Poster Presentations

 

 

 

In-House Digitization With the Lossless FFV1 Codec at the University of Notre Dame Archives

  • Angela Fritz, University of Notre Dame
  • Erik Dix, University of Notre Dame

This poster will illustrate how the University of Notre Dame Archives has developed and implemented analog reformatting workflows to digitize over 4000 video tapes in its holdings. The presentation will provide an overview of analog to digital reformatting workflows for both preservation and access purposes, as well as outline the implementation of FFV1 as an archiving codec.  Additionally, this poster will provide an overview of how digitization can be integrated into managing large AV collections and outline various stages of the process including: pre-accession assessment, rights management, accessioning, preservation assessment and conservation treatment, metadata creation/finding aid integration, bit-level preservation and associated digital storage strategies.

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Slow is Smooth, and Smooth is Fast: MPLP AV Assesment

  • Ben Harry, BYU – Special Collections

AV preservation prioritizing is integral to caring for any manuscript collection.  An articulated format risk assessment must be combined with careful content evaluation to determine preservation and reformatting priorities. But what data is absolutely necessary when you don’t have resources to crawl through a collection?  How would MPLP principles apply? I need to quickly communicate with the perhaps non-AV savvy administrators of our collections.  For this purpose, I am conducting an AV materials assessment of our manuscript collections of over 86,000+ containers, in little time.  Can MPLP approaches help us distill down data points in our race against time? Come see what I learned from conducting the assessment, enlisting the help of post-analog-born student workers, and presenting it to curatorial content specialists.

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Magneticomicon: A Visual Guide to Magnetic Tape Repairs

  • Blanche Joslin, New York University

A guide to the internal structure of magnetic tape cassette formats. When repairing these formats, it is almost always necessary to open a blank or spare tape to compare the reference tape thread path and cassette components with the broken cassette. This is time consuming and it can be difficult to locate a new or spare tape of the same format. The poster shows photographs of the inside of archival magnetic tape formats and clearly defines the thread path for the tape. It will be a useful reference for anyone performing repairs on magnetic tape formats or students learning these skills.

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Revisiting Chemical Reconditioning of Acetate Films for Improved Digital Reformatting

  • Diana Little, The MediaPreserve, A Division of Preservation Technologies, L.P.

Cellulose acetate motion picture films can be subject to brittleness and dimensional problems due to polymer degradation and plasticizer loss.  Despite advances in film scanning technology, these problems continue to diminish digital reformatting quality or preclude reformatting at all.  Chemical reconditioning, developed to de-shrink for reprinting, restores mechanical and dimensional properties and must be evaluated as a compliment to scanning for optimum reformatting.  In a proof-of-concept study of degraded 16mm films, we observed a statistically significant improvement in objective physical (thickness) and mechanical (MIT Folding Endurance) criteria in two of six films following chemical reconditioning. We also commenced a production team survey of a 116-film collection for key scanning criteria before and after chemical reconditioning to determine how it may best compliment scanning.

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A Wittgensteinian Voyage with a Library as Moving Image Practice

  • Helen Horgan, University of Hertfordshire

As digital archives replace the physical library a sense of personal connection to the world of ideas is being lost. Presently we are experiencing an extensive culling of documentation deemed archaic and invaluable. This current disinterest in certain histories of ideas is partly contingent on modes of expression which are difficult for a contemporary reader to access.    Since 2009 I have been managing the interdisciplinary mobile art project; ‘The LFTT Library’ set up to re-appropriate a discarded 400 year old theological library. ‘The LFTT Library Translation Tour’ was a 4,500km road trip across Europe with the library reinterpreting the library material through physical translation into foreign environments and cultures.   A moving image archive of documentation of the trip expresses the texts influence on the authors reading of her environment. Employing a Wittgensteinian approach I explore our shifting contemporary relationship to context based reading.

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The American Civil Liberties Union Digital Asset Management and Library

  • Jeffrey Marino, WordCityStudio

This poster presents ACLU’s new digital media library of thousands of assets. Jeffrey Marino implemented its taxonomy, metadata and workflow; trained staff; and rolled out to all users.     The organization rapidly grew (from 450,000 members in 2016 to 1.6 million today), challenged by a ‘new normal’ pace of civil rights issues and citizen actions.    A small staff at national headquarters documents these actions and produces media content on issues like Mass Incarceration and Voting Rights. These assets are high value, high priority for web, print and social media.     ACLU has offices in every state, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. Each has its own website but is not staffed for media production.    The self-service library delivers original content, licensed content, and brand resources, with permission controls and a search engine leveraging taxonomy and metadata familiar to ACLU users nationwide. The platform supports uploading from the field, for curation into the library.

