Reports of Meetings — ARLISN/A-VRA Joint Conference and the 35th Annual Charleston Conference
Column Editor: Sever Bordeianu (Head, Print Resources Section, University Libraries, MSC05 3020, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001; Phone: 505-277-2645; Fax: 505-277-9813)
ARLISN/A-VRA Joint Conference — Seattle, Washington — March 8-12, 2016
Reported by: Stephanie Beene (University of New Mexico)
The 3rd Annual Joint Conference of the Art Libraries Society of North America (ARLISN/A) and the Visual Resources Association (VRA) took place on March 8-12, 2016, in Seattle, Washington. This year’s theme was “Natural Connections,” and coincided with the 2016 Annual Conference of the Association of Architecture School Librarians (AASL). In order to capitalize on the natural connection between professions and disciplines, some AASL programming was offered to ARLISN/A-VRA Joint Conference participants and vice versa. The conference offered an occasion to consider the professions of visual resources management; art, architecture, and design librarianship in a variety of institutional settings and organizations; Web and digital archiving and preservation; programming, outreach, and assessment; pedagogical practices across the disciplines to include the Information Literacy Framework and Visual Literacy; new methods for cataloging and metadata practices to enhance collections and discovery interfaces, including RDF and Linked Open Data; innovative trans-disciplinary, interdisciplinary, and digital humanities projects; and bridging resources, services, and outreach across the GLAM (galleries, libraries, archives, and museums) communities. The conference was preceded by a Digital Humanities unconference, called THATCamp, which was well-attended, and generated ideas from across the Galleries, Libraries, Museums and Archives professions about emerging challenges affecting these fields.
There were 813 attendees to the ARLISN/A-VRA 2016 Joint Conference, many of whom contributed to a diverse and stimulating program. By the numbers, there were 39 sessions, which emerged from 95 submitted paper or session proposals. Topics included digital humanities, visual literacy, geospatial and visualization projects, image rights and reproductions, new technologies, museum education, environmental design, makerspaces, eBook publishing, materials education and research, diversity within the visual resources and art librarianship professions, RDF and LOD, metadata and cataloging, crowdsourcing, archives, open access, and more. Six workshops emerged from 15 submissions, ranging from hands-on workshops in RDF cataloging, project management, and Wikipedia edit-a-thons, to tools for professional development for student members and emerging professionals. Of the 55 submitted poster proposals, 40 posters were accepted, with a well-attended poster session. Posters presented case studies in collection building and assessment; programming and initiatives to engage constituents; fair use and appropriation on social media outlets like Pinterest and Instagram; connecting resources and collaborating across organizations; alternative formats and digitization efforts; marketing, promotion and partnerships with user communities ; and deselection projects. Eighty-two chapter, planning, and special interest meetings were held, showcasing innovative projects such as the Artist Books Thesaurus Project and Material Order, a consortium for materials collections, among many others.
At the Presidents’ Session on Friday, March 11, Presidents of ARLISN/A and VRA presented a conference capstone session, focused on the digital realm and the overlap and strategic direction between the two organizations. Also presenting at that session were representatives from the Digital Library Federation (DLF), the Council for Library and Information Resources (CLIR), the Digital Preservation “Train the Trainers” program from the Library of Congress, the Kress Foundation, and from the National Digital Stewardship Residency Program. The Presidents’ Session offered a unique opportunity to consider commonalities and differences, strategic planning for the future, and how organizations such as ARLISN/A and VRA can most effectively meet the current and future needs of its members. Past President of VRA, Elaine Paul, and ARLISN/A President Kristen Regina framed the session around considerations of the digital realm, core competencies, opportunities beyond the two organizations, and future collaborative possibilities between ARLIS/NA and VRA. Jen Green, President of VRA and Co-Chair of the VRA Professional Status Task Force, addressed the Visual Resources Profession and how VRA might respond to changes within the profession. Likewise, Tony White, Chair of the ARLISN/A Strategic Directions Committee, presented on ARLISN/A’s strategic planning to date. George Coulbourne represented the Library of Congress programs on Digital Preservation Train the Trainers and the National Digital Stewardship Residency programs, speaking to the importance of internships and preparations for librarians entering the field, as well as continuing professional development. Louisa Kwasigroch presented on the opportunities offered by CLIR and DLF, including the CLIR post-doc program. Max Marmor presented on behalf of the Kress Foundation, elaborating on where the Kress sees trends in libraries and cultural heritage institutions heading.
