Managing Digitisation Projects

Wednesday, November 4th, 14:00 – 15:30
Free, donations gratefully received

About the online talk:
How do you go about planning, fundraising and managing a digitisation project? Many of us will be looking at collections we work with or own, and wondering how we can digitise these and make them more accessible to colleagues, the sector and the public. With so many people engaging with heritage and the arts online, now is a great time for archives, museums and private collections to digitise and share content.
 
This online talk will feature a series short talks followed by Q&A from speakers who have worked on digitisation projects and will discuss a range of topics covering planning, fundraising, scanning, cataloguing, working with third parties and volunteers.

Speakers include:
Abby Matthews - Archive and Family History Centre Manager, Sutton Cultural Services.
Abby managed the Past On Glass project which digitised over 10,000 glass plate negatives in house, these images are now accessible on Flickr. The project included public engagement, conference, publication and more. Abby will discuss how this digitisation project was managed, the highs and lows, and a reflection of what was learned.
http://pastonglass.wordpress.com/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/pastonglass/

Debbie Cooper - Manager for PCN, Producer for FORMAT Festival, Artist and Photographer.
Debbie has written funding bids for multiple arts and heritage projects including digitisation projects and has over a decade experience in fundraising and project management. As an artist, Debbie has also managed and delivered public engagement projects with photographic collections, archives and museums.

Julia Parks - Heritage Project Manager at Signal Film and Media.
Julia Project Manages the Seeing the North with Sankey project which aims to digitise, catalogue, rehouse and celebrate the Sankey Family Photography Collection. The collection was produced in Barrow-in-Furness and wider cumbria between 1900 and 1965 and includes postcards, 9000 glass plate negative and 22 photo albums. Julia will talk about the development of the project initially, securing funding from the National Heritage Lottery Fund and how we have adapted to online working since the project began in January 2020.
https://signalfilmandmedia.com/seeing-the-north-with-sankey/

Casper Smithson - Townsweb Archiving
Townsweb Archiving has worked on multiple digitisation projects with museums, archives and collections both public and private. Casper will be sharing his top tips on planning and managing a digitisation project, as well as some of the common mistakes. Casper will also be sharing information about the Townsweb Digitisation Grant and offering advice for those who want to apply.
https://www.townswebarchiving.com/2020-twa-digitisation-grant/

Who is this event aimed at?
Anyone working with collections or archives, you might be in the early stages of planning a collections digitisation project, well underway or maybe you've completed a project and have some knowledge to share.  These projects could be at any scale from an individual archive, personal collection to large museum or library. 

It would be really useful to our speakers if you could share any specific questions before the event you can email those to info@photocollections.org.uk please quote 'Planning and Mangaing Digitisation Projects' in the subject field. You will also be able to ask questions during the event.

Attending:
After booking you will get an automed email confirmation, a personal reminder the day before, and an attedee link to the event 2-3 hours before start (when booking closes). We have a limited capacity of 100, if the event is full you will be added to the waiting list. If you have any questions about attending you can contact us on info@photocollections.org.uk

Booking:
You need to be registered (free) or member (paid) to book this even, use this link if you are not already registered: https://www.photocollections.org.uk/user/register

This is event free but we ask that you donate if you are able, you can do this whilst making your booking. Every donation is appreciated, and will help us continue our work.

 

Tickets now available - please scroll down for booking.

This two day event explores how we can best preserve and give access to our digital archives and collections. It includes:

• Practical workshops giving the basics of best practice in looking after digital material
• Talks and provocations outlining the strategic and curatorial challenges of digital preservation
• World café-style discussion and networking sessions.

Event background

During the Covid-19 lockdown we’ve all become acutely aware of one of the most essential values of digital preservation: remote access. Most physical collections, libraries, and archives have been closed down for several weeks. Working from home is problematic, especially when we keep in mind that rather than working from home by design or choice, we are actually at home during a crisis trying to work. In any case, primary access to collections is now digital more than ever. This brings the need for better understanding in digital preservation and the development of skills for digital curation to the fore more than ever before.Making the case for, and delivering, a programme of digital preservation is still a tough (and expensive) challenge, but perhaps lockdown will help everyone understand its importance.

About the event

The Digital Curation Lab at the University of Salford’s MediaCityUK campus has teamed up with Redeye and the Photographic Collections Network to offer a 2-day online training and exploration event in collaboration with the Digital Preservation Coalition. The programme contains training sessions from the Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC), knowledge sharing conversations in a world cafè style, and keynote provocations by world-class specialists exploring the strategic and policy side of digital preservation programmes and the curation of digital objects. This event is not limited to the digital preservation of photographs or art objects but will also deal with preserving a wide range of audiovisual materials.