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One System to Rule Them All – A Story of Merging Two Inventory Management Systems

  • Kathryn Claypool, Paramount Pictures

The world of asset management can be divided into two camps: Physical and Digital. However, content is content, and the metadata around both can be consolidated to maximize utility and streamline the down streams. Most content providers have separate systems to manage their two camps and merging or building one system for all content can be costly. After several years of managing assets in separate systems, Paramount Pictures is completing a long-standing goal to merge both inventories under one software roof. This process includes steps to map metadata, edit database schemas, link each physical item to a valid product, and make changes to accommodate shipping and shelving of materials. Paramount Pictures will move into the future with 100 years of content in one system.

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Collaboration & Replicability: Passing on the Knowledge of AV Station Creation

  • Laura Haygood, University of Oklahoma
  • Evelyn Cox, University of Oklahoma

This poster will represent the efforts of two OU Public Broadcasting Preservation Fellows, who created the digitization station within the OU LIS Graduate Program to preserve at-risk material for long-term preservation. This poster will focus on the project’s collaborative methodologies, replicability, and prospective long-term impact on the participating schools, stations, students, and community. Collaboration between the fellows, experts in the field, and departments of the university was vital to the success of the project.  The replicable design of the fellowship will be showcased, as well as how that replication is being used to further AV digitization at OU. The poster will include an overview of the project’s achievements and challenges, emphasize the importance of collaboration, and highlight the overarching lessons and goals for the project.

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Audiovisual Accessibility: Evaluating Workflows for Closed Captioning and Transcripts

  • Molly Rose Steed, University of Utah
  • Jeremy Myntti, University of Utah

The University of Utah’s J. Willard Marriott Library is working on a grant funded project to explore methods for generating and displaying closed captions and transcripts for digital audiovisual resources.  Building upon the work of other archivists determined to achieve full accessibility for their audiovisual collections, this poster outlines the parameters of the University of Utah’s ongoing project. This poster will include information about the project timeline, the variety of archival media being transcribed, and the methods, workflows, and technologies being examined by the project team.  A full report on the completed project, including staff-time and cost analyses and the systems adopted by the University of Utah will be forthcoming in Summer 2019.

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Vinegar Syndrome: Coming out of the Closet

  • Robin Zalben, Steven Spielberg Jewish Film Archive

The Steven Spielberg Jewish Film Archive recently completed a review of our vinegar vault.  Vinegar syndrome is a horrible end to a film, and we have some recommendations about checking your films, how to keep track of what is deteriorating and what can be done with the films before they are lost.

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ISAN:  Identifying Audiovisual Content in a Digitally Disrupted World

  • Rose St. Pierre, ISAN Canada

This poster presentation will inform delegates about the benefits of adopting the International Standard Audiovisual Number (ISAN), an ISO approved standard which allows stakeholders to track, manage, and identify audiovisual works of all formats, digital or analogue.  Find out why your colleagues around the world are registering their catalogues in the state-of-the-art ISAN database.

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Avalon Media System: Enhancing Open Source Software for AV Collections Access

  • Ryan Steans, Northwestern University
  • Jon Dunn, Indiana University

Avalon Media System is an open source platform for providing online access to audiovisual collections, based on the Samvera framework.  Co-developed by the libraries of Indiana Northwestern Universities, with support from IMLS and the Mellon Foundation, Avalon provides users with a straightforward user interface for both content managers and users of collections. Recent Avalon development has led to integration with the Oral History Metadata Synchronizer (OHMS) and work with WGBH to support the American Archive of Public Broadcasting.  Our ongoing development includes integration with Archivematica to provide robust workflows, adoption of the International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) for viewing and sharing media, and rearchitecting Avalon to operate as a standalone system or to integrate easily with Hyrax repositories hosting a wide variety of content.

