Ebert, Archivist, Handley Library
Leonora Gidlund, Deputy Director, Municipal Archives of the City of New York
Catherine Keim, Archivist, Rockefeller Archive Center
second speaker to be announced
Session 6: CHANGING PERSPECTIVES ON CLIMATE CONTROL
New research carried out by the Smithsonian Institution Conservation Analytical Laboratory (CAL) questions the absolute temperature and relative humidity standards museums, libraries, and archives try to achieve. The controversy aroused by the research will be discussed by an author of the research, a building engineer, and a conservator, to be followed by the observations of a chemist and questions from the audience.
Moderator: Sara Stone, Episcopal High School Archives
Speakers: Charles S. Sumosa, CAL, Smithsonian Institution
William Lull, Garrison/Lull, Inc.
third speaker to be announced
Commentator: Dr. Chandru Shahani, Library of Congress
Session 7: SMALL SHOPS ONLINE: NUCMC TO THE RESCUE!
Small shops frequently have important collections but no way to keep the research community informed of their holdings. National databases are expensive to join and complicated to use. The Library of Congress has solved this problem with the development of the online version of NUCMC (National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections). Come and learn how easily the important collections of your small shop can go online.
Moderator: Virginia North, President, Jewish Historical Society of Maryland
Speakers: Tony Gonzales, NUCMC Team, Library of Congress
Gary Saretzky, County Archives, Monmouth County, New Jersey
Session 8: ACCESSIBILITY OF RECORDS
This panel will confront the question of when and how the mission of a repository may conflict with the goal of open access to records. In churches, corporations, political organizations, and other institutions, archivists must balance access against institutional goals and obligations in developing general access policies and in resolving particular access problems.
Moderator: David Ment, Teachers College, Columbia University
Panelists: Dale Patterson, General Commission on Archives and History, United Methodist Church
Julie Miller, Jewish Theological Seminary
Janet Linde, American Civil Liberties Archives
Session 9: DIGITIZING PATIENT AND LABORATORY DATA: IMPLICATIONS FOR ARCHIVISTS
The first speaker in this session will present a report about ongoing research at the Johns Hopkins University Medical Institutions concerning the challenges created by digitizing scientific data, in this case, patient and laboratory data, for archival reference and research. The issues--conceptual, technical, legal, economical, and ethical--are important ones for archivists, and have application far beyond health sciences records. A records manager responsible for biomedical research data and actively concerned with the complex issues addressed by the Hopkins project will present another perspective.
Moderator: Joan Echtenkamp Klein, Historical Collections, University of Virginia Health Sciences Library
Speakers: Lisa Mix, Medical Archives, The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
second speaker to be announced
Session 10: DISASTER PLANNING WORKSHOPS: HOW NOT TO DO THEM
This session will introduce the participants to the pratfalls and windfalls of conducting disaster planning workshops. Topics to be discussed include targeting the audience, marketing, public relations, decisions on what portions of disaster planning, prevention, and recovery should and should not be covered, what presentation materials work and how to use them, and how much time is needed to prepare. This sessionis based on experience gained by staff members of the Library of Virginia as they prepared for and conducted a series of fourteen workshops on disaster planning across Virginia.
Moderator: Theodore Kuzen, Preservation Librarian, University of Virginia
Speaker: Glenn Smith, Project Manager, Library of Virginia
Session 11: PRESERVATION: MICROFILM OR DIGITAL?
There is a great deal of discussion about preservation methods. Strong supporters for microfilm argue for its known stability and long life that offset its disadvantages. Equally strong advocates of the new digital technology support its ease of access to information. This panel discussion will present and debate each side of this issue.
Moderator: Kristi Mashon, Archivist, Office of Senator Patrick Leahy
Speakers: Dick Harrington, Assistant Director for Imaging Service, Library of Virginia
Martha Anderson, Digital Conversion Specialist, Library of Congress
Session 12: ARCHIVES ON LINE: A SHOWCASE OF PROJECTS IN THE MARAC REGION
See how archives use technology to create, store, preserve, and provide access to institutional records. Explore the impact of local as well as remote users. Archivists from different types of organizations with different resource levels will discuss and demonstrate Internet projects.
Moderator: Gail McMillan, Head of Special Collections, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Panelists: Tamara Kennelly, University Archivist, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Dale Patterson, Archivist/Records Administrator, United Methodist Church
Albin Wagner, Records Management Bureau Chief, New Jersey Department of State
Session 13: DOCUMENTING AFRICAN-AMERICANS IN VIRGINIA AND AT THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
This session's topics are as follows: "New Directions for African-American Sources in History and Literature in Virginia," concerning the updating of the speaker's guide and how it was posted on the Internet; "The Archivist as Historian: Adventures in African-American Research," evaluating, from the researcher's standpoint, various Virginia archival institutions with emphasis on uniqueness, quality, and quantity of material; and "Off the Traveled Path: Undocumented Sources in African-American History and Culture in Virginia," discussing little-known sources about all-black towns, churches, and small start-up museums in Virginia counties, such as Nottoway and Prince Edward.
Moderator: Gregg D. Kimball, Assistant Director of Publications, Library of Virginia
Speakers: Michael F. Plunkett, Director, Special Collections, University of Virginia
Ervin L. Jordan, Jr., Curator of Technical Services, Special Collections, University of Virginia
Lucious Edwards, Jr., University Archivist, Virginia State University
Session 14: ARCHIVES TO THE PEOPLE: INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO ARCHIVAL OUTREACH
Two experienced archivists will discuss traditional and innovative approaches to making primary sources available to students, teachers, and researchers.
