OCLC Research at SAA 2011

24-27 August 2011
Chicago

OCLC Research Staff lead several meetings at " ARCHIVES 360°: 75th Annual Meeting of the Society of American Archivists," 24-27 August at the Hyatt Regency Chicago.

Wednesday, 24 August

Time Meeting
1:00–3:00 p.m.

OCLC Research Library Partnership Roundtable Meeting

Staff from OCLC Research and the OCLC Research Library Partnership as well as selected archivists presented information on current Library-Archives-Museums initiatives. The meeting included a discussion of groundbreaking research in the field and a review of election results.

Thursday, 25 August

Time Meeting

1:30–3:00 p.m. 

204 Rights, Risk, and Reality: Beyond "Undue Diligence" in Rights Analysis for Digitization

Archivists often make conservative assumptions about rights in digitization. This caution may impede their mission to improve access. The result constrains research and limits knowledge production. Community discussions have yielded a document codifying "well-intentioned practice" for digitization, which includes practical methods for selecting collections, seeking permissions, establishing policy, and working with future donors. The panelists reflected on the history and current state of copyright practice and suggested a path for adopting risk analysis in digitization.

Instructors/Speakers:

  • Merrilee Proffitt (Chair)
    Senior Program Officer
    OCLC Research
  • Jean E. Dryden
    University of Maryland
  • Peter B. Hirtle
    Cornell University
  • Barbara Aikens
    Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Art

Contact: Merrilee Proffitt

5:30–7:30 p.m. 

OCLC Research Demonstrations of the Experimental ArchiveGrid Discovery Service
Exhibition Hall, Booth #202

The new ArchiveGrid discovery interface that OCLC Research is developing was demonstrated in the booth during exhibit hours. This system provides access to detailed archival collection descriptions, making information available about historical documents, personal papers and family histories held in archives throughout the world. It includes over a million descriptions of archival collections held by thousands of libraries, museums, historical societies and archives worldwide and enables researchers to learn about the contents of these collections, contact archives to arrange a visit to examine materials or order copies—all from one simple, intuitive search. It's free and easy to contribute to ArchiveGrid and expose your collection descriptions to researchers worldwide, and contributors are always welcome.

Contact: Bruce Washburn

For more information, see the complete SAA conference schedule online.

Friday, 26 August

Time Meeting
9:30–11:00 a.m.

304 Archives in the Web of Data: Toward a Virtuous Flow of Data in the UK and Beyond

How can openly sharing metadata help support collection management processes, reduce duplication of effort, and enhance visibility and use of collections? How can we make our data "work harder"? The speakers reported on initiatives in the UK and USA aimed at helping archives openly share metadata and maximize the potential of its reuse and address the key technological issues as well as the more political challenges around engaging key stakeholders.

Instructors/Speakers:

  • Jennifer Schaffner (Chair)
    Program Officer
    OCLC Research
  • Joy Palmer
    University of Manchester, The Archives Hub
  • Jane Stevenson
    University of Manchester, The Archives Hub
  • Adrian Stevenson
    University of Bath
  • Kira B. Homo
    University of Oregon

Contact: Jennifer Schaffner

9:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m. 

OCLC Research Demonstrations of the Experimental ArchiveGrid Discovery Service
Exhibition Hall, Booth #202

The new ArchiveGrid discovery interface that OCLC Research is developing was demonstrated in the booth during exhibit hours. This system provides access to detailed archival collection descriptions, making information available about historical documents, personal papers and family histories held in archives throughout the world. It includes over a million descriptions of archival collections held by thousands of libraries, museums, historical societies and archives worldwide and enables researchers to learn about the contents of these collections, contact archives to arrange a visit to examine materials or order copies—all from one simple, intuitive search. It's free and easy to contribute to ArchiveGrid and expose your collection descriptions to researchers worldwide, and contributors are always welcome.

Contact: Bruce Washburn

Saturday, 27 August

Time Meeting
1:15–2:45 p.m.

702 Return on Investment: Metadata, Metrics, and Management

Libraries and archives are beginning to evaluate return on investment of collections processing, metadata creation, and descriptive initiatives in order to maximize access to collections and cultivate efficient and effective practices. The speakers took a micro-to-macro approach to these issues, discussed cost/benefit research on metadata and the impact of metadata enhancements on discovery; the implementation of processing metrics tools and impact on processing planning; and approaches to tracking baseline processing metrics and providing access to minimal finding aids.

Instructors/Speakers:

  • Jackie M. Dooley (Chair)
    Program Officer
    OCLC Research
  • Joyce Chapman
    North Carolina State University
  • Emily R. Novak Gustainis
    Harvard Medical School
  • Adrian Turner
    CDL Data Consultant
    California Digital Library

Contact: Jackie Dooley

For more information, see the complete SAA conference schedule online.