Members from both organizations were honored with awards at the Annual Conference, including the creators of VRA Core 4.0, a metadata schema which is now hosted on the Library of Congress Website and implemented internationally. The Nancy DeLaurier Award was presented to VRA Core 4.0 creators Kevin Esmé Cowles, Janice Eklund, Benjamin Kessler, and Trish Rose-Sandler. In her letter of support for the recipients, Elisa Lanzi writes, “I’ve just returned from the Digital Library Federation conference. I love the fact that VRA Core 4.0 is mentioned in presentations right alongside Dublin Core. Trish, Jan, Ben, and Esme made that happen by signing on for the long haul and applying brilliant and strategic thinking to improve access to cultural heritage content.” During the acceptance speech, Trish Rose-Sandler gave a special thanks to the many members who’ve contributed to VRA Core 4.0 and also recognized the diligent work of VRA Core Oversight Committee members. Trish, Jan, Ben, and Esme have exhibited particular leadership, expertise, determination, and vision to ensure that the talented contributions of many are focused and sustained.
For her many years of remarkable dedication, leadership, and service to both VRA and ARLIS/NA and to the visual resources and library professions, VRA and ARLIS/NA presented the 2016 Distinguished Service Awards to Ann Baird Whiteside. In addition to serving as President of both organizations, Ann has been an initiator and leader on numerous projects such as CCO, SAHARA, and VRA Core 4.0 and has made significant contributions to ARTstor’s Shared Shelf Platform. Ann has also worked effectively across multiple disciplines and organizations. In her letter of support, Jolene de Verges comments, “As a leader in both ARLIS/NA and VRA, Ann has built bridges between the visual resources professional and traditional librarianship. She chaired the ARLIS/NA-VRA Joint Conference Task Force which led to a set of recommendations for streamlining the process of planning all future joint conferences between the two organizations.”
Sarah Bergmann, this year’s Convocation speaker, is the design thinker and founder of the Pollinator Pathway. She spoke of building and maintaining pathways to support relationships across disciplines and professions, emphasizing the importance of symbiosis, sharing her reflections on the plight of the honey bee, which led her to build pathways to connect city dwellers to existing green spaces. Bergmann’s talk was a compelling way to draw our 3rd Annual Joint Conference to an end.
Papers and presentations will be available via the Visual Resources Bulletin, Art Documentation published by ARLISN/A, and through the conference Website, VRA and ARLISN/A Websites. Four conference sessions were recorded live and are now available, in Spanish and in English, via the ARLISN/A Learning Portal (https://www.pathlms.com/arlisna/events/484), on the ARLSIN/A Website: Terra Fluxus: Surveying the Digital Information Landscape of Environmental Design (90 min. http://sched.co/4PrA); What We Talk about When We Talk about “Rights Management” (90 min. http://sched.co/4PS3); E-mania! — the Present and Future of Electronic Art Book Publishing (90 min. http://sched.co/4Nzl); RDF and LOD in Use Today (90 min. http://sched.co/4JxX).
The 2017 ARLISN/A Annual Conference will be held in New Orleans, LA, February 5-9, 2017. The VRA Annual Conference will be held in Louisville, KY, March 29 – April 1, 2017.
Issues in Book and Serial Acquisition, “Where Do We Go From Here?” — Charleston Gaillard Center, Francis Marion Hotel, Embassy Suites Historic Downtown, and Courtyard Marriott Historic District — Charleston, SC, November 4-7, 2015
Charleston Conference Reports compiled by Ramune K. Kubilius (Northwestern University, Galter Health Sciences Library)
Column Editor’s Note: Thank you to all of the Charleston Conference attendees who agreed to write short reports that highlight sessions they attended at the 2015 Charleston Conference. All attempts were made to provide a broad coverage of sessions, and notes are included in the reports to reflect known changes in the session titles or presenters, highlighting those that were not printed in the conference’s final program (though some may have been reflected in the online program). Please visit the Conference Website at www.charlestonlibraryconference.com, and https://2015charlestonconference.sched.org/, for the online conference schedule from which there are links to many presentations’ PowerPoint slides and handouts, plenary session videos, and conference reports by the 2015 Charleston Conference blogger, Don Hawkins. The conference blog is available at http://www.against-the-grain.com/category/chsconfblog/. The 2015 Charleston Conference Proceedings will be published in partnership with Purdue University Press in 2016.
