New Issue: Practical Technology for Archives

Issue no.7, January 2017

Articles

Access and Preservation in Archival Mass Digitization Projects
John Yolkowski and Krista Jamieson
The Elisabeth Mann Borgese fonds digitization project was carried out by the Dalhousie University Archives (DUA) in 2014-2015. At 55.5 linear meters and containing diverse media types and a broad range of content, this fonds was an excellent test case for the DUA’s first mass digitization project and represents a digitization project that, in terms of scale, falls between one-off digitization and a Google books style approach. As a pilot, much of this project was dedicated to grappling with intellectual and technical challenges of digitization projects, such as selection, copyright and rights management, documentation, scale of data created, processing of digital materials, and online presentation. From this, the project team strived to create best practices in balancing preservation and access.

Streamlining Delivery of Online Oral History Metadata through LibGuides
Heather Fox, Terri Holtze and Randy KuehnThe University of Louisville Oral History Center houses over 2000 interviews.
A collaborative project between Archives and Special Collections, the Office of Libraries Technology, and Web Services improved access to interview records by making a LibGuides webpage tied to a database containing the oral history metadata. This project has enhanced access for our users to the item level metadata of individual interviews and created a simplified, efficient workflow for our staff to maintain the information. In the following article, the authors discuss the methods and code they employed to offer users an interactive interface, and provide staff with a streamlined process for keeping the oral history material current.

Using Google Analytics, Voyant and Other Tools to Better Understand Use of Manuscript Collections at L. Tom Perry Special Collections
Ryan K. Lee, Cory L. Nimer, J. Gordon Daines, III, and Shelise Rupp
This paper expands on a previous study on how the use of Web analytics and in-house statistics could provide a solid basis for making decisions about which collections to digitize as well as which collections in L. Tom Perry Special Collections merited deeper description. The study also revealed some intriguing insights into how our collections were being used and raised some important questions about the impact of description, digitization, and other factors on both digital and physical usage. This article will show how we repurposed data from Google Analytics; used free, online tools like Voyant; and employed other means to dig deeper into our usage data to answer many of the questions posed in our initial study.

Using LibAnswers in the Archives: A review and implementation report<
Tim Hutchinson
The need for an enquiry management system at the University of Saskatchewan’s University Archives & Special Collections was identified at the time of an organization restructuring, which involved the amalgamation of previously independent archives and special collections units, and a new model for reference service. While there were delays in selecting and deploying a system, this allowed requirements to be refined; LibAnswers was ultimately selected. This article reviews key features of the enquiry management and reference statistics components of LibAnswers, in the context of its implementation for an archival reference service.

Python for Archivists: breaking down barriers between systems
Gregory Wiedeman
Working with a multitude of digital tools is now a core part of an archivist’s skillset. We work with collection management systems, digital asset management systems, public access systems, ticketing or request systems, local databases, general web applications, and systems built on smaller systems linked through application programming interfaces (APIs). Over the past years, more and more of these applications have evolved to meet a variety of archival processes. We no longer expect a single tool to solve all our needs and embraced the “separation of concerns” design principle that smaller, problem-specific and modular systems are more effective than large monolithic tools that try to do everything. All of this has made the lives of archivists easier and empowered us to make our collections more accessible to our users.

American Archivist Seeks Editor

Are you an avid reader of the professional literature? Are you a published author? Do you have experience as an editor? Do you get excited about nurturing new and veteran voices? Are you brimming with ideas for expanding this journal’s readership?

Established in 1938, The American Archivist is the leading publication in the archives field. Published semi-annually by the Society of American Archivists, this refereed journal is available online and in print. The journal features research articles, case studies, perspectives, and international scene pieces as well as reviews of professional literature, archival technologies, and resources.

SAA seeks a dynamic individual with excellent communication skills who will enhance the visibility of The American Archivist in the archives and allied professional communities, and grow the number of high-quality submissions. The Editor is responsible for the solicitation, selection, peer review, and final approval of articles, and features. She or he will use PeerTrack (an author- and reviewer-friendly manuscript submission and peer review system) to work with authors and prospective authors on necessary revisions. In addition, the Editor and works closely with the reviews editor, a copyeditor, an indexer, and the SAA staff (who handle journal production and business matters). The Editor also coordinates the activities of The American Archivist Editorial Board, serves ex officio on the Publications Board, and reports to the SAA Council. The position carries with it an annual honorarium.

Candidates should possess the following qualifications:

Demonstrated leadership skills that allow her or him to present a vision of the journal that places it at the center of the profession’s intellectual dialog.
Demonstrated ability to develop and nurture relationships with authors, both established and newly emerging, to encourage them to explore interesting questions and submit material to the journal.
Ability to nurture intriguing but not completely satisfactory submissions to successful publication.
Ability and willingness to pay special attention to the need to develop ideas in emerging areas of the profession, support the thoughtful reexamination of past professional insights, and address issues of particular relevance to historically underrepresented populations.
Excellent personal communication and writing skills, including the ability to edit scholarly material, the ability to communicate successfully with those who make submissions, and the ability to report to those in SAA with oversight responsibility for the journal.
Sufficient financial and time-management skills to complete tasks in an acceptable manner and, most importantly, to publish the journal at appropriate and regular intervals as established within the annual budget work plan.