 

 

Sharing Knowledge: Creating Original Research from AV Collections

  • Angela Saward, Wellcome Collection

This poster explains step-by-step the methodology used in creating original research from AV collections using the example of research by Angela Saward, Research Development Specialist in Moving Image and Sound in London-based Wellcome Collection. The research involved an in depth exploration of the University of London Audio-Visual Centre in the late 1960s – 1980s. The paper, “Television Discourses: A Critique of the University of London Audio-Visual Centre’s educational video programme”, was written for a conference held in February 2018 about the representation of the body on television 1950s-80s.   The poster is primarily aimed at collections-based employees but also of interest to other researchers; it aims to illustrate how embedded knowledge from managing and cataloguing collections can very readily be developed into original research.

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SaveFile: Towards a Games Archive at New York University

  • Annie Schweikert, New York University
  • Sigridur Regina Sigurthorsdottir, New York University

This poster addresses an initiative to establish a formal archive of video games designed by MFA students in the Game Design program at New York University. In this process, we gathered information about previous efforts to archive student work; interviewed students and faculty to gauge interest, hopes, and concerns; designed an accession form and workflow for accession; and ingested a test accession to a set of hard drives and backups, made accessible to students at a station in the Game Center Library. The poster will explain our implementation tiers and how they address the goals of preservation, access, and longevity.    The project was sponsored by a Tisch School of the Arts Interdepartmental Grant, administered by Tisch’s Office of the Dean and Graduate Student Organization.

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Saving Celluloid: Strategic Planning for Unmanaged Film Collections in Small Libraries, Archives and Museums (LAMs)

  • Ashley Franks-McGill, John F. Kennedy University

This poster session highlights aspects of my completed Master’s Project research for earning dual Master’s degrees in Museum Studies and Business Administration at John F. Kennedy University. This project emphasizes preservation of motion picture films in small libraries, archives and museums (LAMs) who are the keepers of our cultural heritage. This research sheds light on some of the challenges small LAMs are facing in regard to film preservation and offers guidance to approach the organization’s leadership with methods to prioritize and advocate for film preservation. As a product for my research, I created a series of worksheets to assist LAMs in analyzing their film preservation needs and film preservation goals while being able to create a strategic collections plan for preserving their institution’s film collection.

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Virtual Vault – An Open-Source System to Deliver Audiovisual Material

  • Brent Phillips, Rockefeller Archive Center

Recently, the Rockefeller Archive Center (RAC) launched the Virtual Vault, a system that facilitates playback and download of digitized audiovisual content to any user within the RAC network. It is a temporary delivery solution motivated by one central question: given the limitations of copyright and donor agreement restrictions, what is the most and best access we can provide?    Built on an open-source platform and the usage of ArchivesSpace descriptive metadata, the Virtual Vault assists numerous users: on-site researchers, RAC processing and reference archivists, filmmakers needing “screener” copies, and RAC staff and educators requiring audiovisual material for exhibitions or presentations. In other words, the Virtual Vault has become an aid to the RAC in many areas of audiovisual dissemination that were otherwise and formerly more complicated.

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Anchors and Abstracts: Sustaining Television News Archives

  • Clifford Anderson, Vanderbilt University Libraries
  • Bernie Reilly, Center for Research Libraries

This poster presents the results of a year-long study of the sustainability of television news archives, including a workshop on the legal, sustainability, and technical issues. The goal of the project was to explore possible points of collaboration between the libraries and archives actively-capturing broadcast television news, like UCLA NewsScape, TV News Archive at the Internet Archive, and the Vanderbilt Television News Archive, as well as other TV news collections like WGBH American Archive of Public Broadcasting and the Associated Press.    A major result of this effort was a clearer understanding of the differences between collections with respect to the process of capturing broadcast news, creating metadata, fostering access, developing collection scope, and financial models. On the basis of these findings, we propose recommendations about future initiatives to improve the practice of collecting and preserving audiovisual news content.

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Who’s That Driver: Organizing Digital Moving Images After the Fact

  • David Santiago, Revs Institute
  • Jessica Bright, Revs Institute

At the Revs Institute, a world-class automotive museum and library in Naples, Florida, there is a diverse collection of moving image materials, consisting of born-digital, film, and the digitized preservation versions of the film. These various formats consist of historical and contemporary footage of racing and car events from 1911 to 2018.     Revs attends many car events and accumulates digital videos from these events. These digital files present challenges, as previously, there was no centralized system or workflows concerning file-naming conventions; capture of relevant metadata, such as creator, subject, run-time, date, and copyright; fixity checks; file formatting; searchability/cataloging; and long-term preservation. This has resulted in about 50 TB of digital video files that need to be sorted through and made accessible.

