Category Archives: Conference

Outreach and Accessibility in the Digital World: A report from the Digital Commonwealth Annual Conference – Ashley Miller

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The Digital Commonwealth awarded three students free attendance to the annual conference this year.  All three have written blog posts about their experience.  We are happy to present the first of these reports today.

Ashley Miller is currently finishing up coursework in Simmons College’s dual-degree History and Archives Management Master’s program.  She has used the Digital Commonwealth for research on her own projects.

Outreach and Accessibility in the Digital World

Creativity and Accessibility - Digital Trends in 2018
Creativity & Accessibility – Digital Trends in 2018

They are two of the most basic archival functions, yet the increasing content and ever-changing nature of the digital world is forcing information professionals to approach outreach and accessibility in new and unique ways. This year’s Digital Commonwealth conference presented a number of examples of how librarians are adapting and utilizing digital platforms to perform outreach and make their collections more accessible.

With more and more libraries, museums, and archives creating active digital presences, the field is generating new ways of engaging with patrons. Social media is one of the most useful forms of outreach, but there are even more ways we can engage with patrons on the digital front. Increasingly, libraries are crowdsourcing their collections to allow patrons to provide information valuable for cataloging. This not only allows collections to become accessible at a much faster rate, but allows patrons to participate in a unique manner on their own time. Furthermore, there are a variety of apps, tools, and websites available to display digital exhibits such as HistoryPin, Story Map, Omeka, and Soundate. These allow our collections to be viewed in a new light, providing patrons with differing ways of exploring archival materials.

There are aggregate possibilities with digitization. As Professor Joseph Nugent demonstrated with “Joycestick,” we can make difficult to understand concepts more accessible through digital means. Moreover, virtual reality is said to be an empathy machine, allowing users to have an on-demand experience that they otherwise would not have. If virtual reality can make accessible challenging texts like Ulysses, imagine the possibilities archival holdings can have. Public libraries have already begun to adopt virtual reality technology, providing access to their patrons.

Libraries must be adaptive and innovative. We cannot be content simply posting our collections on social media, but we should strive for digital accessibility across the board. Libraries have always adapted to changing technologies, and the Digital Commonwealth conference demonstrated the continued effort to do so.

Building on a Decade of Success

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Dan Cohen, Steve Dalton, Richard Pearce-Moses, Gregor Trinkaus-Randall, and Nancy Heywood enjoying the Annual Conference. Photo credit: Molly Stothert-Maurer.
Dan Cohen, Steve Dalton, Richard Pearce-Moses, Gregor Trinkaus-Randall, and Nancy Heywood enjoying the Annual Conference. Photo credit: Molly Stothert-Maurer.

On April 5 the Digital Commonwealth held its 10th annual conference and 10th anniversary celebration at the Hogan Center at the College of Holy Cross in Worcester MA.  It was the largest conference in years and afterwards over 90 people joined us to commemorate the anniversary.

Thanks to the hard work of the conference committee and our excellent speakers and sessions, we had nearly 200 people at this year’s conference — the best attended conference in recent years. Many presenters’ slides and presentations can be found on the Digital Commonwealth conference web site.  You can also download our final conference program to learn more about the speakers at this year’s event.

Digital Commonwealth President Elizabeth Thomsen poses with NDSR Boston residents after their presentation. Photo credit: Molly Stothert-Maurer
Digital Commonwealth President Elizabeth Thomsen posing with NDSR Boston residents after their presentation. Photo credit: Molly Stothert-Maurer

The anniversary reception gave us all the opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the creation and growth of Digital Commonwealth.  Digital Commonwealth President Elizabeth Thompson shared remarks prepared by Greg Pronevitz of the Massachusetts Library System, a key player in the formation of Digital Commonwealth. Carolyn Noah, Gregor Trinkaus-Randall, and Bill Talentino shared memories of the growth of Digital Commonwealth.  David Leonard, Director of Administration and Technology at Boston Public Library and Dan Cohen, President of the Digital Public Library of America, gave their perspective of Digital Commonwealth as partners on a common journey.

 

 

Digital Commonwealth President Elizabeth Thomsen speaking at the 10th Anniversary Reception. Photo credit: Jean Maguire.
Elizabeth Thomsen speaking at the 10th Anniversary Reception. Photo credit: Jean Maguire.

It was a great opportunity to gather together, reflect on what we have accomplished and set our sights on the future of the Digital Commonwealth and our partners.  We thank you all our members and all those who attended the conference this year. If you attended the conference, and have not yet done so, please share your feedback by completing the online evaluation form.

We hope to see you all at the 2017 Digital Commonwealth Annual Conference!

2016 Conference Registration is Open!

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From the Digital Commonwealth Conference Committee

Don’t miss another great Digital Commonwealth conference and our 10th anniversary reception. The conference will be held on Tuesday, April 5, 2016 at the Hogan Center at the College of the Holy Cross.

This year’s keynotes addresses are:

Piles of Stuff: On the Challenges and Opportunities for Aggregating Digital Collections with Paul Conway

For the past 25 years, libraries, archives, and museums have been digitizing their collections for access and, increasingly, as a preservation alternative. The pace, scope, and scale of these activities have increased dramatically. So too have new efforts to combine digital collections from individual repositories into large scale aggregations that promise improved search and discovery capabilities.

The Archival Edge Revisited: Reflections on the Purpose of Archives in the Digital Era with Richard Pearce-Moses

Over the past several decades, archival practice has changed significantly to adapt to the digital information ecosystem.  The rise of born-digital records has raised interesting questions about the very nature of records, while also forcing archivists to rethink how they do their job. Cloud computing, data mining, open data, and other technologies have enormous potential for novel approaches to use.  As important, these new technologies reverse traditional archival questions of what to preserve: some individuals argue – seriously – that all information can be saved.

This year’s sessions include:

  • Brookline’s Wild-Sargent House of 1822: New life through digital and physical preservation
  • Community Scan Projects
  • Update on the Digital Commonwealth Repository
  • Privacy Panel with Library Freedom Project and ACLU of Massachusetts
  • Preservation/Digitization
  • Back to the future – Digitizing the Next Generation of Historic Maps
  • SHRAB (Mass. Historical Records Advisory Board) and Roving Archivist
  • Digital preservation projects
  • Creating online exhibits

The 10th anniversary reception will take place at the Hogan Center, immediately after the conference.

Registration is available on the Digital Commonwealth web site at: http://digitalcommonwealth.memberlodge.org/DCAC2016