SPARC

Digital Curation Curriculum Symposium Notes

The DigCCurr (Digital Curation Curriculum) Symposium held in Chapel Hill, NC provides a place for the exchange of ideas and methods in collection and preservation of digital content. An increasing volume of publications are released both online and (sometimes in place of) print but little has been done to ensure that the publications are usable in the long term. Because libraries have preserved paper content for centuries and many feel that they must also contribute to the evolving field of digital curation/preservation. However, the meeting drew archivists, and IT specialists as well as librarians.

At the 2^nd annual event (April 1-3, 2009), several presentations focused on training programs for digital curators sponsored by organizations in the U.S. and abroad. In 2006, the IMLS provided funding to three library schools (UNC, Univ. of Illinois and U. of Arizona) to begin programs in the management of digital content. Representatives from each were at the DigCCurr symposium and presented preliminary results from this still-experimental field of study. Representatives from Australia, Germany, the Netherlands and the U.K. were also on hand to discuss courses, workshops and other programs in their home countries.

There were also presentations regarding personal digital assets and their explosive growth. Many people (not just scholars) create documents, web content, photos and other electronic artifacts that are largely ignored after creation. Of course it may be that most of this material can be discarded, but inevitably there will be one or two items that deserve long-term preservation. Additionally, archivists who have to manage a burgeoning amount of electronic records, emails and other administrative data were there in force talking about the challenges—often legally mandated—which they face.

Because the SIL is not only collecting but creating digital material, we will need to make some effort at maintaining these online resources for the future.  SIL’s Digital Services Division is currently considering hosting an intern from the pool of students at the University of Illinois to provide some guidance on the issues we will need to address.

 

More information about the presentations at the latest DigCCurr are at: http://www.ils.unc.edu/digccurr2009/abstracts

Smithsonian Publications available online

SIL has been working to digitizing the entire corpus of Smithsonian serial publications for the past few years. We’re getting very near to completion of the first phase of the project, but there will always before to do!

Since some staff may not be aware of these projects, I thought it was a good time for an update.

The first phase was digitizing the new “Smithsonian Contributions” series. These are now complete (with new publications being added upon publication by the Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press) and include the following series:

• Smithsonian Annals of Flight (1964 - 1974)
• Smithsonian Contributions to Anthropology (1965 - present)
• Smithsonian Contributions to Astrophysics (1956 - 1974)
• Contributions to Botany (1969-present)
• Smithsonian Contributions to History and Technology (1969 - present ; formerly Smithsonian Studies in History and Technology)
• Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology (1969 - present)
• Smithsonian Contributions to the Earth Sciences (1969 - 2002)
• Smithsonian Contributions to the Marine Sciences (1977 - present)
• Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology (1969 - present)
• Smithsonian Folklife Studies (1980 - 1990)
• Smithsonian Studies in Air and Space (1977 - 1990)
  

All above publications are available at: http://www.sil.si.edu/smithsoniancontributions/

Additionally, the large, historic publications of the Institution are being scanned as part of the Biodiversity Heritage Library Project; these series are mostly complete. There are still gaps in the series as we work with volumes that were difficult to digitize (tightly bound, containing large foldouts, etc.); the missing volumes will be completed as technology permits.

The four largest of these series are available at the URLs below. Please note, these are currently available only through the BHL web interface, as time permits, they will be integrated into a unified Smithsonian publications site.

• Bulletin - United States National Museum. http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/7548
• Smithsonian contributions to knowledge. http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/7997
• Smithsonian miscellaneous collections. http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/8128
• Proceedings of the United States National Museum. http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/7519
• Annual report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/7964
  

Additionall, The Contributions to the  US National Herbarium (1890-1974, 2000-2006) will be available shortly; recent issues are now online.

Lastly, an additional publication, long sponsored by the Smithsonian is also available:

• Atoll Research Bulletin. http://www.sil.si.edu/digitalcollections/atollresearchbulletin/index.cfm
  

All titles are (or will be shortly) available via the “E-journal A-Z List” (http://www.sil.si.edu/eresources/tfr_index.cfm) as well as through links in the SIRIS records for the titles.

Smithsonian Libraries Contributes to Inaugural

Of all the spectacular sites seen the past few days as Washington prepared for the inauguration of the 44th President,  one of the most striking was the staging of many dozens of portable coat racks in Smithsonian Libraries' library hall here in the National Museum of Natural History.

Also impressive were the great leaning tower of chairs that were stored near the Director's office (shortly after this picture was taken, a safety minded staffer turned the chairs the other way - just in case they were to topple over!).