IMLS Conservation Forum for Collecting Institutions

"Collaboration in the Digital Age" Set for June 24-25, 2008 in
Denver, Colorado
Second IMLS Conservation Forum for Collecting Institutions

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, 2008
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
<URL:http://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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                  Conservation DistList Instance 21:54
                  Distributed: Friday, April 11, 2008
                       Message Id: cdl-21-54-010
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