Tag: Call for Participation

Call for Nominations to the NDSA Coordinating Committee

NDSA will be electing three members to its Coordinating Committee (CC) this year, with terms starting in January 2025. CC members serve a three year term and participate in a monthly call to help guide and sustain the organization’s strategy and direction. The Coordinating Committee provides strategic leadership to the organization in coordination with group co-chairs. NDSA is a diverse community with a critical mission, and we seek candidates to join the CC that bring a variety of cultures and orientations, skills, perspectives and experiences, to bear on leadership initiatives. Working on the CC is an opportunity to contribute your leadership for the community as a whole, while collaborating with a wonderful group of dynamic and motivated professionals. 

If you are interested in joining the NDSA Coordinating Committee (CC) or want to nominate another member, please complete the nomination form by 11:59pm EDT Friday, August 30, 2024, which asks for the name, e-mail address, brief bio/candidate statement (nominee-approved), and NDSA-affiliated institution of the nominee. We particularly encourage and welcome nominations of people from underrepresented groups and sectors. 

As members of the NDSA, we join together to form a consortium of more than 270 partnering organizations, including businesses, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, professional associations and universities, all engaged in the long-term preservation of digital information. Committed to preserving access to our national digital heritage, we each offer our diverse skills, perspectives, experiences, cultures and orientations to achieve what we could not do alone. 

The CC is dedicated to ensuring a strategic direction for NDSA, to the advancement of NDSA activities to achieve community goals, and to further communication among digital preservation professionals and NDSA member organizations. The CC is responsible for reviewing and approving NDSA membership applications and publications; updating eligibility standards for membership in the alliance, and other strategic documents; engaging with stakeholders in the community; and working to enroll new members committed to our core mission. More information about the duties and responsibilities of CC members can be found at the NDSA’s Leadership Page.

We hope you will give this opportunity serious consideration and we value your continued contributions and leadership in our community.

Any questions can be directed to ndsa [dot] digipres [at] gmail [dot] com. 

Interested in exploring the intersection between climate change and digital preservation? Join the new Climate Watch Working Group 

Global warming and climate change is currently wreaking havoc on the world. As digital preservation professionals, it is our responsibility to mitigate threats that impede our ability to steward digital materials through time. Climate change not only threatens our data through more frequent and more severe weather disasters, but also through reductions in food supply, mass migrations, economic contraction, and political upheaval. In order to start addressing these very real threats, the Climate Watch Working Group has been charged with:

  1. Producing regular annotated bibliographies on recent literature, news, and reports related to climate change and its impact on digital preservation
  2. Creating and adding to an ongoing list of potential risks climate change poses to digital preservation work
  3. Creating and adding to lists of core climate change information resources to get a solid grounding in the issue, help with future projections, and lobby for preservation resources.

The Climate Watch Working Group is the first of at least two NDSA working groups that will be formed to help the profession address how we can adapt our practices and policies to the uncertain future climate change poses. Both groups are expected to work closely together and members who sign up for the Climate Watch Working Group will be welcome to move to the Climate Preparation group when it is established. 

The Climate Watch Working Group will meet twice a month with regular assignments between meetings. The expected time commitment is approximately 30 minutes to one hour a week in addition to the bimonthly meeting time.      

Please reach out to Sibyl Schaefer (sschaefer(at)ucsd(dot)edu) by Dec. 11, 2023 if you are interested in contributing.

Mini-Job Fair at NDSA DigiPres 2023

While large professional organizations like ALA and SAA have organized job fairs to coincide with conferences, NDSA hasn’t yet done this, until now. After noticing people recruiting at digital preservation conferences in the past year, I began to think why not? Well, one good reason is that NDSA is not a dues-collecting professional organization and doesn’t have the same resources or capacity of ALA or SAA. It falls to individuals at member institutions to propose ideas and so I submitted a vague proposal that necessarily did not contain a lot of details. When it was accepted, I immediately realized that I needed help, even for a “mini” job fair and enlisted Robin Ruggaber, also a past NDSA Coordinating Committee Chair, to help pull it off. This blog post describes our vision for this session. 

In the coming months, Robin and I will be scouring listservs and job boards and reaching out to employers to identify five open jobs that can be highlighted during the session. We hope to represent different types of employers, such as higher education, government, service providers, and other cultural heritage organizations, small and large; and different types of jobs involving digital preservation skills such as, digital preservation librarian, preservation infrastructure engineer, digital archivist, or service manager. Preference will be given to employers that disclose pay, demonstrate a commitment to hiring and retaining a diverse and welcoming workforce, and to organizations that promote employee wellbeing. If you are or are planning to recruit for a digital preservation position during the time of the conference and are interested in participating, please contact Nathan Tallman (ntt7@psu.edu) or Robin Ruggaber (robin.ruggaber@virginia.edu). 