Attendance

This event is delivered online via Zoom. By the day before the event you will receive the Zoom links to allow you to log in. You are welcome to attend some or all of the events; we are aware that due to homeworking many participants may not be able to attend all the sessions. If you have any enquiries about this please email info@photocollections.org.uk 

Who is this event aimed at?

• Anyone working with collections or archives of digital media, in particular if you are seeking to improve your practices, increase access, or set up new digital collections or archives. This can be at any scale from an individual’s archive to large museum or library. 
• Anyone with issues around preservation or curation of digital material.
• Anyone whose organisation is concerned with managing digital assets and collections, particularly if you are looking to improve digital preservation policies and programmes.

We will concentrate on audiovisual material; similar principles apply to photographs, sound, video, animation and 3D files. There is a focus on born-digital work, but the event should also be relevant to these working with physical objects that have been digitised. 

Althogh some terms in the workshop descriptions might be unfamiliar, the workshops will be accessible to those just starting to tackle this area for the first time.

Timetable

TUESDAY 7 JULY 2020

9:00              Event opens on Zoom

9:15              Welcome and introductions: Toni Sant, Paul Herrmann

9:30              Keynote: Geoff Belknap, Head Curator, National Science and Media Museum.  

"The Digital Ecology - how and what we collect." The Science Museum Group’s emerging approach to collecting and curating digital material.

10:00            World café discussion and networking session A

10:30            BREAK

10:45            World café discussion and networking session B

11:15            BREAK

11:30            DPC training session: Introduction to Digital Preservation

This session will provide a broad introduction to digital preservation, establishing why it is important and going over the main issues and activities involved. It will define essential digital preservation terminology, describe key standards, and provide an overview of methodologies that can be employed for a range of digital materials. (approx. 1 hour)

All DPC training sessions today are delivered by Amy Currie with Sharon McMeekin

12:30            LUNCH BREAK

13:30            DPC training session: Introduction to Bitstream Preservation

This session will give an overview on how information is stored and processed by computers using files and file formats, the key risks that are faced, and how participants can start identifying preferred file formats for preservation of their digital media within their archive/repository. It will describe the concept of 'Bitstream Preservation' and what can be included in simple bitstream preservation workflows. (approx. 1 hour)

14:30            BREAK

15:00            DPC training session: Risk Management for Digital Preservation

This session will explore risk management, focusing on risk assessments for digital preservation. There will be a short exercise on undertaking a risk and opportunities assessment as well as time allocated for questions and discussion about assessing risk in a time of crisis. (approx. 1 hour 30 min) 

16:30            BREAK

17:30            Evening session: Peter Krogh, photographer, author and technologist

“Five essential rules for digital photography preservation.” Peter gives an introduction to what he regards as the most important principles for managing digital photo collections. Plus time for Q&A on subjects around workflow, storage, backup, metadata and software.

NB all attendees are entitled to a discount on purchase of Peter Krogh's The DAM Book. Details will be given to you at the event.

WEDNESDAY 8 JULY 2020

9:00              Event opens; welcome and introductions at approx 9:15

9:30              Keynote: Andy Mabbett, Wikipedian, author and digital & open content consultant.

"Working with Wikimedia Projects, or how a bunch of upstart amateurs can dramatically increase your reach."  Everyone knows Wikipedia, but what about Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons, Wikisource and Wiktionary? By collaborating with the communities - which include many professional archivists - that build those projects and more, archives and other cultural bodies have found that they can reach new audiences at low cost. But some organisations are resistant. Why is that, and are they right?

10:00            Q&A and discussion with Andy Mabbett

10:30            Networking sessions – a chance to meet and chat to some of the other participants.

11:00            BREAK

11:30            DPC training session: Select and Transfer Workflow

This session will examine the activities information managers should undertake up to and including transferring data into their archive/repository. This will include issues to discuss with and guidance to give to depositors/records creators, legal agreements that need to be in place, requirements for minimum metadata to be included with a transfer, and options for transferring content. There will be time allocated to discuss challenges with transfer in the time of crisis. (approx. 1 hour 15 min)

All DPC training sessions today are delivered by Sharon McMeekin with Amy Currie

12:45            LUNCH BREAK

13:45            DPC training session: Ingest Workflow

This session will cover the skills for managing the processing of digital collections into an archive/repository. This will include what hardware and software might be required for an ingest workstation, and help participants understand how to begin documenting the digital collections at different levels of granularity. There will be time allocated to discuss challenges with ingest in the time of crisis (approx. 1 hour 15 mins).

