Connecticut Forum on Digital Initiatives

The Connecticut State Library Presents: The Connecticut Forum on Digital Initiatives

 October 28, 2011, 9:00AM to 4:00PM at the Connecticut State Library's Memorial Hall, 231 Capitol Avenue, Hartford, Connecticut (directions). Free! Register.

The Connecticut Forum on Digital Initiatives will bring together academic and research libraries, museums and cultural institutions from around the state to talk about the digital projects happening in our historic state. It’s a chance for institutions to bring their projects and ideas to the table and learn from each other about how to improve and enhance them. The theme of this forum is collaboration, and how in the face of ever tightening budgets, Connecticut institutions and organizations can work together to create better digital projects for the people of Connecticut.

Speakers from institutions including Yale University and the Hartford History Center will cover issues just as diverse. Topics will cover the digital lifecycle of a project, from digitization to preservation as well as platforms, like Omeka and Historypin. Several successful collaborative projects underway in Connecticut will be highlighted.

The forum will broaden participant’s skills and perspectives on digital initiatives, and encourage participants to form new collaborative partnerships. This may be a simple collaborative collection, or a complex grant partnership. In order to facilitate this, we hope to create a project repository where institutions can list their digital projects. Take this opportunity to meet people institutions next door and help create a community that will move Connecticut forward.

Presenters scheduled:

• Paul Baran, Assistant State Archivist, Connecticut State Archives
• Meg Bellinger, Director, Office of Digital Assets and Infrastructure, Yale University
• Michael Bennett, Digital Projects Librarian & Institutional Repository Coordinator, Univ. of  Conn.
• Jack Dougherty, Associate Professor of Educational Studies, Trinity University
• Chris Edwards, Digital Studio Production Manager, Beinecke Rare Books and Manuscripts Library
• John ffrench, Director, Visual Resources Department, Yale Art Gallery
• Kathleen Foulke, Project Director, Connecticut History Online
• Michael Howser, Undergraduate Education and GIS Librarian, H. Babbidge Library, Univ. of Conn.
• Gail Hurley, Statewide Library Catalog Coordinator, Connecticut State Library
• Brenda Miller, Curator, Hartford History Center
• Leah Prescott, Digital Projects Coordinator, Getty Research Institute
• Tom Scheinfeldt, Managing Director, Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
• Nick Stanhope, CEO, We Are What We Do/Historypin
• Kendall Wiggin, State Librarian, Connecticut State Library

A special thank you to the Connecticut Humanities Council for sponsoring Nick Stanhope, CEO, We Are What We Do/Historypin.

Who Should Attend: This is not an introduction to digitization. It is strongly recommended that attendees currently be involved in some form of digital project or initiative. Attendees must be Connecticut based institutions.

For more information please contact:

Christine Pittsley
Digital Collections Technician
Connecticut State Library
231 Capitol Ave.
Hartford Ct. 06106
860-757-6517