Each of these five jobs will be presented to the audience, hopefully by someone from the hiring organization. Presenters will be asked to share the expected impacts of a successful candidate within one week, one month, and one year of hire. Other details we expect to be shared include salary range, examples of how required and preferred qualifications may be met, and how to apply. No interviews are planned as part of this event. If there is extra time, other employers will be able to engage the audience in position design for anticipated digital preservation jobs. 

But that’s not all! In addition to highlighting five open jobs, Robin and I will recruit digital preservation managers willing to review resumes/CVs and coach applicants conducting a job search. We hope there will be enough space in Regency A to allow both activities to occur concurrently, but if needed resume/CV review and job coaching may occur throughout the venue. 

These are our goals for this session. Our ability to be successful largely depends on the job market this fall and the availability of digital preservation hiring managers during the conference. Some of these details might change for practical reasons as Robin and I carry out planning and logistics, but we are optimistic. As NDSA grows, more organizations are looking to hire. We hope this session will help make connections between people and employers and set a precedent in our community. 

Please join us on November 15th, 2:30-3:30pm in Regency A. 

~ Nathan Tallman, Past NDSA Coordinating Committee Chair 

Upcoming Levels of Digital Preservation and Environmental considerations discussion

Please join the NDSA Levels Steering Group on August 16th for an open discussion about the intersection of the NDSA Levels and environmental concerns. Wildfires in Canada and excessive heat across the globe this summer make the impact of climate change impossible to ignore. As stewards of digital content, how do we balance our obligations to long-term preservation of digital cultural heritage and the sustainability of our planet? A planet we need in order to bother with digital preservation at all. The NDSA Levels themselves have been the subject of critique by practitioners with environmental sustainability in mind – citing the perception that level 4 is the goal, for example, rather than an option. We want to hear from you, and open a discussion about the role of the NDSA Levels of Preservation in a rapidly changing world. 

Call in information is available on the meeting notes document.  We hope to see you on Wednesday, August 16, 2023 at 11:30 a.m. EDT.

~ The Levels of Digital Preservation Steering Group

 

Request for Participation in the next Storage Survey Working Group

The latest iteration of the NDSA Storage Survey Working Group is starting up soon. This longitudinal survey has been run three times, with the last survey published in 2019. If you are interested in participating in this group please read the scope of work and complete this form by July 21, 2023.

It is expected that work for the survey will start in August 2023 and end about 6-10 months later, with the group meeting about twice monthly. Work would also be done between meetings to review the survey questions and results, and to write a final report. We especially welcome participation from international NDSA members and members who have not previously participated in NDSA groups.

By volunteering, Working Group members agree to follow the NDSA Code of Conduct. 

Survey Scope of Work:

  • Review past surveys, possible redesign for this iteration
  • Develop 2023 survey
  • Survey deployment
  • Data analysis and research
  • Writing final report

If you have questions, please contact:

Sibyl Schaefer, sschaefer@ucsd.edu 

Please complete this form by July 21, 2023 to indicate your interest in participating.

 

Now Accepting Nominations for the NDSA 2023 Excellence Awards

Nominations are now being accepted for the National Digital Stewardship Alliance (NDSA) 2023 Excellence Awards!

The biennial NDSA Excellence Awards (previously the annual Innovation Awards) were established to recognize and encourage exemplary achievement in the field of digital preservation stewardship at a level of national or international importance. Seeking to highlight and commend all forms of creative and meaningful contributions in the field of digital preservation, this working group accepts nominations for individuals, educators, future stewards, organizations, projects, and sustainability activities categories. Acknowledging that exemplary digital stewardship can take many forms, eligibility for these awards has been left purposely broad. Anyone, any institution, or any project acting in the context of the categories listed below can be nominated for an award. No NDSA membership or affiliation is required. Self-nomination is accepted and encouraged, as are submissions reflecting the needs and accomplishments of historically marginalized and underrepresented communities.

Awards categories are:

  • Individual Award: Recognizing those individuals making a significant contribution to the digital preservation community through advances in theory or practice.
  • Educator Award: Recognizing academics, trainers, and curricular endeavors promoting effective and inventive approaches to digital preservation education through academic programs, partnerships, professional development opportunities, and curriculum development.
  • Future Steward Award: Recognizing students and early-career professionals making an impact on advancing knowledge and practice of digital preservation stewardship.
  • Organization Award: Recognizing those organizations providing support, guidance, advocacy, or leadership for the digital preservation community.
  • Project Award: Recognizing those activities whose goals or outcomes make a significant contribution or strategic or conceptual understanding necessary for successful digital preservation stewardship.
  • Sustainability Award: Recognizing those activities whose goals or outcomes make a significant contribution to operational trustworthiness, monitoring, maintenance, or intervention necessary for sustainable digital preservation stewardship.

The NDSA is an organization consisting of a diverse international membership sharing a commitment to digital preservation. The development and support of a broad range of successful digital preservation activities is key to the future of digital stewardship. We encourage all members of the international digital preservation community to help us highlight and reward distinctive approaches to the challenges of digital preservation by submitting nominations for worthy candidates here: 2023 NDSA Excellence Awards Nominations. 

