DAS Curriculum and Certificate Program

Program Information
Curriculum

Follow Erica Boudreau's blog on her experiences in the DAS program at her blog, Diary of a DAS Student.

NEA thanks our workshop sponsors

Several sponsors have stepped forward to help fund the Digital Preservation for Videotape workshop and NEA would like to acknowledge their generosity.

  • Yale University Library Manuscripts and Archives
  • Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies
  • Olin Library - Wesleyan University
  • Watkinson Library - Trinity College
  • Weissman Preservation Center - Harvard Library

Upcoming Workshops

Electronic Records in a Municipal Environment

Dr. John D. Warner, State Archivist of Massachusetts, will be giving a workshop at the City of Boston Archives on Electronic Records in a Municipal Environment.

  • Date: March 20, 2012
  • Time: 1:00 pm
  • Location: City of Boston Archives, 201 Rivermoor St., West Roxbury MA 02132
  • Cost: Free
RSVP to Joyce Clifford at clifford.joyce@gmail.com.

Implementing "More Product, Less Process" (co-sponsored with SAA)

Friday March 23, 2012
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Wesleyan University
Middletown, Connecticuit
Early-Bird Registration Deadline: February 23, 2012

Cost: Early-Bird/Regular
SAA Members: $185/ $235
Employees of Member Institutions: $210/$260
Nonmember: $235/$285
SAA will provide a $25 discount off the non-member rate for NEA members. Please enter "25NEA12" into the promotional code on the online registration form and the discount will be activated.

Register here

Instructor:
Daniel A. Santamaria, Assistant University Archivist for Technical Services, Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library, Princeton University
Jennifer Meehan, Head of Processing, Manuscript Unit, Beinecke Rara Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University

Workshop Description
Backlogs don't have to weigh as heavily as they do! Focus on implementing concrete strategies for increasing processing rates and reducing backlogs as outlined in the Greene-Meissner article, "More Product, Less Process: Revamping Traditional Archival Processing," and learn as you share information and experiences with your fellow workshop participants. Topics include appraisal, arrangement, description, digitization, and preservation, as well as development of processing plans, policies, and benchmarks. This array of topics is addressed through lecture, case studies, and group discussion. Upon completion of this course you'll be able to:

  • Understand the concepts and arguments outlined in "More Product, Less Process;"
  • Implement strategies for increasing processing rates in a variety of institutions;
  • Apply techniques for managing efficient processing programs, including developing processing plans, policies, and benchmarks;
  • Understand how descriptive standards such as DACS can assist in the creation of descriptive records that adhere to "minimum" requirements and assist in the reuse of data in a variety of outputs; and
  • Develop strategies for integrating processing with other archival functions, particularly accessioning.

Who should attend?
Archivists who process archival collections or manage archival processing programs and administrators interested in processing procedures within their repositories (introductory to intermediate levels).

Attendance limited to 30.

This course is one of the General Archival Knowledge Courses offered by SAA.

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Digital Repositories - DAS (co-sponsored with SAA)

Friday March 23, 2012
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Wesleyan University
Middletown, Connecticuit
Early-Bird Registration Deadline: February 23, 2012

Cost: Early-Bird/Regular
SAA Members: $185/ $235
Employees of Member Institutions: $210/$260
Nonmember: $235/$285
SAA will provide a $25 discount off the non-member rate for NEA members. Please enter "25NEA12" into the promotional code on the online registration form and the discount will be activated.

Register here

Instructor:
Gregory Colati, Director, University Archives and Special Collections, University of Connecticut

Workshop Description
Truly a Digital Repositories 101 course! Participate in knowledge-building discussions and activities that focus on defining, selecting, and implementing digital repositories (DRs) as well as a review of basic decisions that must be made before and during the development of a digital collection and digital repository program. The instructors address the role of the archivist in DR construction and deployment; the standards, best practices, and realities of content and metadata deposit; the strategies for developing administrative structures; policies; the long-term preservation concerns; and marketing your repository.
Interactive activities throughout the seminar lead to a better understanding of your local institution and to a roadmap for program development.

Upon completion of this course you'll be able to:
  • Explain the basic decisions underlying the development of a digital repository program;
  • Differentiate between the components necessary to implement a viable digital repository service;
  • Evaluate existing and proposed repository initiatives at your local institutions for identified elements of a successful deployment;
  • Reference existing digital repositories and the characteristics they illustrate;
  • Identify areas in which you might build your knowledge base and/or skill sets to meet the needs of a digital repository program; and
  • Recognize local areas where there is a collision of theory and practice and identify guides, models, and additional resources to help you resolve the conflicts in a viable, responsible way.

Who should attend?
Archivists or information professionals who have working knowledge of digital collections but are in need of a digital repository primer, either because they or their unit has been identified as the ideal location for these activities or because their institutions are engaging in repository activities and seek guidance on content development, standards, preservation needs, and/or marketing strategies. This course also appeals to new archivists and mid-career archivists who are looking to increase their knowledge base regarding digital repositories; or, employees of organizations that wish to implement a digital asset management system or institutional repository.

What Should You Know
Basic metadata schemas, digital content creation, digital capture factors, and have a basic awareness of digital storage and preservation issues.

This course is one of the Foundational Courses in the Digital Archives Specialist (DAS) Curriculum and Certificate Program. If you intend to pursue the Certificate, you'll need to pass the examination for this course. Please follow Option 1 to access exam information.

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Digital Preservation for Videotape (co-sponsored with Independent Media Arts Preservation)

Friday March 23, 2012
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Wesleyan University
Middletown, Connecticut

Cost: NEA or IMAP Members: $100
Nonmember: $150
Artists and Students: $50

Register here

Instructor:
Kara Van Malssen, Independent Media Arts Preservation

Workshop Description
If content on analog videotape is to survive for the long term, the tapes must be digitized - moved from the unstable magnetic media on which the content is currently held, into the digital realm where - in theory - they can be preserved indefinitely and migrated forward as files rather than physical objects. Digitization, however, means more than simply selecting a destination file format. It requires a series of decisions that will determine the long-term viability of files created - and thus of the valuable video content.

Workshop topics include

  • Basic digital file creation
  • Preservation and access file formats and codecs
  • Software
  • Storage and trusted digital repositories
  • Workflows for digitization, and
  • Technical and preservation metadata

In addition, participants will examine case studies of small and large-scale digitization projects in order to understand real world applications of principles introduced in the workshop.

Participants are encouraged to bring laptops for a computer-based exercise.

Attendance limited to 30 people.

Co-Sponsored by:

  • New England Archivists
  • Yale University Library Manuscripts and Archives
  • Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies
  • Olin Library - Wesleyan University
  • Watkinson Library - Trinity College
  • Weissman Preservation Center - Harvard Library

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