Subject: NARA Preservation Conference
"Managing the Intangible Creating, Storing and Retrieving Digital Surrogates of Historical Materials" The 21st Annual National Archives Preservation Conference Marriott Inn and Conference Center at the University of Maryland's University College, Adelphi, Maryland April 30-May 1, 2007 In 2003, the National Archives (NARA) hosted a preservation conference to examine analog versus digital reformatting methods and to debate whether the latter is an acceptable preservation medium. In 2006, we find that the debate is indeed over, for national and international organizations have endorsed digital surrogates as an accepted preservation option and have begun digitizing a wide variety of historical materials. Questions however, abound. This conference will give attendees an opportunity to hear a comprehensive discussion on the essential components of the digital preservation reformatting process. It will benefit attendees involved with any and all media types, for there are common issues that have implications on reformatting decisions and the approaches taken. This conference will also benefit institutions that are contemplating entering, or have just entered, the digital arena by providing a forum to examine reformatting in its entirety instead of focusing just on a narrow slice of the process. The conference will be organized in a two-day format. The first day will be devoted to more formal presentations while the second will be a combination of panel discussions and venues allowing for more interaction between attendees and presenters. The conference has undergone many changes this year which are designed to enhance your experience. The location is in a hotel rather than a National Archives facility, permitting us to expand the program and permit more interaction with other attendees, NARA staff, speakers and vendors supplying goods and services to the digital preservation field. The registration fee for this 2-day conference is $275.00 for a standard registration and $175.00 for a student registration. The fee includes lunch, breaks and beverage service for both days. There will also be an evening reception after the first day's program. For those coming from outside of the DC Metropolitan area, you may consider staying at the Marriott hotel that is adjacent to the conference facility. Both of these are on the campus of the University of Maryland at College Park. For more information, please contact me directly at richard.schneider [at] nara__gov or at 301-837-3617. You should also check <URL:http://www.archives.gov/preservation/conferences/2007/> on a regular basis for registration forms and updates on the program. I hope to see you in April, Richard Schneider Conference Coordinator *** Conservation DistList Instance 20:27 Distributed: Saturday, November 18, 2006 Message Id: cdl-20-27-006 ***Received on Friday, 17 November, 2006