Session title: Building Digital Curation Capacity for Museums
Chair: Dr. Helen Tibbo (Professor, School of Information and Library Science, University of Chapel Hill)
Presenters: Dr. Helen Tibbo (Professor, School of Information and Library Science, University of Chapel Hill);
Bill Veillette (Executive Director, Northeast Document Conservation Center)
Brenda Podemski (Business Applications Administrator, J. Paul Getty Museum)
In brief:
The creation and acquisition of digital objects brings to museums a range of new opportunities and responsibilities. Much like the physical artifacts in a museum’s care, digital objects, too, must undergo constant care and “curation.” In this panel we will introduce some of the basic principles of digital curation and will discuss how they can be applied to the digital collections being created and maintained by museums. The intention of this panel is not only to introduce the principles of digital curation, but also to initiate a dialogue with and among museum professionals about their experiences and needs in this area. At the conclusion of the panelist presentations, there will be an open exchange with the audience.
For almost half a century, many museums have been using computers to support and enhance the management of materials within their care. Over the past decade, two trends have brought the management of digital objects into the purview of museums. First, many museums have been creating digital surrogates of analog objects. In a 2002 study funded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services, more than 30 percent of museums reported to be involved in digitization activities. The percentage of museums engaged in digitization is likely to be much higher today. A number of museums have also begun to take custody of born-digital materials, including variable media art, computer software, games, and various types of electronic records. The creation and acquisition of digital objects brings to museums a range of new opportunities and responsibilities. Much like the physical artifacts in a museum’s care, digital objects, too, must undergo constant care and “curation.” In this panel we will introduce some of the basic principles of digital curation and will discuss how they can be applied to the digital collections being created and maintained by museums. Panelists will discuss these principles and share their knowledge and experiences with managing the preservation and access of digital museum collections in their institutions. Dr. Helen Tibbo will lead the panel. Dr. Tibbo has been at the forefront of digital curation education and will share her perspective with the museum community. Additionally, she is the PI of the IMLS-funded project, Closing the Digital Curation Gap, the primary goal of which is to work to "close the gap" between the resources available for digital curation activities and those institutions that most need them. Exploring the opportunities for extending these efforts to the museum community is an important step in this process. Bill Veillette will share his knowledge and experiences relevant to digital curation practices in the museum setting. Bill Veillette has experience working with small, medium and large collections-holding institutions whose goal was to put their collections online for access, and to develop a business model around the digitization effort to make it financially sustainable. The intention of this panel is not only to introduce the principles of digital curation, but also to initiate a dialogue with and among museum professionals about their experiences and needs in this area. At the conclusion of the panelist presentations, there will be an open exchange with the audience.
Presenter bios
Dr. Helen Tibbo
Dr. Helen Tibbo is a professor in the School of Information and Library Science at the University of Chapel Hill. Dr. Tibbo has been at the forefront of digital curation education and will share her perspective with the museum community. Additionally, she is the Principal Investigator of the IMLS-funded project, Closing the Digital Curation Gap, the primary goal of which is to work to "close the gap" between the resources available for digital curation activities and those institutions that most need them.
Bill Veillette
Bill Veillette, Executive Director of the Northeast Document Conservation Center, has experience working with small, medium and large collections-holding institutions whose goal was to put their collections online for access, and to develop a business model around the digitization effort to make it financially sustainable.
Brenda Podemski
Brenda Podemski, Business Applications Administrator at the J. Paul Getty Museum, has had over 18 years of experience with all aspects of museum collections management, from behind-the-scenes technical projects to front-end user support.