In this issue of ATG you will find the third installment of 2015 conference reports. The first two installments can be found in ATG v.28#1, February 2016 and v.28#2, April 2016. We will continue to publish all of the reports received in upcoming print issues throughout the year. — RKK
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2015
MORNING PLENARIES
Needle-Moving Collaboration: From Act to Impact — Presented by Katherine Skinner (Educopia Institute)
Reported by: Ramune K. Kubilius (Northwestern University, Galter Health Sciences Library)
Skinner started with tips from an October 18, 1984 New Scientist article (by David Challinor), entitled “Better bred than dead,” that highlighted isomorphism (“stuck in habits”). Changes are plentiful, involving aligning technological changes, new competitors, political shifts, economic concentration, information deluge. Fields tend toward stasis, while innovations happen on the fringes, she reminded, and field-wide changes depend on networks. There is a progression from “act” to “impact” that involves a common agenda, shared management, mutually reinforced activities, continuous communications, and backbone support. A month prior to her talk, the Institute seed-funded Project Meerkat, a publishing analytics data alliance, https://educopia.org/research/meerkat, that will seek to set community standards. Academic integrity, she opined, is under fire and communities invest in what they are interested.
The Long Arm of the Law Returns: Privacy Explored — Presented by Ann Okerson (Moderator, Center for Research Libraries); William Hannay (Schiff, Hardin LLC); Lisa Macklin (Emory University); Gary Price (infoDOCKET)
Reported by: Ramune K. Kubilius (Northwestern University, Galter Health Sciences Library)
In 2015, the (legal) focus has been on privacy, and this year’s “Long Arm” session didn’t necessarily have the humorous overtone of years past. Information industry analyst Price talked about awareness discussion and education, work underway at NISO, ALA, the Library Freedom Project. Encryption is taking place at Project Muse, Over Drive, Bibliocommon. But, privacy is more than encryption. It can involve the transmission, opt in services, correctly configured technology. Some eye-opening examples that he described illustrated how much personal data is tracked. What is a role for libraries? In his opinion — inform people, become privacy literate, be aware of tools and concerns, stay current, discuss with colleagues and users and teach them. Look at analyses such as the 2015 article “Exposing the Hidden Web” (Timothy Libert, International Journal of Communication). Hannay posed the question, “is privacy the wave of the future?” He overviewed the different view on the subject in Europe, where the aim is to protect individuals, and he gave specific examples of how decisions in EU courts differ. RIBF is going global. Macklin discussed privacy and libraries, federal and state. She advised becoming familiar with the ALA Guidelines for Developing a Library Privacy Policy. Users have a right to privacy and confidentiality, but privacy is not absolute. There are efficiencies, laws, Internet security. A privacy audit is helpful to remember it’s not about circulation records anymore. What does the library collect? Who can access it? Do users have an opt-out option? For licensed resources, what data does the vendor collect? What are the licensing terms? What data does the library collect? Be an advocate for privacy rights, she encouraged. During the question and answer period, Price aptly equated the realm of privacy issues to a cat and mouse game.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2015
NEAPOLITAN SESSIONS
Don’t Get Married to the Results: Managing Library Change in the Age of Metrics — Presented by Corey Seeman (University of Michigan); Anthony Watkinson (Moderator, CIBER)
Reported by: Crystal Hampson (University of Saskatchewan)
The University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business’ vision is expressed in the words: Positive, Boundaryless, Analytic, and Action. Ross has recently been profoundly reshaping Kresge Library Services. The library’s former 27,000 sq. ft. is now less than 5,000 sq. ft. with almost no stacks (about 200 books). Ninety percent of the collection did not have a digital counterpart. Other campus libraries took the unique content. The shift at Ross is from library as a space to library as a service or, as Seeman describes it, a library that is “ethereal” rather than physical. Even the name is deliberate: “Kresge Library Services” rather than “Kresge Library” which connotes a space. The library now provides e-resources for what the school needs today. Taking a positive, entrepreneurial perspective and using a retail-like approach to shape thinking, Seeman concentrates on the “High Class Problem,” i.e., how do we achieve more capacity, rather than the “Low Class Problem” of offering a particular service and trying to get people to use it. Seeman recommends taking risks as well as doing what the users need rather than aiming to fulfill our own predetermined success measures.
