Report Structure
¶ 1 Leave a comment on paragraph 1 0 This report documents the project’s findings and recommendations, and provides a strategic context for further digital efforts in the field. The core of the report focuses on six key areas that affect the community’s digital landscape. Each area is addressed in its own section, where the issues are laid out for that area, and recommendations are offered that address those issues.
¶ 2 Leave a comment on paragraph 2 0 Embedding the recommendations within each section is necessary for context, but it does make it difficult to keep track of all the recommendations and their relative timeframe for implementation. To address this issue, a summary list of all recommendations by timeframe may be found in Appendix A of this report.
¶ 3 Leave a comment on paragraph 3 2 Readers will note that many of the report’s recommendations issue a call for action by FAIC and its partner organization, the American Institute for Conservation (AIC). Both organizations are committed to improving the digital landscape of the profession and taking a leadership role in this effort. However, the very scale and scope of these issues demand community solutions. FAIC/AIC can only take the lead with support from other leadership organizations in the community, and with individual conservators who will join in the work effort. All conservation organizations and conservation professionals are encouraged to move forward on the recommendations noted here, and incorporate them into their plans and activities.
¶ 4 Leave a comment on paragraph 4 0 A final section addresses the future of Conservation OnLine (CoOL), an iconic resource in the profession that has suffered in recent years from inadequate support. While CoOL is not the focus of this project, discussions about its status and future arose so often in project discussions that it is addressed here as an addendum to the report.
Fletcher Durant
Brenda Bernier
Sarah Barack
This paragraph seems out of place in this section, and perhaps a bit defensive (sorry Eric and Eryl). While it is certainly true that FAIC does not have the resources to tackle all of the recommendations on its own, putting this front and center displays…a weakness that shouldn’t be put at the start of the report. That is more of a concluding statement, once the readers have gotten on board with recommendations, then they are forced to confront the fact that FAIC can’t waive their magic wand to make everything happen.
Largely agree with Fletcher, but also feel that the scope of this document is far to broad for FAIC…