I unfortunately will not be in Austin next week for the 2009 Society of American Archivists meeting. But if I were, these are some of the sessions I would be sure not to miss:
From Colonialism to Collaboration: Collecting Internationally
Aug 13, 2009 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM
Description: American repositories traditionally have acquired materials from overseas. Archival collections can be at risk in their home countries due to content, political instability, or war. While organizations with worldwide memberships endeavor to document their diverse and dispersed constituents, what is the appropriate role of American archivists in collecting these materials today? The speakers discuss models that employ digitization, volunteers, and collaboration with local archival programs, as well as related legal, ethical, and practical issues.
Brad Bauer (Chair), Hoover Institution, Stanford University, 90 Years of International Collecting: The Experience of the Hoover Institution Archives Matthew K. Heiss, LDS Church History Library and Archives, Keeping Records: The LDS Church’s Evolving Program to Document the Church Around the World Christian D. Kelleher, The University of Texas at Austin, Human Rights Archives and a Modern Model for International Archival Acquisition and Development
Private Cultures and Public Archives: What Is Cultural Privacy and Why Is It Important?
Aug 13, 2009 , 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
Description: Privacy affords individuals the right to shield personal information from unwanted scrutiny. What are the ethical and practical implications of extending this right to groups (nations, ethnic groups, tribes, linguistic groups)? Panelists discuss the definition of cultural privacy and how this concept informs acquisition of, access to, and use of documentation of potentially private cultural knowledge in their institutions.
Lisa Conathan, PhD (Chair), Yale University
Ruth Bayhylle, University of Southern California
Joel Sherzer, The University of Texas at Austin
Guha Shankar, American Foklife Center
My Face / Public Space: Privacy Issues for Photographs and Film in the Web 2.0 World
Aug 15, 2009, 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM
Description: Web 2.0 technologies, such as Flickr, YouTube, and the Internet Archive, enable archivists to present photographs and films in the online environment. Yet archivists must also address questions about privacy and confidentiality when making such media available publicly. This session explores the challenges inherent when putting images of individuals online, starts a dialogue about best practices, and provides practical tips for handling these materials with care and respect.
Susan McElrath (Chair), American University
Snowden Becker, PhD , First They Were Shot, Then We Asked Questions: Accuracy and Sensitivity in Work with Home Movies
Phoebe Evans Letocha , Contextual Integrity and Informed Consent: Providing Web Access to Images of Health and Medicine
Dr. Matthew D Mason, PhD , Parsing Pictorial Privacy: Archival Responsibilities and Ethics Toward Photographs of Individuals.
Lest We Forget-Lest We Forget! Sustaining Memory in Post-Colonial Archives Aug 15, 2009 , 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM
Description: As Rudyard Kipling warned in “Recessional,” there is danger in forgetfulness. Archives in former colonies face challenges to disentangle, and to rescue, the native and colonized voices that were smothered by “official” discourse and often ignored or dispersed far from their place of origin. The presenters address these challenges and offer unique and viable solutions for safeguarding the memories of former colonies in the Caribbean and Hawaiian Islands.
Bertram Lyons (Chair), Sharing Cultural Resources / Sharing Responsabilty / Sustaining Memory: The Alan Lomax Archives’ Ethnographic Digital Project
Helen Wong Smith, MLS , CA , Preserving Hawaii’s Many Cultures Through Five Governments
Gayle Williams, The Digital Library of the Caribbean: A Collaborative Model for Preservation, Sustainability, and Cultural Memory