By Tricia Patterson, Digital Preservation Analyst
As the tide of remote work washes into another season, many professional conferences have opted to transition to a virtual platform instead of canceling their annual events. For conference attendees, this inevitably means logging even more hours in front of the computer screen, shifting restlessly between a desk chair, bed, and sofa to console oneself with the illusion of mobility. Thankfully (so thankfully), these virtual platforms offer plentiful benefits as well. Conference organizers are taking advantage of the virtual environment to enhance the accessibility of proceedings, lower barriers to attendance, and maintain availability of the content online to accommodate conflicting schedules. And this November, the Digital Library Federation (DLF) and National Digital Stewardship Association (NDSA) have embraced these opportunities and surfed out into the wave of virtual events for their 2020 annual conference!
Kicking off November 9th, the week encompasses Learn@DLF, DLF’s annual Forum, NDSA’s DigiPres 2020, and a special program on Digitizing Hidden Collections, a CLIR-funded grant initiative. This annual event brings together digital library, archive, and museum practitioners to connect and share innovations in the field. While these programs typically occur for a full week and require registration fees, air fare, and hotel accommodations, all of the events this year are condensed for a lighter schedule and are free.
Those interested in the upcoming proceedings can browse the program for all of the week’s events. And once you have worked yourself into a sufficient frenzy of anticipation over the menu of presentations, panels, keynotes, and more - you can register (for FREE!) to attend.
Every year, members from Harvard Library’s staff engage with these events in varying ways, as presenters, program committee members, or volunteers – and this year is no different. So whether you want to see and support an HL colleague or are just curious about developments in the field, this is an excellent opportunity to tune into the broader conversation on digital libraries, archives, and preservation.
