Owen rogers, library of congress
Proposal Type
Structured Conversation (session)
Seeking
- Seeking Additional Presenters
- Seeking General Feedback and Interest
Related Topics
- Digital
- Public Engagement
Abstract
Digitization initiatives reflect an opportunity to rehabilitate audiovisual holdings in the context of both access and preservation. Historically significant audio collections are often stored on obsolete physical media susceptible to physical degradation and inaccessible to the general public. This concrete “repair work” of preservation-oriented digitization can yield abstract historiographical consequences. How can we reconcile energies invested in preserving narratives (having it) with the discoverability afforded through tandem metadata and digital enhancements (knowing it)?
Description
Digital repair work targeted solely at the transfer of sound and video carriers is incomplete without also employing tools to increase access to and discoverability of the audiovisual content. The discoverable potential of born digital and digitized recordings requires metadata, transcripts, time-coded content, taxonomies and experimentation with linked data and semantic technologies.
This guided discussion with participants from NPR’s Research, Archives & Data Strategy team and the Library of Congress Veterans History Project presents the challenges associated with audiovisual collections comprised of digitized legacy formats, as well as archives with collections containing limited metadata and descriptive information.
Chiefly, the discussion solicits successful workflows, toolsets, and public partnerships that would elevate access to archival holdings through the collaboration of researchers, “citizen historians,” and institutional staff.
If you have a direct offer of assistance, sensitive criticism, or wish to pass along someone’s contact information confidentially, please get in contact directly: Owen Rogers, [email protected].
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