Digitization Coordination Workshop NMNH 2023
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Workshop description: Many larger museums and archives such as the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian’s Libraries and Archives, London’s Natural History Museum, and Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin have begun to implement a centralized approach to digitization of the collections by creating Digitization Coordinator positions. This new effort has initiated a singular vision for digitization which incorporates priorities, workflows, and resources to greatly improve the efficiency and throughput of digitization in collections. Smaller institutions, such as the Natural History Museum of Utah, are now starting to see the benefit of creating a more structured cross-disciplinary approach to digitization, allowing for better awareness and resourcing of the digitization needs in the museum. This effort’s ultimate goal is to accelerate the efficiency, access, and usability of collections.
Benefit: The organizing team believes NMNH could be used as an example of the importance of a Digitization Coordinator efforts. iDigBio would like to assist NMNH with a workshop designed to bring the NMNH community together to help foster connectivity and coordination with a three-day workshop focused on knowledge sharing. This workshop will bring biodiversity digitization professionals together to highlight lessons learned and impacts of such a program and develop best practices to implement at other institutions.
Outcome: The outcome of the workshop, webinars, and follow-up activities will be a paper outlining the importance of consolidating and organizing institutions’ digitization efforts to increase efficiency and resource sharing within institutions.
Organizing Team: Lauren Cohen, Jillian Goodwin, Holly Little, Gil Nelson, Sylvia Orli, Rebecca Snyder
Dates: May 2-4, 2023
Logistic information
Invited participant support: Hotel cost, travel, and per diem expenses reimbursed following workshop.
Airport:
Reagan National Airport (DCA), accessible by Metro
Washington Dulles International (IAD), accessible by Metro
Airport transportation: Metro is the best form of transportation (https://www.wmata.com/). Stops closest to NMNH are highlighted in the map below.
Uber/Lyft/taxi/rental car is also a convenient way to get from any of these airports to the Smithsonian museum complex. DCA is less than 15 minutes drive to the Washington Mall, where IAD can be a 45-60 minute drive to downtown DC.
Recommended workshop hotels: Please book a room, as soon as possible, to ensure availability and stay under $300/night. We will only be reimbursing lodging at up to $300/night. You are welcome to book somewhere more expensive, but you will only be compensated for the allotted amount. Suggested workshop hotels include:
Holiday Inn Washington-Central/White House 1501 Rhode Island Ave NW Washington, DC United States 20005 About 1.5 mi from NMNH / iDigBio staff staying here / ~$250 a night Orange line Blue line
Transportation from hotel to venue: Metro is the best form of transportation (https://www.wmata.com/). Stops closest to NMNH are highlighted in the map below. Uber, Lyft, or taxi from any of the suggested hotels to NYBG should be 10-20 minutes.
Workshop venue: National Museum of Natural History Smithsonian Institution 10th and Constitution Ave. NW Washington, DC 20056 Workshop location: Cooper Room, Paleobiology Department Floor 2
Wifi networks: Once on-site, workshop participants can log into the SI-internal network for internet access.
Meals: Lunch will be provided at NMNH on workshop days. Dinner is not provided, but you will be reimbursed for meals not provided following the workshop.
Security: Please enter the museum at the Constitutional Avenue entrance at the intersection of 10th St. NW and Constitution Ave. NW. All guests will need to pass through a security screening, including a metal detector and hand-search of bags. We will gather all guests at the beginning of each day to distribute visitor stickers at the Security Office (NMNH Lobby).
General NMNH Visitor information can be found at: Visit | Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
Notes Sides for Group Discussions
Agenda
| Day 1: Tuesday, May 2 | ||
|---|---|---|
| 8:00 | Breakfast on your own | |
| 9:00 | Workshop Intro (History, Goals, Survey) | Holly Little |
| 9:10 | Welcome to NMNH | Rebecca Johnson |
| 9:20 | Welcome from iDigBio / Workshop goals | Gil Nelson |
| 9:35 | Introductions | |
| 9:50 | SI Presentations (NMNH, Libraries, DPO) | Orli, Sobers, Zorich |
| 10:20 | Break | |
| 10:50 | NHM London Perspective | Hardy, Livermore |
| 11:05 | MfN Berlin Perspective | Schuster/Berger |
| 11:20 | UMNH | Wilkins |
| 11:35 - 12:30 | Questions/Discussion | |
| 12:30 - 1:30 | Lunch Provided | |
| 1:30 | MPM | Zaspel |
| 1:45 | CU Boulder | Braker |
| 2:00 | IU | Motz |
| 2:15 | YPM | Rios/Sweeney |
| 2:30 | MCZ/HUH | Schmull/Zimkus |
| 2:45 | Field | Grant |
| 3:00 | NYBG | Watson |
| 3:15 | Break | |
| 3:45 | Discussion/Breakouts/Priorities (post-it activity) |
| Day 2: Wednesday, May 3 | ||
|---|---|---|
| 8:00 | Breakfast on your own | |
| 8:30 | Welcome back | Goodwin |
| 8:40 | Workforce Training & Strategic Planning | Mast |
| 8:55 | Project Management | Jennings |
| 9:05 | ||
| 9:20 | Arctos - Collaborative Collection Management | Braker |
| 9:30 | DiSSCo - Efforts and Resources | Livermore |
| 9:40 | Break | |
| 10:00 | Breakout Groups: Discuss questions related to Strategic Planning & Organizational Structure as a group (Local - Global) | |
| 12:00 | Lunch Provided | |
| 1:00 | Collection Tours / Museum Free Time | |
| 2:00 | Affinity Diagram | |
| 4:00 | Group Slide Review | |
| 5:00 | Wrap-up |
| Day 3: Thursday, May 4 | ||
|---|---|---|
| 8:00 | Breakfast on your own | |
| 9:00 | Working Groups: Drafting Framework for Best Practices Document | |
| 12:00 | Lunch Provided | |
| 1:00 | Collection Tours / Museum Free Time | |
| 2:00 | Working Groups: Drafting Framework for Best Practices Document cont. | |
| 5:00 | Wrap-up |