Building off of last year's inaugural event, plans are underway for this year's ArchivesSpace Members Forum. Open to staff members from all ArchivesSpace member institutions, the forum is an opportunity for ArchivesSpace members to learn and share with each other and the program team about all things ArchivesSpace. This year's forum will be in Atlanta, prior to the main Society of American Archivists conference program. Watch this space as plans develop! If you have ideas or suggestions, please comment here on the wiki or email Christine (christine.dibella@lyrasis.org).
Date: August 2, 2016
Location: Robert W. Woodruff Library at the Atlanta University Center, Atlanta, GA
(thank you to ArchivesSpace Member Atlanta University Center for making space for us!)
Planning Committee
- Martha Conway, University of Michigan
- Alex Duryee, New York Public Library
- Linda Hocking, Litchfield Historical Society
- Jason Loeffler, American Academy of Rome
- Jaime Margalotti, University of Delaware
- Jenny Mitchell, Louisiana State University
- Francesca Pitaro, AP Corporate Archives
- Adrienne Pruitt, Tufts University
- Elizabeth Russell, University of Maine
- Mariella Soprano, Caltech
- Christine Di Bella, ArchivesSpace
Logistical support: Kenna Juliani, LYRASIS
Schedule
Running from approximately 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on August 2, the Member Forum program will be split into two half-day segments. Attendees may attend one or both of the segments. Box lunches will be available for people attending both segments.
9:00 a.m. to noon: hands-on workshops
noon to 1:00: box lunches available for people staying for both the morning and afternoon programs
1:00 to 5:00 p.m.: afternoon activities including:
- Board and program update
- Two 75-minute session blocks
- Opportunities to mix and mingle with fellow ArchivesSpace members
Registration
Online registration via EventBrite will open at the end of May.
Workshops
Creating and Managing Digital Object Records in ArchivesSpace - While ArchivesSpace is not a digital asset management system, it does provide functionality for creating and managing essential metadata for your digital materials, and to manage it in the same system as your physical collection materials. Learn more about the Digital Objects module of ArchivesSpace through instruction and hands-on exercises.
Introducing the ArchivesSpace REST API using Python 3 - While the ArchivesSpace staff interface gives you many options for creating and updating individual records, sometimes you want to do more. The ArchivesSpace Application Programming Interface (API) is a powerful tool that can help you update the value of a field across hundreds of records, change dozens of unpublished finding aids to published, delete unwanted location records in bulk, and export all of your EAD data for use in another system, among other things -- and you don't have to be a developer to use it! Learn more about what it is, what it can do, and how to make it work for you. The workshop will present the basics of working with the ArchivesSpace REST API using Python (version 3). This includes authentication as well as creating, reading, updating, and deleting various types of ArchivesSpace objects (e.g. repositories, agents, accessions, and digital objects). Instructor: R.S. Doiel, Caltech
Developing Simple Plug-ins to Customize Your ArchivesSpace Experience - Would you like to change the colors in your public interface, modify the way a particular EAD tag imports, or add some basic, repository-specific functionality to your ArchivesSpace installation? Plugins may be the answer - and you don't have to be a programmer to build them. In this workshop, learn more about the plugin architecture of ArchivesSpace and how archivists and developers can work together to identify, build, refine and improve plugins to make ArchivesSpace meet local needs. Instructor: Kevin Clair, University of Denver
Sessions
How Does ArchivesSpace Work for You? (lightning round) – What have you found to make ArchivesSpace work especially well for you? Have you found an unusual or unexpected use for ArchivesSpace in your repository? Do you have workflows or data entry methods that streamline your work? Come share tips, tricks, and ideas!
Managing Containers and Locations in ArchivesSpace: A Look at Newly Added Functionality – Thanks to development work sponsored by ArchivesSpace members Yale University and New York University the containers and locations areas of the application have been substantially revamped. Come learn more about what’s new and how to make it work for you.
ArchivesSpace Integrations – A Status Report and Look Ahead – For many institutions, ArchivesSpace is just one of the systems used to manage and provide access to collection materials. Come learn about the status of integrations with Archivematica, Aeon, and Preservica and how institutions are revamping their workflows to address work across their systems.
Data Cleanup Strategies and Tools (traditional session) – Working with legacy data, moving data from one system to another, reconciling data creation over time and different staff – all of these require some form of data cleanup. They also typically involve significant discussion and planning, and often the creation of tools that facilitate getting the job done efficiently. Learn what worked (and, in some cases, didn’t work) for two institutions in preparing for ArchivesSpace, and get and share ideas about your own cleanup projects.
Getting Involved in the ArchivesSpace Community - ArchivesSpace is not just a software application - it's a community of users working together to improve managing and providing access to collection material at their own institutions and across the wider archival field. There are many ways to connect with others in the community and get involved. Hear from representatives of ArchivesSpace's User Advisory Council and Technical Advisory Council as well as people involved in creating ArchivesSpace users groups in their own communities.
Working with a Hosting Provider - Managing the technical side of an ArchivesSpace implementation can be challenging depending on your organizational culture and level of IT support, whether your institution is very small, very large, or somewhere in between. Hear from a hosting provider about the services they offer and the ways contracting out for assistance can simplify your ArchivesSpace experience.