The term of the current Editor, Greg Hunter, expires on December 31, 2017. His successor, who will serve a three-year term, will begin work no later than January 1, 2018.

Interviews of finalists will be conducted in May 2017. Submit letter of interest and curriculum vitae by April 14, 2017, to saahq@archivists.org and in subject line state “Application for Editor of The American Archivist.”

Questions should be directed to SAA Executive Director Nancy Beaumont at nbeaumont@archivists.org or 312-606-0722.

CFP: Archives and Manuscripts

Archives and Manuscripts is inviting submissions of up to 5000 words for a themed edition on RADICAL RECORDKEEPING for publication in November 2017. We are hoping that this call elicits submissions that come from persons with varied experiences, organisations, and time in the field. We realise that this call is broadly conceived. Not sure if your idea or paper fits with the theme? Please reach out to the editor or guest editors and we would be happy to discuss!

Aims and Scope
The concept of radical recordkeeping is broad in scope: it can encompass recordkeeping of radical acts, as well as radical approaches for the formation and use of records and archives. Radical recordkeeping serves to disrupt traditional recordkeeping paradigms in revolutionary or profound ways using different approaches that inform practice, scholarship and teaching.

Radical, by the Oxford Dictionary definition is:
1. Especially of change or action relating to or affecting the fundamental nature of something;
2. Characterised by departure from tradition; innovative or progressive.

Archives and Manuscripts
is the leading peer-reviewed archival journal published in the Australasian region and has been published continuously since 1955. Over the past 60 years, Archives and Manuscripts has published hundreds of articles by archival and recordkeeping academics, researchers, practitioners, students and theorists.

Further information, including guidelines and style requirements for prospective authors and submission deadlines, is available on the journal’s webpage at
www.tandfonline.com/raam or by contacting the General Editor, Sebastian Gurciullo at journaleditor@archivists.org.au

Call for Applications: Institute for Research Design in Librarianship

This is geared towards librarians, but the completed projects list two archives-related projects.

The deadline for applications to IRDL 2017 has been extended TWO WEEKS. Applications are now due on January 27, 2017.

We are issuing a call for applications for the Institute for Research Design in Librarianship (IRDL) 2017. We are seeking novice librarian researchers who are employed by academic libraries or research libraries outside an academic setting in the United States to participate in the Institute. We define “novice” broadly; if you feel that you would benefit from being guided throughout the entire research design process, we encourage your application. Librarians of all levels of professional experience are welcome to apply.

The year-long experience begins with a workshop held on the campus of Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California, from June 4-10, 2017, with arrival on campus on Saturday, June 3, and departure on Sunday, June 11.

The William H. Hannon Library has received a second three-year grant from the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to offer this continuing education opportunity (this grant, IRDL-2, is from 2016-2019). Each year 20 librarians will receive, at no cost to them, instruction in research design and a full year of peer/mentor support to complete a research project at their home institutions; the learning experience, travel to and from Los Angeles, CA, accommodations, and food will be supplied to Scholars free of charge.

We seek librarians with a passion for research and a desire to improve their research skills. IRDL is designed to bring together all that the literature tells us about the necessary conditions for librarians to conduct valid and reliable research in an institutional setting. The cohort will be chosen from a selective submission process, with an emphasis on enthusiasm for research and diversity from a variety of perspectives, including ethnicity and type and size of library.

Selection criteria:

Commitment to the year-long process of participating in the IRDL research community and conducting the proposed study within the 2017-2018 academic year;
Significance of the research problem to the operational success of libraries or to the profession of librarianship;
Thoughtfulness, thoroughness, and clarity of the research proposal;
Enthusiasm for research and a desire to learn.

We will be accepting applications from December 1, 2016 to January 13, 2017. Scholars accepted to the Institute will be notified in early March 2017. Application information may be found at http://irdlonline.org/call-for-proposals/institute-overview/.

Please contact Project Directors with any questions about the Institute or the application process:
Marie Kennedy, Serials & Electronic Resources Librarian, Loyola Marymount University (marie.kennedy@lmu.edu)
Kristine Brancolini, Dean of the Library, Loyola Marymount University (brancoli@lmu.edu)

Chris Marino, Reference + Outreach Archivist
Environmental Design Archives
University of California
230 Wurster Hall mc 1820
Berkeley, CA 94720-1820
510.642.5124

Call for Participants/Presentations: SAA Research Forum

excerpt from Archival Outlook:

If you’re engaged in research, seeking to identify research-based solutions for your institution, willing to participate in the research cycle by serving as a beta site for research trials, or simply interested in what’s happening in research and innovation, then join us for the 11th annual SAA Research Forum: “Foundations and Innovations”!

