Recent Posts

A Next-Generation Archives Management System [SAA session 601]

This presentation mainly focused on the history of the ArchivesSpace project during its time as a Melon-funded venture. I’ve attached the presentation slides (note, slides no longer exist) if you’re interested in timelines and other details. Suffice it to say, the ArchivesSpace team has accomplished their goal of producing a solid 1.0 release, and the software is now moving into a community-funded phase. The RAC has joined as an ArchivesSpace charter member and will be able to partake in the benefits that membership affords, including access to documentation, a voice in development priorities, and early access to migration tools.

One of my favorite sessions at this year’s SAA conference was “Disruptive Components: Reimagining Archival Access Systems,” during which three archivists and one technical services librarian from Princeton spoke about their recent re-envisioning of an access system for archival description. This team was responsible for developing a new system which has been widely hyped in the archival community – and deservedly so – for setting the bar for the next generation of access systems. I was excited to hear what the panelists had to say about this project, and I was not disappointed.

SAA 2013 New Orleans

This was an extremely informative workshop led by Nancy McGovern, Head of Curation and Preservation Services at MIT and Helen Tibbo Alumni Distinguished Professor at UNC Chapel Hill in which concepts, principles, and practices for developing a digital curation program to effectively manage digital content were reviewed. This workshop highlighted issues of advocacy, preservation planning, and policy development necessary to manage digital content for the future.

One of the panels I attended at SAA this year was titled “Exploring the User Experience with Digital Primary Sources,” which covered a wide range of topics, starting with understanding a repository’s user community, assessing that community’s needs and behavior, and discovering new opportunities for archives and archivists to engage in research and scholarly production.

SAA 2013 New Orleans

Session 604: Defining Levels of Preservation and Management for Electronic Records

This session addressed the initial steps or levels of preservation for electronic records management. It was held on Saturday August 17, 2013 at Archives 2013 New Orleans.