GOBI, YBP & Overdrive: Changes in the Book Distribution Landscape — Presented by Nancy Herther (University of Minnesota); Steve Potash (Overdrive); Kari Paulson (ProQuest Books); Dan Tonkery (Content Strategy)
Reported by: Marty Coleman (Mississippi State University)
In the past few years, we have seen several consolidations in the book industry. Panelists were chosen to give their perspective of the current landscape. Potash discussed new access models for content and the change of ownership at Overdrive. New access models include classroom sets, book club sets, cost per checkout and recommend to library. Foremost in all new models is to make content available in the format the customer wants. Overdrive has built its platform by asking librarians “How do you want it to work?” Earlier this year, Rakuten purchased Overdrive. Potash has remained as CEO. Rakuten has a long term commitment to Overdrive and e-content distribution. One of the fastest growing segments in the U.S. is non-English materials. Paulson gave a history of ProQuest’s acquisitions and explained the reasoning behind each. The end game was to allow ProQuest to fill in gaps for their customers. She made the point that “When we talk about journals it is not electronic or print — just journals. We are moving toward books with no distinction between e(lectronic) and p(rint).” ProQuest maintains partnerships with OCLC, YBP and other vendors and suppliers. When asked about the relationship between EBSCO and ProQuest, she used the analogy of divorced parents that must get along for the children. Tonkery discussed his view of the distribution landscape stating that consolidations will continue as like buy like. Venture capitalists are driving up the prices of distributors and money for platform development is held by them. There must be a return on investment for them to spend on improving infrastructure. On Open Access, the question is distribution and avenues are still developing. Seventy five percent of all eBook revenue is controlled directly by the publisher. Overall, this session enlightened attendees to recent changes in the book distribution landscape and there was sufficient time for questions and answers.
The Young and the Restless: Fresh Eyes Scan the Library-Publishing Landscape — Presented by Jack Montgomery, (Moderator, Western Kentucky University); Mark Sandler (CIC Center for Library Initiatives); Hannah Scates Kettler (University of Iowa Libraries); Dan Valen (Figshare); Jen Maurer (Cambridge University Press); Mara Blake (University of Michigan)
Reported by: Mari Monosoff-Richards (Michigan State University)
This panel was an opportunity to hear what newcomers to the library and publishing world have to say about the world as they see it. Sandler served as moderator. Kettler and Blake spoke from the library perspective and commented that in the library change often moves very slowly, through committees and other organized systems. It can be supportive for a new librarian because systems are in place but also difficult because change has to be justified and failure isn’t acceptable. Maurer added that things are similar in a traditional publishing house but there is rapid change in the industry so opportunities to try new things do occur. Valen spoke about “start-up land” being different in that failure is accepted as an opportunity to learn and grow.
All four were influenced by mentors but had various degrees of success in finding one. Maurer had difficulty finding one but has learned from many people. Kettler said that no one made it obvious to her that they were open to being a mentor but she found someone who was receptive to it. Blake felt lucky because her colleagues made it obvious they were open to mentors. Lastly, Valen said that in “start-up land” there is a collaborative support network that mentorship happens through. All would encourage institutions to set up mentorship for new and young librarians.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2015
MORNING CONCURRENT SESSIONS
Collections as a Service — Presented by Daniel Dollar (Yale University Library)
Reported by: Beth Bohstedt (Hamilton College)
This session gave a new perspective on collection development and management. Dollar from Yale encouraged us to view this issue strategically, explaining how Yale had developed a philosophy of collection development. The primary purpose of collection development is to provide support for learning and teaching; all of our decisions should be based on this. As the world of information changes, we need to be prepared to offer appropriate materials in various formats. This may be achieved through patron-driven acquisition, thoughtful purchases in anticipating future needs, and resource sharing through collaborative networks. Data on usage of online and print collections, as well as materials accessed through open source or consortial networks should always inform decision making. Yale uses the data visualization application Tableau as one tool in this process. Providing for the information needs of our patrons will grow increasingly complex as technology and scholarly communications continue to transform in ways we can’t yet imagine. We need to be poised to adapt flexibly to these yet unknown changes.
