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, this free event 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!)
Limited shuttle service between the Hilton Atlanta and the Woodruff Library is being provided at designated times. For more information on this, or other transportation options, see Getting to the Woodruff Library for the ArchivesSpace Member Forum.
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: Alicia Johnson and Kenna Juliani, LYRASIS
Registration
Online registration via EventBrite is now open. Please register if you plan to attend to help us with planning; due to space constraints advance registration is required for the morning workshops.
Schedule
The Member Forum program is split into two half-day segments. Attendees may attend one or both of the segments.
For those who can't attend in person, or who are interested in more than one offering in a slot, selected sessions will be recorded and available after the Forum.
Morning Program (all three workshops are currently at capacity. If you would like to be added to the waiting list, please email Christine (christine.dibella@lyrasis.org).)
| Time | Workshop | Instructor | Location |
| 9:00 a.m. to noon | Creating and Managing Digital Objects in ArchivesSpace
| Brad Westbrook (ArchivesSpace) Nancy Enneking (Getty Research Institute)
| Room 202 |
| 9:00 a.m. to noon | Introducing the ArchivesSpace REST API using Python 3
| R.S. Doiel (Caltech) | Room 215 |
| 9:00 a.m. to noon | Developing Simple Plug-ins to Customize Your ArchivesSpace Experience
| Kevin Clair (University of Denver) | Training Lab 2 |
From noon to 1:00, free box lunches will be available for people staying for both the morning and afternoon programs. Information will be sent to registered workshop participants. There will be space to eat in the library.
Afternoon Program
Time | Activity | Speakers | Location |
1:00-1:10 p.m. | Welcome | Christine Di Bella (ArchivesSpace) | Exhibition Hall |
1:10-1:25 p.m. | Governance Board Update | Christian Dupont (Boston College) | Exhibition Hall |
1:25-1:40 p.m. | Program Update | Brad Westbrook (ArchivesSpace) | Exhibition Hall |
1:40-2:00 p.m. | Q&A from audience
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| Exhibition Hall |
2:10-3:25 p.m. | Concurrent session block 1 |
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| ArchivesSpace Integrations – A Status Report and Look Ahead | Dallas Pillen (University of Michigan), Dustin Stokes (Atlas Systems), Martin Springell (Preservica) | Room 208 |
| Managing Containers and Locations in ArchivesSpace: A Look at Newly Added Functionality | Mary Caldera (Yale), Rachel Searcy (New York University) Chair: Martha Conway, University of Michigan | Exhibition Hall |
| Getting Involved in the ArchivesSpace Community | Sally Vermaaten (New York University), Gordon Daines (Brigham Young University), Christian Dupont (Boston College) | Room 303 |
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3:35-4:50 p.m. | Concurrent session block 2 |
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| Working with a Hosting Provider | John Herbert (LYRASIS), Dan Specht (Atlas Systems) Chair: Elizabeth Russell, University of Maine | Room 303 |
| Data Cleanup Strategies and Tools | Kate Bowers (Harvard), Dave Mayo (Harvard), Marcus Ladd (Miami University), Jacky Johnson (Miami University) Chair: Jennifer Mitchell, Louisiana State University | Room 208 |
| How Does ArchivesSpace Work for You? | Laurel McPhee (University of California San Diego): If you’ve ever wanted to view and play with all of your collection data—from every ArchivesSpace table—in Access or Excel, an ODBC connection is the solution for you. Learn how to set up this one-way connection and query your way to easy reports and a greater understanding of your database. Miloche Kottman (University of Kansas): ArchivesSpace has several built-in ways to ensure consistent data entry which is particularly useful when working with student and volunteer staff. I’ll show where/how you can set up these data entry shortcuts in ArchivesSpace and also discuss our use of MacroExpress to ensure additional data entry standardization. Lora Davis (Johns Hopkins University) Mark Custer (Yale University) Sarah Tanner (Atlanta University Center) Joshua Shaw (Dartmouth College): We found that the ArchivesSpace staff search interface wasn’t as useful for discovery purposes as it might be, especially for our public services people. Here’s what we changed and added and an overview of how we did it. I’ll also talk briefly about some of the other customizations and integrations we’ve made, as well as our (early!) plans for a basic circulation plugin. Chair: Jaime Margalotti, University of Delaware | Exhibition Hall |
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4:50-5:00 p.m. | Closing |
| Exhibition Hall |
Coffee, tea, and water will be available throughout the afternoon.
Afterwards
There will be a post-Forum mixer, co-hosted by Registered Service Provider Atlas Systems, at the Hilton Atlanta in Rooms 406/407 from 5:30-7:00 p.m. Extend your conversations from the Member Forum, or, if you weren’t able to join us for the Forum, come for light food and drink and to catch up with other ArchivesSpace users as a warmup to your evening in Atlanta. An RSVP to Christine (christine.dibella@lyrasis.org) from those not registered for the Forum would be appreciated so that we are sure to have enough on hand.
Staying Connected
The library has free wi-fi and you’re welcome to bring any devices you’d like to connect. We encourage people to tweet any portion of the meeting - or to tweet questions for the meeting sessions from afar - using our suggested hashtag: #aspacemembers16
Description of Workshops
July 1, 2016: Note that all three workshops are currently at capacity. If you would like to be added to the waiting list, please email Christine (christine.dibella@lyrasis.org).
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. Instructor: Brad Westbrook, ArchivesSpace
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
Description of 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 – 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 major migrations to 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. Hear from the Chairs of ArchivesSpace's User Advisory Council and Technical Advisory Council and a member of the Governance Board about what these groups do and how to get involved..
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 hosting providers about the services they offer and the ways contracting out for assistance can simplify your ArchivesSpace experience.