Category Archives: NYLA

The Politics and Mechanics of Archiving- Troy, NY: Free NYLA Presentation

EMPAC Director Johannes Goebel to speak on Eternity and Megalomania: The Politics and Mechanics of Archiving

Thursday, November 5 / 7:00 PM /110 8th Street, Troy, NY

TROY, NY  The Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (110 8th St., Troy) was built to develop multimedia projects at the frontier of what it technologically possible. But one question has always stymied experts within and beyond EMPACs production team: What to do with all that digital stuff once its been created. On Thursday, November 5, at 7 PM, EMPAC director Johannes Goebel will give a perspective on present preservation strategies in the digital domain and present the concrete solution found for EMPAC in a talk titled Eternity and Megalomania: The Politics and Mechanics of Archiving. Admission is free and open to the public.

Most everyone in our society has an ever-increasing amount of digitally encoded documents, from selfies and family pictures, videos and music, to scientific and financial data. EMPAC, for one, has hundreds of hours of video and audio documenting performances and events. While technology continues to change more rapidly than ever, attempts to standardize digital formats are undermined by an industry that has to meet shareholders expectations with new gear, new formats and protocols, and ever-new methods for distribution and storage. Obsolescence and incompatibility guarantee rising sales.

An immense effort has been underway for the past decades to cope with this battle between constant change in the name of improvement and the desire to pass things on from generation to generation. Goebels talk will track some fundamental aspects of archiving that have been around ever since we started writing our thoughts and preserving the fruit of our labor beyond the life-span of an individual: Who has the power to determine what is to be kept? Who has the money to pay for keeping what is to be kept? Whose bits will survive the longest? Some answers can be found by considering older and more recent technologies like clay tablets, pyramids, monks copying manuscripts by hand, the printing press, acid-free paper, acetate film  and the care that is currently taken to destroy cultural artifacts, as in the Islamic world (a non-first and non-last in human history and common to all cultures).

In considering the present challenge of archiving digital materials, EMPAC has found a relatively simple and cheap strategy that may ensure that we can access our stuff as long as we may live and maybe pass it on. Interestingly enough, a similar strategy is currently being developed by big data collectors like Facebook and Google.

Johannes Goebel has been involved with the archiving and restoration of digitally created music since the mid 80s, when the issue was already problematic. He created and mastered the first audio CD series dedicated to distribute music created with computers in a digital form, and established the first international digital archive of electronic music with colleagues from Stanford University and ZKM Germany between 1989 and 1995. As director of EMPAC, he has been collaborating with the EMPAC team to archive the work done here, resulting in a video chair, a 688-page printed book (also available online), and a strategy to back-up video and audio data in a cheap and hopefully longer-lasting way.

For more info, visit empac.rpi.edu. For press inquiries, please contact Josh Potter at pottej2@rpi.edu.

Join  NYLA-ASLS (Academic and Special Libraries Section) for an after-lecture reception, hosted by EMPAC,  to discuss the topic with your fellow librarians and the speaker.

FREE WEBINAR: Humanities Resources for Libraries

NYLA is pleased to present this informational webinar in partnership with the New York Council for the Humanities.

Humanities Resources for Libraries

Join us for a 30 minute introduction to the New York Council for the Humanities, the state affiliate of the NEH and avid supporter of arts, culture, and community organizations like yours. Designing a public program but need research support? Looking for enriching program ideas to get people talking? Need funding to launch your new community project?   Register today to find out about programs and grants resources available for your library

Learning Objectives:

Attendees will be able to:
•    Meet and discuss proposal ideas with key staff from the Council’s grants and program team
•    Learn about recently funded projects at libraries across NYS
•    See examples of innovative and collaborative public humanities programs that serve adults, youth and kids

Presenters:

Lauren Kushnick, Director of Grants
Lauren Kushnick is the Director of Grants & Partnerships for the New York Council for the Humanities. She fosters collaborations across the sector, supports innovation in the public humanities, and remains responsive to the needs of the Council’s constituents. Lauren has been at the Council for 9 years, and has spearheaded a number of projects from the launch of an online grants system in 2011 to her current position as co-chair of the NYC CultureAID network, which unites arts and cultural funders to building resiliency in the sector. Lauren is also a steering committee member of the Cultural Data Project pilot under the guidance of the Data Taskforce (DTF), where she helped launch this nationwide volunteer group representing the Councils, Federal/State partnership and the NEH’s interests. Last year, Lauren concluded her two years of service as a Board Member for the Greater Astoria Historical Society, but is still invested in the arts and culture scene of Queens, where she currently resides.

Kate Sidley, Grants Officer
Kate Sidley is the Grants Officer at the New York Council for the Humanities. She works directly with organizations to help them navigate the application and grant management process and helps coordinate grants workshops across the state. Kate holds a BA in Theatre from Baldwin-Wallace College in Ohio and MA in Theatre History and Criticism from CUNY Brooklyn College. She is also a comedy writer at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre and contributing writer for the online humor publications Someecards, HappyPlace, and Reductress.

Michael Washburn, Director of Programs
Michael Washburn is the Director of Programs at the New York Council for the Humanities. Before joining the Council, Michael worked at the Graduate Center, CUNY, where he served as the Interim Director of the Office of Public Programs and the Assistant Director of the Graduate Center’s Center for the Humanities. Prior to joining CUNY he was the Assistant Director of The University of Chicago’s Cultural Policy Center, and before that he worked at the Illinois Humanities Council. He holds a MA from The University of Chicago and a BA from the University of Louisville, his hometown school. Michael writes about books and culture for The New York Times Book Review, The New Republic, The Boston Globe, and many other publications. He’s a member of the National Book Critics Circle and is currently a faculty member at NYU’s School of Professional Studies.

Space is limited.

REGISTER HERE

NYLA Conference- Lake Placid

2015 Annual Conference and Trade Show

October 21-24, 2015 in Lake Placid, NY
At the Conference Center at Lake Placid

The Annual Conference and Trade Show, held each October/November around the state, is the largest state library association conference held on the East Coast. Join us for our 125th Anniversary. Offering a wide variety of programs, special events, networking opportunities, and vendor displays, the NYLA Annual Conference and Trade Show offers educational opportunities for all segments of the library community from library staff to trustees.