Moderator: Ruth J. Simmons, Senior Archivist, Rutgers University
Speakers: Thomas Frusciano, University Archivist, Rutgers University
Diana Shenk, Head of Historical Collections and Labor Archives, Pennsylvania State University
Session 15: MOTION MEDIA ARCHIVES: FROM ANALOG MAYBE TO DIGITAL
The speakers will address reference and preservation of motion media in the context of the conference theme, "Traditions and Trends." After first making the case for archival motion media materials (films and videotapes), Alan Lewis will briefly describe the two media in their present analog form and discuss what makes motion media collections different from textual collections. In addition, he will address the technological developments that may be moving motion media from analog to digital format. Charles DeArman will discuss the impact of current technology on reference services, and how some technologies can be integrated into the reference service process more easily than others.
Speakers: Alan Lewis, Audioisual Preservation Expert, National Archives
Charles DeArman, Supervisory Librarian, National Archives
Session 16: YERTLE THE TURTLE AND KERMIT THE FROG: TWO ARCHIVES WITH CHARACTER
This session examines similar collections in divergent contexts: the Jim Henson Production Archives, a corporate archive with primarily an institutional constituency; and the Dr. Seuss Collection, held in an academic repository that serves the scholarly community and the public. Among the issues considered are: purpose, history, administration, policy, practice, as well as problems surrounding trademark, copyright, exhibition loans, and requests for publication.
Moderator: Heather Moore, Special Collections, University of Virginia Library
Speakers: Karen Falk, Archivist, Jim Henson Productions, Inc.
Richard H. F. Lindemann, Special Collections, University of California at San Diego
Session 17: LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP: REFORMATING PHOTOGRAPHS DIGITALLY
This session will explore options for reformatting photographs digitally, including the use of scanners and digital cameras, and transmitting the resulting images over networks. Speakers will make distinctions between access and preservation, summarize lessons learned from their own and other pilot projects, including dealing with vendors, scanning from intermediaries, choosing equipment and software, storage requirements, staff and volunteer training, and will discuss some practical applications for digital reformatting projects such as exhibits and other outreach programs.
Moderator: Lisa Mangiafico, Soroptomist International
Speakers: Diane Vogt-O'Connor, Museum Management Program, National Park Service
Steve Puglia, National Archives
Session 18: SECURITY
A recent series of map slicings from books in special collections reading rooms reminds archivists of the constant attention that they must give to security. This session will review some of the well-known thefts of our time and address security measures that archivists should institute or maintain in their shops.
Moderator: Kathryn N. Morgan, Special Collections, University of Virginia Library
Speakers: Jennifer Bryan, Curator of Manuscripts, Maryland Historical Society
Carolyn Smith, Special Collections, Eisenhower Library, Johns Hopkins University
WORKSHOPS:
Workshop 1: APPRAISAL, ARRANGEMENT AND DESCRIPTION
The morning session of this workshop will introduce general appraisal concepts and guidelines archivists can use to determine the historical and research values of institutional records, or personal papers and manuscripts. Discussions will focus on appraising textual, non-textual, and electronic records; issues and problems that affect the appraisal process; how the process relates to institutional goals and policies; and how appraisal can promote improved arrangement and description practices. The afternoon session will focus on processing archival collections. An overview of the techniques and procedures for arrangement and description will be provided, with emphasis on case studies as well as questions and examples from participants.
Instructors: Larry Baume, Senior Appraisal Archivist, National Archives
Marisa Keller, Museum Archives, Corcoran Gallery of Art
Workshop 2: ORAL HISTORY: A WORKSHOP FOR THE BEGINNER
This workshop is designed to help the novice organize an oral history project from conception to finished product and will be geared to participants' needs as much as possible. Issues covered will include organization, creation and use of advisory boards, interviewing techniques, equipment, transcriptions, editing, processing the collection, publicity, and uses of the interviews, such as publications, exhibits, and theatrical productions.
Instructor: Mame Warren, Director of Special Communications Projects, Washington & Lee University
Workshop 3: RECORDS MANAGEMENT FOR SMALL SHOPS
This training session on records management will be aimed chiefly at college and university archivists who must also deal with records management.
Instructors: Jan Blodgett, Wake Forest University
Michael Miller, Records Management Program, National Archives
Workshop 4: SEARCHING TECHNIQUES ONLINE
This workshop will give participants an introduction to RLIN, First Search, and other online databases, as well as to searching techniques useful to archivists. It will be conducted in a computer lab in Alderman Library at the University of Virginia so all attending will gain hands-on experience. Enrollment limited to 16.
Instructor: Jack Robertson, Director of the Fiske Kimball Fine Arts Library,
University of Virginia
Workshop 5: INTRODUCTION TO ENCODED ARCHIVAL DESCRIPTION
This would be a hands-on workshop for those with little or no EAD experience. Participants will examine briefly how finding aids are disseminated over the Internet via Gopher, Hypertext Mark-Up Language (HTML), and Standard Generalized Mark-up Language (SGML); gain a basic familiarity with SGML-authoring software (pending availability); explore the structure of finding aids and how that structure is represented in the EAD document-type definition; learn how to access EAD documentation and advice; and discuss implementation issues and how to assist in developing a community standard for electronic finding aids. Enrollment limited to 16.
Instructors: Janice E. Ruth, Manuscripts Division, Library of Congress
Helena Zinkham, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress
Information last updated 4/11/97
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