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Every Dogboy Has His Day: Cult Film Preservation and ‘Freaked’

  • Erica Hill, Simmons College

The goals of this project are to explore how Cult and Genre films are preserved and analyze the relationship between a film’s following and it’s ongoing survival. Alex Winter and Tom Stern’s film, FREAKED, has lived outside mainstream film culture with periods of resurgence including a collector DVD and syndication on Turner Classic Movies. FREAKED bridges mainstream cinema and the cult film and is an example for the preservation of other cult films.   The films deemed taboo, trash, or surrealist art, have existed primarily in nice markets including midnight movie screenings and home video The value of this research fulfills a need for identifying changing theory surrounding the preservation of cult films and offers a theoretical framework for the reasons why cult films are saved.

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Conceptualizing and Curating the Digital Documentary

  • Heather Lynn Barnes, UNC Chapel Hill

The goal of this research is to begin to identify conceptual and curatorial models for contemporary documentary films and to consider how changes in the industry demand creative strategies for curating and preserving digital documentaries. Before archivists can effectively work with these materials, they need a better sense of their structure, production and preservation requirements. How has the shift to digital production and distribution transformed our ideas around what a documentary is? An impressionistic view of the digital documentary, formalized as a conceptual model, will, ideally speaking, support archivists, filmmakers and curators in providing effective digital stewardship for these unique cultural objects.

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Stock Footage and Everything Else Under the Sun

  • James Forsher, Retired

The poster session introduces my new book that explores the world of archival material. Due for release in December, 2018 by Michael Wiese Productions, the book explores the world of film, television, graphics, photography, music etc that comprise the different world of archival material to filmmakers, students, artists and others.  The book also reviews the legalities of using archival material and advice on accessing it.

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Oral History in Greater St Louis, Missouri

  • Josephine Sporleder, State Historical Society of Missouri (SHSMO)

This poster will highlight the State Historical Society of Missouri’s substantial oral history collections related to St. Louis. Some of the more interesting collections cover black community leaders seeking equitable labor practices by forming black trade unions, the interviewing of former occupants of the St. Louis Hooverville shanty settlement formed during The Great Depression and members of the Ethical Society from the 1950s to the mid-eighties. Featured prominently at the center of this poster will be an on-going oral history collection entitled, Women as Change Agents. This collection seeks to interview women who are leaders in their professions and communities as diverse as the interviewees themselves. These women have lifetime experiences covering great political and societal change influencing new generations of women.

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LaserDiscs in Libraries: Challenges for Their Preservation

  • Michael Grant, NYU Libraries

NYU Libraries is moving forward with its §108 reformatting work, begun in conjunction with NYU’s MIAP program with Video at Risk, and is embarking on a project to reformat LaserDiscs. With shifting technical considerations and copyrights, LaserDiscs may have different aspect ratios, sound mixes, or running times, and there are often special features which have never been reissued on subsequent DVDs and Blu-rays. And as an analog video format with multiple soundtracks, and chaptering which allowed for a wide range of dynamic and interactive uses, digitally preserving LaserDisc in a way that fully captures the format’s interface presents unique challenges for libraries. We will present the progress we have made so far, and look forward to hearing how similar institutions are handling similar concerns.

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The Sheikh Taimoor Collection: Opening the Can on Pakistan’s Film History

  • Rosie Burgess, George Eastman Museum

Consisting of just over four hundred 35mm film titles, produced in the geographical region now known as the country of Pakistan, dating from the mid-1930s to the mid-1970s, The Sheikh Taimoor Collection is a rich and largely unexplored collection of film. Spanning a key forty-year historical period from before, during, and after the establishment of Pakistan, these films have the potential to chart this rich, but rarely written about, cinematic history.   The first person to open the cans of this collection for my L. Jeffrey Selznick School Personal Project, this poster will showcase my findings, providing an introduction to the history of Pakistani and pre-Pakistani cinema, the potential value of this unique film collection, and the complex issues surrounding its preservation.

 

 

 

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