Visual Resources Association 2015 Annual Conference has ended

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Visual Resources Association 2015 Annual Conference

Conference schedule subject to change. Check back regularly for the latest schedule and details about conference events.
Conference questions ? --- contact Steven Kowalik, VP for Conference Program
Registration questions ? ---- contact Stephanie Beene, Secretary

Online registration is now closed.
On-site registration begins Tuesday, March 10th at 6:00pm.

8:00am

VRA Executive Board Meeting I

By invitation only.

Tuesday March 10, 2015 8:00am - 4:00pm
McCourt Room, Mezzanine Level, Third Floor The Westin Denver Downtown, 1672 Lawrence Street • Denver, CO

8:00am

VRAF Board of Directors Meeting

By invitation only.

Tuesday March 10, 2015 8:00am - 4:00pm
Welton Room, Mezzanine Level, Third Floor The Westin Denver Downtown, 1672 Lawrence Street • Denver, CO

4:30pm

VRA Board / VRAF Board Joint Meeting

By invitation only.

Tuesday March 10, 2015 4:30pm - 6:00pm
Blake Room, Mezzanine Level, Third Floor The Westin Denver Downtown, 1672 Lawrence Street • Denver, CO

10:00am

Professional Status Task Force Meeting

The VRA Professional Status Task Force is charged with investigating current professional status issues within the field of image and media management.

By invitation only.

Wednesday March 11, 2015 10:00am - 12:00pm
McCourt Room, Mezzanine Level, Third Floor The Westin Denver Downtown, 1672 Lawrence Street • Denver, CO

12:05pm

Financial Advisory Committee Meeting

The Committee is responsible for:

Assisting the Treasurer in maintaining surveillance over the funds and investments of the Association with the goal of steadily increasing the assets while providing funds.
Ensuring that the Association maintains a reserve fund equal to 6 months of current operating expenses.
Reviewing and revising, at least annually, the Association’s strategy for
long-term financial growth, and advising the Treasurer and the Board about
best business and operating practices for non-profit organizations.
Investigating for the Treasurer investment vehicles for the Association; the Treasurer will submit the recommendations of the committee to the Executive Board for approval.
Working with the Development Committee to ensure that funds raised by that Committee are appropriately allotted or invested.
Ensuring that the Investment Policy and the Treasurer’s Manual are reviewed and updated regularly.

All are welcome to attend.

Wednesday March 11, 2015 12:05pm - 1:25pm
McCourt Room, Mezzanine Level, Third Floor The Westin Denver Downtown, 1672 Lawrence Street • Denver, CO

12:05pm

MDID Special Interest Group Meeting

ORGANIZER / MODERATOR: Grace Barth, James Madison University

PRESENTERS:
Andreas Knab, vrcHost LLC
Leighton Shank, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA
Jon Short, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA

Several institutions have switched to MDID3 in the past year, and we look forward to sharing some of those experiences as well as showcasing new features. In this session we will share updates to MDID3 over the past year at JMU and other institutions. The MDID team will be prepared to discuss software and hardware requirements, installation issues, best practices, system integration, custom application development, and other topics. Andreas Knab from vrcHost will discuss MDID hosting experiences and any upcoming features. This informative session is open to anyone using or interested in MDID. Adequate time for a question and answer period will follow the presentation.

Continuing the tradition of a freely shared educational resource, MDID is distributed free of charge under an open source license and is used at many institutions across the United States and around the world.

Sponsors

vrcHost LLC

We specialize in installation, integration, customization, and feature development for the Madison Digital Image Database (MDID) project - an open source digital content management system used at hundreds of institutions worldwide for teaching and scholarship in the visual arts... Read More →

Wednesday March 11, 2015 12:05pm - 1:25pm
Lawrence B Room, Mezzanine Level, Third Floor The Westin Denver Downtown, 1672 Lawrence Street • Denver, CO

12:05pm

Omeka Special Interest Group Meeting

ORGANIZER: Marlene Gordon, University of Michigan-Dearborn

MODERATOR: Meghan Musolff, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

Meghan Musolff, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, “Omeka Overview”