15:00            BREAK

15:30            Training session: Preserve Workflow

This session will provide a broad overview of digital preservation storage issues. It will include identifying key risks such as obsolescence, the pros and cons of different types of storage, managing information security and access permissions. It will also cover talking to IT colleagues about our technological requirements (approx. 1 hour).

16:30            BREAK

17:00            Closing session: Marion Crick, Head of Collections Management, V&A Museum

"Permanent collections: How do we ensure the legacy of our digital collecting?" Marion closes the event; she looks at the legacy of the digital preservation decisions we make, and what we choose to preserve. 

18:00            Relax - feel free to stay on and chat via Zoom for a short while!

 

SPEAKERS AND PRESENTERS

Geoff Belknap is Head Curator at the National Science and Media Museum, Bradford, and a historian of photography, science, museums and visual culture. He completed his PhD at the University of Cambridge in 2011 and has previously worked as a researcher and post-doctoral fellow at Harvard University. He is the auhor of From a Photograph, exploring the authenticity of early photography.

Amy Currie manages training and skills at the Digital Preservation Coalition, and has considerable experience in the field of digital preservation and training, having recently co-convened the Description, Cataloguing and Navigation course for postgraduate Information Management & Preservation students at the University of Glasgow.

Peter Krogh is a photographer, author, and technologist working on the creation, deployment and preservation of digital media. He is well known in the photography community as the author of The DAM Book - Digital Asset Management for Photography; and related guides on workflow, digitisation, cataloguing and organisation of photographs. He is also Chief Product Officer for Tandem Vault, a cloud-based DAM system.

Andy Mabbett, FRSA, (ORCID: 0000-0001-5882-6823) is a consultant who specialises in advising organisations about Wikipedia and its sister projects, and training people to edit Wikipedia and Wikidata. He has given talks on the movement on five continents, and has worked as a “Wikimedian in Residence” for a number of archives, museums, art galleries, learned societies and universities, and is currently in residence with Coventry University. He also edits those projects for fun.

Sharon McMeekin is Head of Workforce Development, and Training and Skills, at the Digital Preservation Coalition. Her responsibilities include training outputs, the scholarship scheme, and acting as managing editor of the Digital Preservation Handbook.

Marion Crick works for the Victoria and Albert Museum, London as Head of Collections Management and Project Lead for Content/Data/Object; the latter is a project to articulate and enable meaningful access to digital artworks. As Head of Collections Management, she leads development of information and process standards for managing the V&A’s collections, and has never found a standard that couldn’t be improved. With 20 years’ experience of managing information and image collections, she has seen digital collections and their managers evolve, and wants to develop a standard that serves the objects and the communities that surround them. 

 

EVENT STAFF AND ORGANISERS (direct any queries to one of us during the event)

Toni Sant, Director of The Digital Curation Lab

Paul Herrmann, Director of Redeye and The Photographic Collections Network

Debbie Cooper, Manager, The Photographic Collections Network

John McMillan, Administration Officer, The Digital Preservation Coalition

Rachael Burns, Programme Co-ordinator, Redeye

 

TICKETS

Registration closes 2pm on 6th July 2020; Zoom links sent out by 4pm. Contact us if you don't receive the links.

The event is free of charge and open to members of:

• The Photographic Collections Network
• Redeye
• The Digital Preservation Coalition

and:

• Affiliates of the Digital Curation Lab at the University of Salford

Please click the relevant booking type below. You will be taken to a separate ticketing page.

Talk 2 – 3pm, inc Q&A
Free, donations gratefully received

About the Online Talk:
How do you go about starting, building, and looking after a private collection of photographs or photobooks? Many of us will be giving our own collections more attention during this period of lockdown, and there has never been a better time to support artists by buying prints and artists' books.

In this online talk Dr Michael Pritchard will reflect on both the RPS's collections and his own collection of photographic books. Using specific examples he will explore subjects such as the motivations for collecting, where and how to buy or acquire, the appeal of particular works and how their significance might change over time, caring for a collection, and how it might live beyond the original collector.

Michael will be interviewed by Paul Herrmann, Director of the Photographic Collections Network; and there will be the chance to submit your own comments and questions either before or during the event.

About the Speakers:
Dr Michael Pritchard is Director, Education and Public Affairs, at the Royal Photographic Society, and a photo-historian. A former photography specialist at Christie's auction house, he worked on cataloguing the Kodak Historical Collection at the British Library and has taught on the MA history of photography course at De Montfort University. He completed his PhD which examined British photographic manufacturing and retailing up to 1914 in 2010. He has lectured internationally, broadcast and written extensively on the history of photography. His most recent book is A history of photography in 50 Cameras (Bloomsbury 2015). He edits the British Photographic History blog in his spare time. IG @mikeyp1839 / E: michael@rps.org

Paul Herrmann is the Director of Redeye Photography Network, and the Photographic Collections Network. Redeye has supported hundreds of photographers in every different genre to develop their photographic work and careers through a programme of events, courses, professional development, commissions, collaborations, business advice and information. Paul has worked in the photographic sector for over 30 years, starting out as a freelance editorial photographer in the 1980s. He talks, writes and advises on a range of business and professional issues in photography.