Developing Collaborative Connections- Faculty, Researchers, and Librarians — Presented by Beth Sandore Namachchivaya (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign); Kelechi Okere (Elsevier); Jan Fransen (University of Minnesota); Ashley Zmau (UTA Libraries); Gretchen Trkay (UT Arlington)
Reported by: Mari Monosoff-Richards (Michigan State University)
The presenters of this session all had experience using Pure, a research management system created by Elsevier. They all found that the library was a great place to manage the system as librarians are familiar with partnering with other groups across the campus. The campus marketing group at one institution was very excited as it highlighted the great work being done. It also showed that the institution was doing more globally focused research than previous thought.
A downside to Pure is that the system unintentionally favors the profiles of people in the sciences over those in the humanities because the data is drawn from Scopus. One of the universities dealt with this by hand entering the CV’s of humanities faculty. They also quality controlled everyone’s by initially checking against submitted CV’s.
Improving the Availability of ISSN – A Joint Project — Presented by Laurie Kaplan (ProQuest); Gaëlle Béquet (International ISSN Centre/CIEPS)
Reported by: Laurie Kaplan (ProQuest)
There was good attendance at the session led by Béquet and Kaplan, discussing a joint project between their two organizations. The purpose of the project is to improve the assignment rate of ISSN for periodicals worldwide. This particular project arose out of research that Béquet was conducting using Ulrichsweb. The pilot project, launched in February 2015, focused on active print and online titles without ISSN from the Netherlands, and has added over 100 ISSN to date, raised some good conversations about monographic series, and started the conversation regarding how to get publishers to use these new ISSN and their ISSN in general when posting titles online and when transferring titles among various parties. The benefits from the project will extend beyond the ISSN Centers and ProQuest — publishers, libraries, catalog databases, subscription agencies, retailers and wholesalers all rely on ISSN as an identification point for serial publications. One attendee suggested two white papers that could be written by the presenters about ISSN for monographic series and the need for publishers and those involved in data exchange to use ISSN. Another attendee remarked how proper ISSN help improve linking in online journals.
Stop Looking Over My Shoulders- A Consensus Framework for Patron Privacy — Presented by Todd Carpenter (NISO); Nettie Lagace (NISO)
Reported by: Chantal Gunn (SILS Student, University of South Carolina-Columbia)
Do the third party organizations have the same expectations for patron privacy as your library? For most libraries the answer is “no.” This is one of the reasons why Carpenter and Lagace of the National Information Standards Organization (NISO) have helped to develop a set of privacy principles designed to provide guidelines for how best to work with third parties to respect patron privacy while providing the personalization and enhancements that result from data collection.
This framework was the result of conversations with various library stakeholders and which culminated in a lively discussion between individuals with strong views on privacy matters. Although originally projected to be completed, the developers took more time to consider the previous discussions and revisit certain elements of the guidelines. The final version will be available soon.
During the Q&A portion of the presentation, an audience member asked about overlap with existing privacy laws in other countries. The presenters explained that the NISO guidelines were developed intentionally around the legal framework of the United States. They acknowledge that the NISO principles may not necessarily align with certain international privacy laws and stress that local jurisdiction and mandates supersede this document.
What Goes Around, Comes Around: Calibrating the Academic Research Life Cycle to the Open Access Life Cycle — Presented by Graham Stone (University of Huddersfield); Jill Emery (Portland State University)
Reported by: Crystal Hampson (University of Saskatchewan)
Publications are the outputs of research but the research process itself goes well beyond the point of publishing output. Taking the research life cycle from its beginning rather than just from the point where a publication is produced, Stone and Emery are leading a crowdsourcing initiative to develop visual maps of the research life cycle, based on the life cycle for sponsored research, and the OA life cycle. Additional maps, using the tube map style, are also being developed to show the connections between the processes of the researcher, the research manager, the library and the publisher. Workflow maps become the basis for programming to automate processes ultimately. Not new to crowdsourcing workflows (TERMS, OAWAL) Stone and Emery welcome input on this mapping project. Input, critique and contributions from librarians and publishers from the UK, U.S., Europe and other parts of the world are welcome: https://library3.hud.ac.uk/blogs/oawal (see Conferences and Papers). Maps for data, as compared to publications, also need to be developed.
That’s all the reports we have room for in this issue. Watch for more reports from the 2015 Charleston Conference in upcoming issues of Against the Grain. Presentation material (PowerPoint slides, handouts) and taped session links from many of the 2015 sessions are available online. Visit the Conference Website at www.charlestonlibraryconference.com. — KS