Hello Everyone,
I would like to introduce myself as the new Visual Resources Division (VRD) moderator and Kelin Baldridge as the Vice Moderator. I am located at Duke University (Durham, NC), where I have been the curator of visual resources and head of the Visual Media Lab
for almost 21 years. Kelin is at the Chester County Historic Center (West Chester, PA), where she heads the photo archives.
When I discussed becoming moderator with ARLIS/NA President Mark Pompelia, he mentioned three potential activities for the VRD:
• Conference
sessions for the coming 50th anniversary conference in Chicago.
• A survey of Division
members, re: who are they (titles), where do they work (areas of a library or academic department), areas of responsibility, projects, etc.
• Planning
for a State Of VRC report modeled on other division work in this area during the past decade.
I
think it is extremely important for the VRD membership to propose at least one conference session (proposal deadline Sept. 7) to indicate that VRD is an active component of ARLIS/NA. The field of visual resources has undergone significant changes during
the past decade and there is no better time to present where we are as a discipline, especially with the emergence of digital humanities and our increasing support of DH projects, than during ARLIS/NA's 50th anniversary conference. I look forward to hearing
from VRD members about potential topics for VRD-sponsored sessions ASAP.
From the Conference CFP: The 2021 conference survey
revealed that attendees were most interested in the following topics, listed in ranked order. The program committee encourages submissions that include, but are not limited to:
- Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility
- Local Art and Architecture
- Advocacy, Social Justice, Public Policy and Activism
- Archives, Rare Books and Special Collections
- Collection Development and Management
- Critical Librarianship
- Digital Humanities and Digital Scholarship
- Alternative Publications, Artists’ Books, Graphic Novels, ‘zines etc.
- Teaching and Pedagogical Practice
- Visual Literacy
- User Experience
The
second and third items, a survey of the VRD membership and a State Of report, will help the Society understand the current VRD membership and Visual Resources discipline better and create a plan for the Division going forward. I see these items as multi-year
activities.
I
look forward to hearing from you on ideas about the VRD, potential directions you see the Division taking, and how it can serve the membership and the Society better. Please feel free to post to the VRD list ([log in to unmask]) or contact me ([log in to unmask])
or Kelin ([log in to unmask]) directly.
All
the best,
John
