The Theory and Craft of Describing Electronic Records: A Hands-On Workshop

The Theory and Craft of Describing Electronic Records: A Hands-On Workshop

Date: Wednesday, June 22, 2022

Time: 9:15 am – 12:15 pm PST

Location: online course

Registration deadline: Closed, workshop is now full 

Description: Creating finding aids and catalog records for digital material that adequately express the quality, quantity, and usability of the material has been challenging for archival practitioners. Using the UC Guidelines for Born-Digital Archival Description as a foundation and jumping-off point, this workshop will address the unique set of needs inherent to digital archival material and focus on improving descriptive practices in a real-world context. Participants will become familiar with a range of techniques to improve the clarity, usefulness, and consistency of finding aids, learn how to apply these efficiently at varying levels within a collection, and gain hands-on experience translating these into practice using real-world collections. This workshop is designed to be heavily interactive. A series of hands-on exercises and activities will help participants hone their decision-making skills by providing real-life examples of collection materials and finding aids.

Who should attend: This workshop is for anyone who is currently working with digital archival materials. The workshop will ensure that practitioners leave with the skills and resources necessary to adequately express the quality, quantity, and usability of the digital material in their collections. 

Instructor bios:

Shira Peltzman is the Digital Archivist for UCLA Library Special Collections where she works with stakeholders on an enterprise-wide basis to preserve and make LSC’s born-digital material accessible to the widest possible audience.

Annalise Berdini is the Digital Archivist for Princeton University Library Special Collections, where she manages the department’s digital curation program, digital preservation system and workflows, and web archives program. She also provides reference services and is a consultant for the Princeton Preserves program.