Carolyn Lucarelli and Patrick McGrady, The Pennsylvania State University
“Omeka: A Practical Solution for Small Museum Needs”

Megan Marler, ARTstor, “Built Works Registry Project”

Meghan Musolff, “Omeka @ U-M”

Discussion/Questions

In this meeting, you will learn what Omeka can do for you, your faculty, students or just about anyone. There will be an overview of both the Omeka.net (free, hosted) and the Omeka.org (free, to install on your own server) versions. Presenters will share how they have used Omeka to provide access to collections at their institutions. If you have an interesting or unique collection to share, want to add a new skill to enhance your visibility, help students use it for portfolios or online exhibitions for a class, this meeting is for you! Learn from those who have successfully used Omeka.

Endorsed by the Education Committee.

Wednesday March 11, 2015 12:05pm - 1:25pm
Confluence A & B Rooms, Mezzanine Level, Third Floor The Westin Denver Downtown, 1672 Lawrence Street • Denver, CO

12:05pm

Publications Special Interest Group Meeting

ORGANIZER:
John Trendler, Scripps College, Claremont, CA

Open to all interested members, the SIG will be an open format discussion of publishing, the VRA's publication program, how and why to publish, and the value of publishing for career advancement. Attendees are asked to bring other topics for discussion or to email them to the moderator prior to the conference: john.trendler@scrippscollege.edu

Wednesday March 11, 2015 12:05pm - 1:25pm
Welton Room, Mezzanine Level, Third Floor The Westin Denver Downtown, 1672 Lawrence Street • Denver, CO

9:00am

Digital Humanities Special Interest Group Meeting

ORGANIZERS:
Jenni Rodda, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University
John Taormina, Duke University, Durham, NC

According to the UCLA Center for Digital Humanities: “Digital Humanities interprets the cultural and social impact of new media and information technologies—the fundamental components of the new information age—as well as creates and applies these technologies to answer cultural, social, historical, and philological questions, both those traditionally conceived and those only enabled by new technologies.”

Digital Humanities in the cultural heritage environment includes such activities as curating online collections, mining large cultural data sets, data visualization/representational technologies, information retrieval, digital publishing, gaming, multimedia, peer-to-peer collaboration, and GIS and mapping. Art, architecture and archaeology Digital Humanities projects draw on one or many of these components, as well as incorporating content and methodologies from related humanities or, ever more frequently, from natural science and social science disciplines. In this new collaborative, interdisciplinary digital environment, visual resources specialists and librarians work side-by-side with faculty and students to develop and support Digital Humanities projects for teaching and research.

This inaugural Special Interest Group seeks to engage conference attendees with the issues surrounding the support, development, dissemination, and preservation of Digital Humanities projects in the arts and humanities via a 60-minute discussion format.

Endorsed by the Education Committee.

Thursday March 12, 2015 9:00am - 10:25am
Lawrence B Room, Mezzanine Level, Third Floor The Westin Denver Downtown, 1672 Lawrence Street • Denver, CO

9:00am

DIMLI Special Interest Group Meeting

ORGANIZER: Chris Strasbaugh, Vanderbilt University

PRESENTERS:
William B. Sealy, Vanderbilt University
Chris Strasbaugh, Vanderbilt University

DIMLI (Digital Media Management Library) is an open-source cataloging and workflow tool designed for the visual resources community in order to provide an accurate and efficient system for cataloging cultural objects. It is web-based, easy to use, and free-of-charge. Developed in the Visual Resources Center at Vanderbilt University, it is being adopted around campus and is being used by other academic institutions around the nation.

This last year has brought many changes to DIMLI (Digital Media Management Library) including a beta testing environment, additional features unlocking the potential for galleries, libraries, and archives, and a more robust discovery platform for the end user. This special interest group is focused on presenting both the present feature set and future development as well as answering questions that you may have for this new tool. The presentations will be short and will leave plenty of time for a question and answer.

