Negotiating Online Access: Perspectives on Ethical Issues in Digital Collections

How do we act as responsible stewards of archival collections in the digital realm, with a reflective eye toward issues of privacy, ethics, and cultural sensitivity; while working with technological infrastructures that tend not to share these priorities? What strategies can be used to work within and around the limitations of existing systems, especially in regard to the nuances of privacy and access, and to advocate for further development that treats these concerns as core requirements rather than special cases? This article will provide practical considerations around the real-world work of building ethical digital collections. Framed as an asynchronous, semi-structured interview between two archivists working in academic libraries with digital collections management and culturally sensitive materials, we will draw examples from work with anthropological archives and academic-community archives partnerships. How do we do this work within our existing systems for digital asset management and aggregation, and how can we make them better? Pre-print first published online 10/14/202

Gone Digital

This talk given at the National Museum and Art Gallery of Papua New Guinea in Port Moresby covers some general best practices in the digitization process, as well as the management of born-digital materials. It provides an overview of digital projects at the Tuzin Archive for Melanesian Anthropology at the University of California, San Diego and a brief demonstration of the UC San Diego Library’s Digital Collections website (library.ucsd.edu/dc), where many digitized materials from the Tuzin Archive are accessible. Specifically, it uses the digitization of the Papua New Guinea Patrol Reports as a case study.Founded in 1982 as the Melanesian Archive and renamed in 2012, the Tuzin Archive for Melanesian Anthropology has evolved into a major repository for research materials created by anthropologists and other scholars working in Melanesia

Singsings and Storytelling: Digitizing Audio Recordings

Communities assembling for singsing celebrations, ethnographic interviews conversing on grammar and vocabularies, elders discussing daily affairs - these are just a few snippets of at-risk sound recordings held at the Archives comprised primarily of the personal papers of anthropologists, documenting research on the cultures of Melanesia. The recordings will be digitized over the coming year due to a recent grant received. The nearly 800 reel-to-reel and cassette tape field recordings from seven collections include rare interviews, songs, performances, linguistic material, and oral histories collected in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands from the mid-to-late 20th century.This presentation provides an overview of the project, including the details of the language and the type of recordings in each collection. It also engages in a discussion on partnerships and models for sharing the recordings once digitized and explores ways to build and strengthen collaborations made possible in the digital era

Tell Us How UC It: Thinking Critically through a Living Archive for Student Activism

As questions, conversations, and debates surrounding social justice come to the surface on college campuses around the country, what role do libraries play? This presentation discusses a project called “Tell Us How UC It: A Living Archive” which took root in the sentiments of students on the University of California, San Diego campus.At the heart of the project was the belief that libraries, in their capacity as providers of information, can present a narrative in the hopes of informing their community, starting conversations, and inspiring student action. The concept of a living archive and other details of the project is covered, along with other critical perspectives and techniques such as tactical urbanism as a way to document and archive student voices.&nbsp

Transcribing Oral Histories for Race and Oral History, Spring 19

Librarians Alanna Aiko Moore and Cristela Garcia-Spitz participated in the Race and Oral History class by teaching a workshop on the transcription process.  More information on the UCSD Race and Oral History Project is available at https://knit.ucsd.edu/rohp

Having a Social Impact: Supporting Social Justice and Open Access through Digital Initiative Projects

Digital infrastructures and tools allow organizations and institutions to create opportunities for projects, information transfer, learning, and platforms for a range of voices. It also creates opportunities that promote open access, social justice, and social impact. Panelists who are directly involved in digital initiative projects that specifically seek to impact society, either by opening up information resources to everyone, or by giving people the digital resources they need to be self-supportive, will talk about their projects and the beliefs that underpin their efforts. From libraries, to online content providers, to digital skills educators, the panel represents a wide range of organizations that are employing digital initiatives for social good. Organizations participating in this panel discussion include three nonprofit organizations: the Catholic Research Resources Alliance, Digital Divide Data, and the Center for Bibliographical and Research Studies, UC-Riverside

Gone Digital

This talk given at the National Museum and Art Gallery of Papua New Guinea in Port Moresby covers some general best practices in the digitization process, as well as the management of born-digital materials. It provides an overview of digital projects at the Tuzin Archive for Melanesian Anthropology at the University of California, San Diego and a brief demonstration of the UC San Diego Library’s Digital Collections website (library.ucsd.edu/dc), where many digitized materials from the Tuzin Archive are accessible. Specifically, it uses the digitization of the Papua New Guinea Patrol Reports as a case study.Founded in 1982 as the Melanesian Archive and renamed in 2012, the Tuzin Archive for Melanesian Anthropology has evolved into a major repository for research materials created by anthropologists and other scholars working in Melanesia

Tell Us How UC It: Thinking Critically through a Living Archive for Student Activism

As questions, conversations, and debates surrounding social justice come to the surface on college campuses around the country, what role do libraries play? This presentation discusses a project called “Tell Us How UC It: A Living Archive” which took root in the sentiments of students on the University of California, San Diego campus.At the heart of the project was the belief that libraries, in their capacity as providers of information, can present a narrative in the hopes of informing their community, starting conversations, and inspiring student action. The concept of a living archive and other details of the project is covered, along with other critical perspectives and techniques such as tactical urbanism as a way to document and archive student voices.&nbsp

Patrolling the Past: Bringing the Papua New Guinea Colonial-Era Reports into the Digital Realm

The Papua New Guinea patrol reports are important primary sources for the pre-independence history of the country and continue to be useful in contemporary PNG.  In the 1980s, the University of California, San Diego Library (UCSD) initiated and supported a project to provide better access to the reports housed in the National Archives of Papua New Guinea, resulting in production by the Archives of a large set of microfiche, with copies that were eventually purchased by institutions in Australia, New Zealand and the US.  Over the last several years, UCSD’s Digital Library Development Program has been engaged in a project to digitize the reports and make them accessible online, working from the microfiche.  This presentation will provide an overview of the materials, the intricacies of their organizational structure, research interest and use of the collection, and the processes used to bring the project to fruition.Presented at the Pacific Regional Branch of the International Council on Archives (PARBICA), Pearl Harbour, Fiji, September 5, 201

Tell Us How UC It: Social Impact through Digital Initiative Projects

Panel presentation at the University of San Diego 2019 Digital Initiatives Symposium called "Having a Social Impact: Supporting Social Justice and Open Access through Digital Initiative Projects."  Digital infrastructures and tools allow organizations and institutions to create opportunities for projects, information transfer, learning, and platforms for a range of voices. It also creates opportunities that promote open access, social justice, and social impact. Panelists who are directly involved in digital initiative projects that specifically seek to impact society, either by opening up information resources to everyone, or by giving people the digital resources they need to be self-supportive, will talk about their projects and the beliefs that underpin their efforts. From libraries, to online content providers, to digital skills educators, the panel represents a wide range of organizations that are employing digital initiatives for social good. Organizations participating in this panel discussion include the Catholic Research Resources Alliance, Digital Divide Data, the Center for Bibliographical and Research Studies, UC-Riverside, and the UC San Diego Library