Nominations will be accepted until Friday, August 4, 2023.

Awards will be presented on November 15th as part of the Opening Plenary session at the 2023 NDSA Digital Preservation conference in St. Louis, Missouri, USA.

Attendance at the conference is encouraged but not required for awardees or nominators.

Information and details on awards from previous years is available on the Excellence Awards webpage.

Call for New Members and Co-Chairs, NDSA Excellence Awards Working Group

The NDSA Excellence Awards were established in 2012 to highlight and commend all forms of creative and meaningful contributions by individual professionals, future stewards, educators, organizations, projects, and sustainability activities to the field of digital preservation. This year’s awards will be presented in person at the Digital Preservation 2023 conference, which will be held in St. Louis, Missouri on November 15-16, 2023.

The Excellence Awards depend upon the vital volunteer participation of the community. We are looking for new members for the Excellence Awards Working Group (EAWG) at both the co-chair and at-large level. Working group members participate to publicize the nomination process, review nominations, select the winners, and work closely with the awardees and NDSA programming to organize the Awards Ceremony. This group typically meets once a month and works as needed between regularly scheduled calls to support the awards process. Most work outside of meetings occurs when reviewing applications (2-4 hours), and then in October leading up to the Awards Ceremony (1-2 hours/week). 

While the NDSA Awards were originally organized on an annual cycle, they are now presented on a biennial basis as the result of a cooperative agreement with the Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC), which operates their own biennial awards program. The NDSA Awards are presented in the odd-numbered years (including this 2023 year!), while the DPC Awards take place in even-numbered years. NDSA and DPC also provide participation on each other’s Awards panels.

This is a wonderful opportunity to learn about the activities and impact of a wide range of exceptional people and projects. We welcome participation from students and early career professionals, as well as from those who have been in the digital preservation field for a while!

If you would like to help on this working group, please fill out this form by Friday, March 3. Working group members must be affiliated with an NDSA member institution and agree to follow the NDSA Code of Conduct.

Call for Co-chairs for 2023 Storage Survey

NDSA is seeking two volunteers from NDSA member organizations to serve as co-chairs for the next iteration of the Storage Survey. Volunteers should be knowledgeable about, and interested in, digital preservation storage and comfortable with co-leading a group to produce and administer a survey, analyze data, and write and publish a report. Prior experience chairing an NDSA group is not necessary, and NDSA Leadership will provide guidelines for the co-chairs.

Responsibilities include:

  • Scheduling and leading meetings
  • Organizing and completing work
  • Setting deadlines and tracking progress
  • Attending monthly NDSA Leadership meetings and communicating with Leadership about Working Group progress

The time commitment will vary based on the number of group members and scope of work.

If you’re interested, please fill out this form by February 15, 2023. 

Call for Volunteers for the NDSA DigiPres 2023 Planning Committee

The NDSA calls for volunteers to join our Planning Committee for Digital Preservation 2023.

Digital Preservation (DigiPres) is the NDSA’s annual conference – open to members and non-members alike – focused on stewardship, curation, and preservation of digital information and cultural heritage. The 2023 meeting will take place on November 15-16, 2023, in St. Louis, Missouri, just after the DLF Forum. 

NDSA is an affiliate of the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) and the Digital Library Federation (DLF), and the DigiPres conference is held in concert with the annual DLF Forum. 

Planning Committee responsibilities include:

  • Defining a vision for the conference
  • Crafting and distributing a Call for Proposals
  • Reviewing and selecting proposals
  • Identifying a keynote speaker
  • Determining the conference schedule
  • Moderating sessions
  • Supporting membership through recruitment and mentorship efforts
  • Collaborating with the DLF Forum planning committee on community events, equity and inclusion, and sponsorship opportunities

We expect to have monthly group calls from February-December, with some periods being busier than others. For instance, in the months of May-June 2023, there will be an uptick in the work during the period where we create the schedule as it requires concentrated effort.

Join us by completing this form by Friday, January 21st, and please share widely.

We look forward to working with you!

~ Stacey Erdman, 2023 Chair

~ Deirdre Joyce, 2023 Vice-Chair/2024 Chair

Call for Participation: NDSA Membership Working Group

Looking to get involved with NDSA in the new year? We’re looking for members who want to be a part of the conversations that shape our membership models going forward.

We will discuss:

  • The feasibility of membership fees, such as paid tiers.
  • Affiliate memberships for individuals vs. institutional memberships.
  • Criteria for evaluating new members.
  • Increasing membership.
  • Early career and student outreach.
  • New member onboarding.

View more about the Membership Working Group here. If you are interested in discussing these issues, please contact Rachel Appel (rappel@upenn.edu) or Stacey Erdman (staceyerdman@arizona.edu). We especially welcome new members. We ask that volunteers remain on this working group for a two-year term. Please let us know by January 17th.

Best,
~Rachel Appel, University of Pennsylvania
~ Stacey Erdman, University of Arizona

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