Thursday March 12, 2015 9:00am - 10:25am
McCourt Room, Mezzanine Level, Third Floor The Westin Denver Downtown, 1672 Lawrence Street • Denver, CO

9:00am

EmbARK Special Interest / User Group Meeting

ORGANIZER: Marlene Gordon, University of Michigan-Dearborn

PRESENTER: Robb Detlefs, Gallery Systems

EmbARK is a suite of software tools designed to catalog and manage collections. Cataloguer enables the user to input metadata; manage image, movie, sound, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and PDF files; and provides import/export tools to easily migrate data (compatible with the VRA Panel Export-Import Tool). Records can be grouped into portfolios for managing thematic topics or internal projects. Comprehensive searching options are available. There will be time for discussion of the latest versions of EmbARK and EmbARK Web Kiosk (which includes batch image download). We will also review access to the eMuseum Network site.

Questions can be submitted in advance to Robb Detlefs.

Thursday March 12, 2015 9:00am - 10:25am
Confluence C Room, Mezzanine Level, Third Floor The Westin Denver Downtown, 1672 Lawrence Street • Denver, CO

12:05pm

Data Standards Committee Meeting

Charge: The Data Standards Committee (DSC) was established in 1993 to meet the visual resources community’s growing need to manage complex visual collections in the networked environment. Our charge from the Visual Resources Association is “To develop, advocate and promote standard descriptive practices in visual resources collections that will facilitate the management, organization, and exchange of information.”

All are welcome to attend.

To contact the DSC email datastandards@vraweb.org.

Thursday March 12, 2015 12:05pm - 1:25pm
Lawrence B Room, Mezzanine Level, Third Floor The Westin Denver Downtown, 1672 Lawrence Street • Denver, CO

12:05pm

Development Committee Meeting

The Development Committee’s charge is to recommend to the Executive Board fund-raising ventures and the means to implement them; to coordinate all fund-raising activities for the Visual Resources Association authorized by the Executive Board.

All are welcome to attend.

Thursday March 12, 2015 12:05pm - 1:25pm
Cook Room, Mezzanine Level, Third Floor The Westin Denver Downtown, 1672 Lawrence Street • Denver, CO

12:05pm

Nominating Committee

Charge: To nominate a slate of candidates to run for offices of the Association; to prepare the candidates’ statements and a ballot for submission to the membership with approval by the Executive Board; appoint tellers to monitor the balloting; and to notify the candidates and the President of the results.

All are welcome to attend.

Thursday March 12, 2015 12:05pm - 1:25pm
Welton Room, Mezzanine Level, Third Floor The Westin Denver Downtown, 1672 Lawrence Street • Denver, CO

12:05pm

Slide and Transitional Media Taskforce Special Interest Group Meeting

ORGANIZER / MODERATOR / TASKFORCE CHAIR: Jenni Rodda, Institute of Fine Arts, NYU

The Slide and Transitional Media Task Force will meet with interested VRA conference attendees to discuss the work of the Task Force and to exchange ideas about creative ways to work with 35mm and related media as we continue the transition to digital. Discussion will begin with a review of the issues raised by VRA members after the initial posting of the Task Force's "Guidelines" document.

Thursday March 12, 2015 12:05pm - 1:25pm
Confluence C Room, Mezzanine Level, Third Floor The Westin Denver Downtown, 1672 Lawrence Street • Denver, CO

12:05pm

Visual Resources Emerging Professionals and Students (VREPS) Meeting

ORGANIZERS:
Anna Bernhard, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
Molly Schoen, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

Join your VREPS colleagues at this meeting to discuss the future of the group, and the educational issues, employment opportunities, and emerging trends in image management that are important to you. All are welcome!

Thursday March 12, 2015 12:05pm - 1:25pm
Lawrence A Room, Mezzanine Level, Third Floor The Westin Denver Downtown, 1672 Lawrence Street • Denver, CO

8:00am

Annual Membership & Business Meeting / Breakfast

The VRA Annual Business Meeting is the official forum for conducting Association business. The agenda includes the President's State of the Association message; the Treasurer's report; updates on current and future Association projects and activities; the recognition of outgoing officers, committee chairs, and appointees; the induction of incoming officers, committee chairs, and appointees; and the presentation on the 2016 joint conference host city. There will be an opportunity for questions and announcements from the membership. Breakfast will be provided.

