FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 20, 2008
Press Contacts
Jill Collins (703) 716-0925 jill@JillCollinsPR.com
Giuliana Bullard (703) 532-1477 duetto@verizon.net
IMLS
Will Sponsor Second Conservation Forum for Collecting
Institutions
“Collaboration in the Digital
Age” Set for June 24-25 in Denver, Colorado
WASHINGTON, DC--It is clear
that Americans are increasingly using the Internet to
connect to museum and library resources. A recent IMLS
study reports that in 2006, 310 million of the 1.2 billion
adult visits to museums were made online and 560 million
of the 1.3 billion adult visits to libraries were made
online. Yet the Health Heritage Index found that 60% of
collecting institutions do not include digital preservation
in their mission.*
Digitizing special library and museum collections
has many advantages – better collection management,
less wear and tear on objects, and greater public access
– to name a few. But the challenges are also formidable,
and include cost, prioritization, and, of course, preserving
digital collections. Where to begin? To answer some of
these questions, the Institute of Museum and Library Services
(IMLS) is sponsoring the forum, “Collaboration in
the Digital Age.”
This program – organized in cooperation
with Heritage Preservation, the Denver Public Library,
the Colorado Historical Society, and the Denver Art Museum–
is part of Connecting to Collections: A Call to Action,
an IMLS initiative to save endangered collections in the
nation’s museums and libraries. Scheduled for June
24 and 25 in Denver this is the second in a series of
four national conservation forums that are part of the
Connecting
to Collections initiative.
“Collaboration in the Digital Age”
responds to the needs of museums and libraries by helping
them think strategically and collaboratively about digitization
and digital preservation. Speakers will review the fundamentals
of digital content creation and preservation, emphasizing
practical approaches to planning digital projects, increasing
access to collections, enabling digital resources to serve
multiple purposes, and protecting digital investments.
Francie Alexander, Senior Vice President
of Scholastic Education and Chief Academic Officer of
Scholastic Inc. will be the first of many speakers, including
leaders in the digital collections field and other distinguished
professionals from across the nation. Elizabeth Broun,
the Margaret and Terry Stent Director of the Smithsonian
American Art Museum, will deliver the keynote address.
The forum is open and free of charge to
staff and board members of museums, libraries, and archives,
as well as to conservation professionals, representatives
of government, funders, and the media. Advance online
registration is required. Program and logistical information
and online registration are available at www.imls.gov/collections/tour.
IMLS’s Connecting to Collections:
A Call to Action is a multi-year, multi-faceted program.
It includes a series of four national forums in 2008 and
2009 sponsored by IMLS and planned in cooperation with
Heritage Preservation. The meetings of the Connecting
to Collections National Tour are designed to raise awareness
among leaders of small and mid-sized museums and libraries
about the importance of collections care and to give them
practical information, tools, and resources to inspire
action nationwide. The National Tour was launched in Atlanta
in January 2008 with a forum on preserving America’s
diverse cultural collections.
“Collaboration in the Digital Age”
will be held at the three sponsoring institutions, all
located just south of Civic Center Park in downtown Denver.
There will be no on-site registration. Online registration
is required by May 23, 2008.
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