Researchers, practitioners, educators, students, and the curious across all sectors of archives and records management are invited to participate. Use the Forum to discuss, debate, plan, organize, evaluate, or motivate research projects and initiatives. The event seeks to facilitate collaboration and help inform researchers about what questions and problems need to be tackled.

The Research Forum will be Tuesday, July 25, 9 am-5 pm, Oregon Convention Center.

Call for Nominations: 2017 SAA Waldo Gifford Leland Award

reposted from RAO Section listserv:

Please help us to recognize the best in our profession!

Have you read a great new book about archives? Seen an exceptional new finding aid? Encountered a new documentary publication that is head and shoulders above the rest? Has a new web publication really stood out to you?

If you have, please consider nominating it for the Society of American Archivists Waldo Gifford Leland Award. Nomination forms, a list of previous winners, and more information are at http://www2.archivists.org/governance/handbook/section12-leland. The deadline for nominations is February 28, 2017.

The annual Leland Award – a cash prize and certificate – recognizes “writing of superior excellence and usefulness in the field of archival history, theory, and practice.” (Please note that periodicals are not eligible.)

Established in 1959, this award honors American archival pioneer Waldo Gifford Leland (1879-1966), president of the Society of American Archivists in the 1940s and one of the driving forces behind the founding of the National Archives.

CFP: Archival Education and Research Institute

The ninth annual Archival Education and Research Institute (AERI) will be held at the University of Toronto in Toronto, Canada from July 10-14, 2017. Previous institutes were held at UCLA (2009, 2012), the University of Michigan Ann Arbor (2010), Simmons College (2011), the University of Texas Austin (2013), the University of Pittsburgh (2014), the University of Maryland, College Park (2015), and Kent State University (2016).

These week-long Institutes, held every summer, are designed to strengthen education and research and support academic cohort-building and mentoring. Institutes are open to all academic faculty and students working in archival studies, both nationally and internationally, as well as others engaged in archival education, research and scholarship, broadly conceived.

AERI SEEKS TO ADVANCE THE FIELD OF ARCHIVAL STUDIES BY:

Creating a dynamic community of researchers, teachers, and students to help mentor doctoral students and faculty in areas such as thesis preparation, grant writing, publishing, and career development.
Advancing curriculum development in archival studies.
Furthering current research development through paper presentations, posters, and workshop activities.
Fostering interest in future collaborations both nationally and internationally.

The specific theme of AERI 2017 is Windows, Frames, Landscapes. We invite proposals for presentations, posters, and workshops that fit within AERI’s goals and, if possible, that engage, either singly or in combination, with the metaphors of windows (e.g. openings, opportunities, spaces), frames (e.g. disciplinary, conceptual, methodological, socio-political, technological), and landscapes (real and imagined).

TIMELINE FOR PARTICIPANTS IN THE INSTITUTE:

The deadline for applications is February 28, 2017.

Applicants will be notified by March 15 of their acceptance into the institute and will then be required to submit registration information and payment.

Full-week registration will be open between March 1 and April 25.

Call for Chapters: Librarianship and Genealogy: Trends, Issues, Case Studies

Librarianship and Genealogy: Trends, Issues, Case Studies

Book Publisher: McFarland

Carol Smallwood, co-editor. Library’s Role in Supporting Financial Literacy for Patrons (Rowman & Littlefield, 2016); public library administrator, special, school librarian.

Vera Gubnitskaia, co-editor. Reference Librarian, Valencia College, Winter Park, Florida; co-editor, Library Outreach to Writers and Poets (forthcoming, McFarland).

One or two chapters sought from U.S. practicing academic, public, school, special librarians, LIS faculty, sharing practical know-how about what works for patrons with genealogy: proven, creative, case studies, how-to chapters based on experience to help colleagues with acquisitions, storage, digitization, innovative workshops, community outreach, grants, user instruction, latest resources.

One, two, or three authors per chapter; each chapter by the same author(s). Compensation: one complimentary copy per 3,000-4,000 word chapter accepted no matter how many co-authors or if one or two chapters: author discount on more.

Please e-mail titles of proposed chapters each described in a few sentences by February 28, 2017, brief bio on each author; place GENEALOLGY, YOUR LAST NAME on subject line: smallwood.carol@gmail.com

Working with Library Juice Press: An Orientation (Free Webinar)

Working with Library Juice Press: An Orientation

Presenter: Alison M. Lewis, Chief Acquisitions Editor for Library Juice Press

This free webinar will provide an overview of the processes involved in having a book published with Library Juice Press. Topics covered will include types of books we publish, submitting a proposal, working with your editor, creating a quality manuscript, and an overview and timeline of the publishing process. The intended audience is anyone curious about our publishing process, particularly those who are potentially interested in submitting a book proposal to us. Authors and editors who currently have a book contract with us may also wish to attend. The presentation will last approximately 45 minutes, with 10-15 minutes for questions afterwards.

February 1st, 12 noon EST. One hour duration.

No prior registration is necessary. Just go here at the meeting time:
https://libraryjuice.adobeconnect.com/working-with-ljp/

Rory Litwin
Library Juice Press
http://libraryjuicepress.com/