The Executive Board cordially invites all Visual Resources Association members to attend and participate.

Friday March 13, 2015 8:00am - 10:25am
Horace Tabor / Molly Brown Rooms, Lobby Level, Second Floor The Westin Denver Downtown, 1672 Lawrence Street • Denver, CO

12:05pm

Awards Committee Meeting

The charge to the Awards Committee is to encourage worthy nominations from the VRA membership and evaluate them using the established criteria for the Distinguished Service Award (DSA) and the Nancy DeLaurier Award (NDA). To then recommend to the Executive Board one potential recipient for the DSA award and one or more recipients for the NDA Award, to notify the recipients, to prepare the award presentation speech from the supportive materials, and make arrangements for the award presentation at the annual conference.

All are welcome to attend.

Friday March 13, 2015 12:05pm - 1:25pm
McCourt Room, Mezzanine Level, Third Floor The Westin Denver Downtown, 1672 Lawrence Street • Denver, CO

12:05pm

Intellectual Property Rights Committee (IPR) Meeting

Charge:
The committee charge is to study and monitor intellectual property and copyright issues; and to develop and promote the Association’s position on intellectual property rights issues and educate the membership on these issues.

All are welcome to attend.

Friday March 13, 2015 12:05pm - 1:25pm
Blake Room, Mezzanine Level, Third Floor The Westin Denver Downtown, 1672 Lawrence Street • Denver, CO

12:05pm

Membership Committee Meeting

Charge: To support the Association’s membership retention and enrollment efforts in conjunction with the Membership Services Coordinator. This includes the development and maintenance of contact lists and listservs, placing advertisements where appropriate, and coordinating the regional chapters program through involvement, encouragement, and recognition. To make recommendations to the Executive Board and implement decisions of the Executive Board in accordance with the Association’s Membership.

All are welcome to attend.

Friday March 13, 2015 12:05pm - 1:25pm
Cook Room, Mezzanine Level, Third Floor The Westin Denver Downtown, 1672 Lawrence Street • Denver, CO

12:05pm

Travel Awards Committee Meeting

Charge:
To maintain the Travel Award program that has been established to encourage participation and attendance by VRA members at the Association’s annual conference; to administer the awards by formulating criteria for application guidelines and the selection of the award recipients upon approval by the Executive Board; and to arrange for the presentation of the awards.

All are welcome to attend.

Friday March 13, 2015 12:05pm - 1:25pm
Welton Room, Mezzanine Level, Third Floor The Westin Denver Downtown, 1672 Lawrence Street • Denver, CO

12:05pm

VRA Core Oversight Committee Meeting

Charge
To develop and maintain the VRA Core and to support and promote its use in a variety of communities.

For more information contact: vracore@vraweb.org

All are welcome to attend.

Friday March 13, 2015 12:05pm - 1:25pm
Lawrence B Room, Mezzanine Level, Third Floor The Westin Denver Downtown, 1672 Lawrence Street • Denver, CO

12:05pm

Ask the Experts Brown Bag Lunch: Questions about Conference Participation Answered

ORGANIZER: Ryan Brubacher, Occidental College, Los Angeles

PRESENTERS:
Ryan Brubacher, Occidental College, Los Angeles
Steven Kowalik, Hunter College/CUNY, New York
Beth Wodnick Haas, Princeton University

Have questions about conference content, proposals, formats, how to find speakers, or how to moderate or organize a session? Don’t have all day?

Drop in with a brown bag lunch to ask questions, or discuss with other members your ideas for conference proposals. Resident experts, the co-chairs of the Education Committee, Beth Wodnick Haas and Ryan Brubacher, and the Vice President for Conference Program, Steven Kowalik, will be available to give feedback, answer questions or just provide quality encouragement.

Come with an idea, a question, a lunch, a friend or all of the above. No sign up or appointment necessary.

Endorsed by the Education Committee.