Events during the lockdown:
While the Coronavirus lockdown is a stressful time for many of us, it also provides opportunities to learn and reflect upon our practice.
 
Here at the Photographic Collections Network we had planned to run a series of skill sharing events and archive tours in museums, galleries, archives and in private collections across the UK to share knowledge and skills, best practice and encourage sector networking.

We have had to postpone these events for now, so instead we have reached out to respected freelancers and photographic experts from the sector and to PCN's Steering Group to help us deliver a series of online events, which are offered for free and aim to be accessible to as many people as possible.

We would normally charge a ticket price for our events and like many organisations, staff, and freelancers and in the sector that we support, we are experiencing a loss of income right now. This is due to projects and events being cancelled, funding bids we that have been working on are unable to be submitted due to reorganisation of funds, and the loss of ticket income. We ask if you take part in our online events and feel that you can afford to donate, that you do so whilst making your booking. Every donation is appreciated, and will help us continue our work, and enable us to pay more speakers to run online events.

If you would like to support PCN or collaborate with us please get in touch.

History and Identification of Photographic Processes​
Susie Clark – Conservator

Thursday 30th April
2 – 4pm 
Free, donations gratefully received
The seminar will include a comfort break and Q&A.

PCN members can watch a Zoom recording of this complete event here.

About the Online Seminar:
The care of photographic collections presents special challenges. Knowledge of photographic processes, the materials used and their appearance is the first stage in understanding their care, and is also essential for appreciating some of their visual qualities. 

In this online seminar Susie will take you through the history and identification of the most common photographic processes which are likely to make up the majority of the photographs in collections.

This seminar will enable you to understand and identify photographs in a collection you might work with or manage, so that you can go on to understand any care that might be required. 

About the speaker:
Susie Clark is an accredited paper and photographic conservator and consultant, and winner of the Museums and Galleries Commission Jerwood Conservation Award for Research and Innovation for her work on wet collodion positives.

Susie's work includes; Conservator for the Collaborative Research Project between the National Science and Media Museum and the Getty Conservation Institute (USA) looking at the characteristics of different photographic processes. Conservator for the Nicéphore Niépce project at the National Science and Media Museum. 

Susie has worked as a Tutor for the Foundation of the American Institute of Conservation, at the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles. The Australian Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Material at the National Gallery of Australia and New Zealand Conservators of Cultural Materials at the National Library of New Zealand. The British Library, and as Honorary Teaching Fellow at the University of Dundee. 

She is Assistant Co-ordinator of the ICOM-CC Photographic Materials Group and Committee Member of the York Consortium for Conservation and Craftmanship. Previously been on the Committee of the Institute of Paper Conservation and the Society of Archivists’ Film and Sound Committee and Conservation Committee. 

Who is this for:
This seminar workshop is aimed towards people working professionally with photographic collections or archives, but will be useful to anyone working in the museums and archives sector, or with an interest in photographic collections.

Tickets:
Please register for free by 11am on Thursday 30th to receive your invitation to the meeting. Please note you get a standard e-ticket but you don't need to keep it. Instead we will email you with an invite to the Zoom meeting details. You will then be in the Zoom Waiting Room until the host starts the event. Once the event is underway we may not be able to accept late attendees.

Events during the lockdown:

While the Coronavirus lockdown is a stressful time for many of us, it also provides opportunities to learn and reflect upon our practice. 

Here at the Photographic Collections Network we had planned to run a series of skill sharing events and archive tours in museums, galleries, archives and in private collections across the UK to share knowledge and skills, best practice and encourage sector networking.

We have had to postpone these events for now, so instead we have reached out to respected freelancers and photographic experts from the sector and to PCN's Steering Group to help us deliver a series of online events, which are offered for free and aim to be accessible to as many people as possible.

We would normally charge a ticket price for our events and like many organisations, staff, and freelancers and in the sector that we support, we are experiencing a loss of income right now. This is due to projects and events being cancelled, funding bids we that have been working on are unable to be submitted due to reorganisation of funds, and the loss of ticket income. We ask if you take part in our online events and feel that you can afford to donate, that you do so whilst making your booking. Every donation is appreciated, and will help us continue our work, and enable us to pay more speakers to run online events.

If you would like to support PCN or collaborate with us please get in touch.