FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
IMLS Press Contacts
202-653-4632
Kevin O'Connell, koconnell@imls.gov
Mamie Bittner, mbittner@imls.gov
Washington, DC—The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), in cooperation with Heritage Preservation, is presenting WebWise Reprise, two online events based on the IMLS WebWise 2012 conference. The first event, on June 14 at 2:00 pm EDT, will be "Sharing Public History Work: Crowdsourcing Data." The second event, on June 28 at 2:00 pm EDT, will be "Oral History in the Digital Age."
WebWise Reprise will be hosted in the Virtual Meeting Room of the Connecting to Collections Online Community. This Online Community is part of Connecting to Collections, a multi-faceted national initiative of the Institute of Museum and Library Services to aid museums and libraries in their care of collections. The Online Community draws on many resources that were developed for the initiative, including the Connecting to Collections Bookshelf and the Raising the Bar Workshops and Webinars.
Since 2000, the WebWise conference has brought together representatives of museums, libraries, archives, systems science, education, and other fields interested in the future of high-quality online content for inquiry and learning. This annual conference highlights recent research and innovations in digital technology, explores their potential impacts on library and museum services, and promotes effective museum and library practices in the digital environment. It also provides recipients of technology-based grants from the Institute with an opportunity to showcase their exemplary projects. This year’s conference, WebWise 2012: Tradition and Innovation, was held in Baltimore, Maryland from February 29-March 2.
Moderated by Heritage Preservation Vice President Kristen Laise, these 90 minute webinars will each begin with a 20 minute video presentation from WebWise 2012. Participants will watch the video live together along with some of the presenters from each panel. (It is recommended that you have broadband access in order to watch the video live. If you are concerned about your system’s capabilities, you may want to watch the videos before the webinars. Click here to view the videos.) After the video, presenters will provide additional insights and participants will have the opportunity to ask questions live.
WebWise Reprise is being offered free of charge and no pre-registration is required. You do not need to be a member of the Connecting to Collections Online Community to participate in these webinars. Simply go to the Community’s Virtual Meeting Room at the time of the webinar, enter your name and location, and join the conversation. If you would like to run a technical check of your system before the webinar, please click here.
Sharing Public History Work: Crowdsourcing Data
Thursday, June 14, 2012, 2 p.m.-3:30 p.m. EDT Public historians and librarians have long relied on their local communities for volunteers to assist paid staff as docents and interpreters, and as collections and reference assistants. More recently, a variety of collaborative online tools have it made possible for volunteers from a larger pool to assist museums and libraries to share in content work through crowdsourcing. We will watch the WebWise presentation of Ben Brumfield, Software Engineer at FromThePage Open-Source Transcription Software. In it, Ben discusses valuable lessons learned from crowdsourcing indexing of small collections. He will be joined by Sharon Leon, Director of Public Projects at the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University to answer your questions.
Oral History in the Digital Age
Thursday, June 28, 2012, 2 p.m.-3:30 p.m. EDT The sound of voices from the past can bring history to life in a powerful way for the 21st-century learner. In this Webinar, we will watch the WebWise presentation of Dean Rehberger, Director of MATRIX: the Center for Humane Art, Letters, and Social Science Online at Michigan State University and learn about MATRIX's newest Web site Oral History in the Digital Age project (http://ohda.matrix.msu.edu). Dean will provide a tour of the site which includes best practices on issues about collecting, curating, and disseminating oral histories and narratives using current technology. He will be joined by Doug Boyd, director of the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History at the University of Kentucky Libraries to answer your questions about oral histories and how their projects might assist you in your work.
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About the Institute of Museum and Library Services
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 123,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. Through grant making, policy development, and research, we help communities and individuals thrive through broad public access to knowledge, cultural heritage, and lifelong learning. To learn more about IMLS, please visit www.imls.gov.
About Heritage Preservation
Heritage Preservation is a national non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the cultural heritage of the United States. By identifying risks, developing innovative programs, and providing broad public access to expert advice, Heritage Preservation assists museums, libraries, archives, historic preservation and other organizations, as well as individuals, in caring for our endangered heritage. To learn more, visit www.heritagepreservation.org.