Friday March 13, 2015 12:05pm - 1:25pm
Lawrence A Room, Mezzanine Level, Third Floor The Westin Denver Downtown, 1672 Lawrence Street • Denver, CO

Meeting Networking

1:35pm

Artstor Digital Library and Shared Shelf User Group Meeting

PRESENTERS:
Siân Evans, Senior Implementation Manager
Ian McDermott, Collection Development Manager
Megan Marler, Director of Strategic Services

Artstor is a non-profit digital library that provides more than 1.8 million images of cultural objects and architectural works covering a wide range of historical, political, social, economic, and cultural documentation from prehistory to the present. Artstor collections enable a wide range of users to teach and study with images in an online environment optimized for exploring visual content. Institutions can also co-mingle their local collections with Artstor content using Shared Shelf, a web-based media management software for cataloging and providing access to digital collections. This meeting will provide updates on Artstor’s collection development strategy, planned features for the Artstor and Shared Shelf suite of tools, and Artstor’s community initiatives.

Friday March 13, 2015 1:35pm - 2:55pm
Confluence A & B Rooms, Mezzanine Level, Third Floor The Westin Denver Downtown, 1672 Lawrence Street • Denver, CO

1:35pm

Education Committee Meeting

Charge: To engage in research, build accessible resources, and share information about educational and professional development opportunities for the VRA membership by remaining in contact with appropriate members of related professional organizations and educational institutions. To regularly solicit information from the VRA membership about interests and educational concerns in order to develop supportive programming at the annual conference and as other opportunities arise.

All are welcome to attend.

Friday March 13, 2015 1:35pm - 2:55pm
Lawrence B Room, Mezzanine Level, Third Floor The Westin Denver Downtown, 1672 Lawrence Street • Denver, CO

1:35pm

VRA Chapter Chairs Meeting

MODERATOR: Jen Green, Plymouth State University, NH

Want to know more about what it takes to become a chapter chair? If so, this is the meeting for you! All are welcome to attend.

Friday March 13, 2015 1:35pm - 2:55pm
Blake Room, Mezzanine Level, Third Floor The Westin Denver Downtown, 1672 Lawrence Street • Denver, CO

1:35pm

Museum Special Interest Group: The Evolving Role of Visual Resource Professionals

ORGANIZER / MODERATOR: Ana Cox, Phoenix Art Museum

PRESENTERS:

Krystal Boehlert, J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
Ana Cox, Phoenix Art Museum
Deborah Wythe, Brooklyn Museum, NY

This special interest group meeting will focus on visual resource professionals that work in, or aspire to work in museums. How have careers in visual resource management evolved with advancements in imaging and cataloging technology? How do we fit into this organization and what skills do emerging VR professionals need to obtain careers in museums? This meeting will address the unique challenges we face, compared to other VRA colleagues, with regard to copyright, user base and archiving.

The meeting will begin with 3 short presentations from museum professionals followed by sixty minutes of open conversation. From shifts in job titles to created or inherited responsibilities, presenters will discuss how they serve users at their institution and how this role has evolved within their institution.

Friday March 13, 2015 1:35pm - 2:55pm
Confluence C Room, Mezzanine Level, Third Floor The Westin Denver Downtown, 1672 Lawrence Street • Denver, CO

Meeting Networking

4:35pm

Regional Chapter Meeting - Greater New York Chapter

The purpose of the organization is to promote communication among national members of the Visual Resources Association within the New York metropolitan area. The Greater New York Chapter serves the Tri-State Area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

Greater New York Chapter Chair: Zoe Waldron, New York Public Library

Friday March 13, 2015 4:35pm - 6:00pm
V's Lounge, Lobby Level, Second Floor The Westin Denver Downtown, 1672 Lawrence Street • Denver, CO

4:35pm

Regional Chapter Meeting - International Chapter

The International Chapter exists to promote communication among, and to provide support and professional enrichment opportunities for, members of the Visual Resources Association residing or professionally active outside North America, as well as those with an interest in international visual resources and related issues. The Chapter also promotes and supports the Visual Resources Association as an international professional organization.

