Category: Classes and Workshops

Part of my day with the AAPB National Digital Stewardship Residents has been added to the WGBH Forum Network. The idea behind this lecture is to “[l]earn the history of computers and computing in the same way that conservators learn the history of book and paper making, writing, and printing to care for physical collections. A variety of games and exercises are used to teach core concepts in logic and computing, and a review of computer history shows how the specific preservation problems in digital systems relate to fundamental preservation issues across all media.”

Starting October 21, I’ll be giving another series of webinars on fundamental issues in digital preservation for the members of the Northeastern Florida Library and Information Network(NEFLIN). The first installment introduces some basic concepts that support preservation (of any kind) and uses a variety of examples to show how those issues play out in digital libraries.

Future webinars in the series will provide a deeper introduction to file formats used in digital libraries and the core issues in reliably storing digital content for the long-term:

• Webinar #2: Monday, November 4: Text and Image Formats
• Webinar #3: Monday, November 18: Storing and Managing Digital Collections
• Webinar #4: Monday, December 2: Audio and Video Formats

This series was presented last year, from July 17 – August 23, 2012. A handout of resources and frequently asked questions for both session is available here: DigitalMaterials-ResourcesFAQ.pdf.

I’ll presenting “Convert it to preserve it: Digitization and file conversion”, one of the webinars for the Connection to Collections series Caring for Digital Materials: Preventing a Digital Dark Age.

The webinar takes place on Thursday, April 4, 2013, 2:00 – 3:30 pm EDT. It will cover the key points about creating digital files that will be useful for a long time to come, with a focus on the core formats in use across libraries, archives, and museums: text, images, and audio. The webinar will also touch on video, moving images, data, and interactive systems, but mostly to make sure participants are clued into the risks and state of development for these types of collections.

On Thursday, December 8, I’ll start a series of webinars on core issues in digital preservation for Infopeople, a library services group in California that is supported by the California State Library and the California Preservation Program. Dec. 8 is the first installment in a four-part series. The presentation on December 8th gives a framework for critical thinking about digital preservation, rather than giving a list of interesting acronyms and specific technologies.

Future webinars in the series will provide a deeper introduction to file formats used in digital libraries and the core issues in reliably storing digital content for the long-term:

• Webinar #2: Tuesday, January 10: Text and Image Formats
• Webinar #3: Tuesday, February 7: Storing and Managing Digital Collections
• Webinar #4: Tuesday, March 20: Audio and Video Formats

Each webinar is only an hour, so we leave out more than we cover, of course. I’ve created an additional post with some follow up links to resources: http://jacobnadal.com/259

All of these webinars are intended to help you get started in building digital collections, not to raise barriers to building good digital collections. In subsequent sessions we’ll look at specific types of digital collection to assess current standards and future risks, but we’ll do that through the lens of doing the things worth doing right now while also being smart about limiting future preservation burdens.

For the first installment, we’ll start with a trip back in time through the decipherment of Linear B, as a way to show that the issues at stake in digital libraries are not foreign to our profession. Instead, I suggest that they are substantially the same issues we’re used to, presenting themselves in a new technology and media.

But the technology and media are new! From Linear B, we turn to some of the specific quirks of digital media, formats, and encodings, and wrap up with a little discussion of timelines – what matters today? what matters in the incipient fututre? what can I leave for some future generation of archivists?

I have presented versions of this material before, and the feedback has been positive, especially for librarians and archivists who need to have digital preservation in their planning, but don’t have a degree in computer science. I hope you’ll tune in. Registration and information about related events here: http://infopeople.org/training/digital-preservation-fundamentals

On Monday, October 24, I’ll be giving a webinar on core issues in digital preservation for METRO, a library services group in New York. The presentation gives a framework for critical thinking about digital preservation, rather than giving a list of interesting acronyms and specific technologies.

The webinar actually starts with a trip back in time through the decipherment of Linear B, so show how the issues at stake in digital libraries are not foreign to our profession. Instead, I suggest that they are substantially the same issues, presenting themselves in a new technology and media. From there, we turn to some of the specific quirks of digital media, formats, and encodings, and wrap up with a little discussion of timelines – waht matters today? what matters in the incipient fututre? what can I leave for some future generation of archivists?

I have presented versions of this material before, and the feedback has been positive, especially for librarians and archivists who need to have digital preservation in their planning, but don’t have a degree in computer science. I hope you’ll tune in. Registration and information about related events here:http://www.metro.org/en/cev/109

On August 12, 2011, I’ll be part of an Amigos Library Services web-conference, “Digital Preservation: What’s Now, What’s Next?“. My section is at 11:00 Central (12 Eastern, 9 Pacific) and it’s one of my favorite things to teach, “Core Issues in Digital Preservation.”

I’ve been using the story of decoding Linear B as a way to make the metaphor on digital preservation for years now, and an updated version of that talk will be at the heart of this presentation. I’ll also take the attendees through the process of crafting the ALA/ALCTS definitions of digital preservation. And finally, I’ll spend some time on the real theme – what’s now, what’s next – with a discussion of the most important areas of focus for today, versus emerging or potential problems that can be left for later.