International Chapter Chair: Vicky Brown, University of Oxford

Friday March 13, 2015 4:35pm - 6:00pm
McCourt Room, Mezzanine Level, Third Floor The Westin Denver Downtown, 1672 Lawrence Street • Denver, CO

4:35pm

Regional Chapter Meeting - Mid-Atlantic Chapter

The purpose of the Chapter shall be to support professional development and communication among members of the Visual Resources Association in the Mid-Atlantic region, which includes Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

Mid-Atlantic Chapter Chair: Catherine Adams, Pennsylvania State University

Friday March 13, 2015 4:35pm - 6:00pm
Curtis Room, Mezzanine Level, Third Floor (The Westin Denver Downtown, 1672 Lawrence Street • Denver, CO)

4:35pm

Regional Chapter Meeting - Midwest Chapter

The Chapter is established to further research and education in the visual resources profession and to promote a spirit of cooperation among regional members of the profession. The purposes of this chapter are to establish a continuing forum for communication of information and ideas, and for advancement of matters of mutual interest to the membership.

Midwest Chapter Chair: Jacob Esselstrom, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Friday March 13, 2015 4:35pm - 6:00pm
Blake Room, Mezzanine Level, Third Floor The Westin Denver Downtown, 1672 Lawrence Street • Denver, CO

4:35pm

Regional Chapter Meeting - New England Chapter

The New England Chapter of the Visual Resources Association was founded in 2003.

The chapter meets twice a year, in the spring and fall, for educational programming, chapter business, and cultural activities related to our field.

New England Chapter Chair: Jen Green, Plymouth State University

Friday March 13, 2015 4:35pm - 6:00pm
The Front Porch 1215 15th St, Denver, CO (720) 840-6156

4:35pm

Regional Chapter Meeting - Northern California & Southern California Chapters joint meeting

Joint meeting of the VRA Northern California and Southern California Regional Chapters.

Northern California Chapter Chair, Samantha O'Brien, AllTech Systems/Chevron
Southern California Chapter Chair, Greg Reser, University of California, San Diego

Friday March 13, 2015 4:35pm - 6:00pm
Lawrence B Room, Mezzanine Level, Third Floor The Westin Denver Downtown, 1672 Lawrence Street • Denver, CO

4:35pm

Regional Chapter Meeting - Pacific Rim Chapter

The Pacific Rim Chapter of the Visual Resources Association (VRA-PRC) serves VRA members in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Alaska, Hawaii, and British Columbia. We provide a regional network of information and support to image media professionals.

Pacific Rim Chapter Chair: Brooke Sansosti, Reed College, Portland, OR

Friday March 13, 2015 4:35pm - 6:00pm
Welton Room, Mezzanine Level, Third Floor The Westin Denver Downtown, 1672 Lawrence Street • Denver, CO

4:35pm

Regional Chapter Meeting - Southeast Chapter

The purpose of the Chapter is the support and professional enrichment of Chapter members residing or active in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. The Chapter will serve to encourage and support the professional association of the VRA.

Southeast Chapter Chair: John Taormina, Duke University

Friday March 13, 2015 4:35pm - 6:00pm
Cook Room, Mezzanine Level, Third Floor The Westin Denver Downtown, 1672 Lawrence Street • Denver, CO

4:35pm

Regional Chapter Meeting - Wild West Chapter

The purpose of the Chapter shall be to promote communication among, and to provide support and professional enrichment opportunities for, members of the Visual Resources Association residing or professionally active in Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. The Chapter will also promote and support the Visual Resources Association as an international professional organization.

Wild West Chapter Chair: Anna Bernhard, Colorado State University

Friday March 13, 2015 4:35pm - 6:00pm
Lawrence A Room, Mezzanine Level, Third Floor The Westin Denver Downtown, 1672 Lawrence Street • Denver, CO

8:00am

VRA Executive Board Meeting II

By invitation only.

Sunday March 15, 2015 8:00am - 2:00pm
Lawrence A Room, Mezzanine Level, Third Floor The Westin Denver Downtown, 1672 Lawrence Street • Denver, CO