Topics – Page 39 – AIC Blog Archives: Conservators Converse

Why blog from the AIC annual meeting?

I first volunteered to blog from the AIC annual meeting 2 years ago. At that point, I didn’t really have much experience blogging, and honestly, I was a bit intimidated by the idea. I was concerned that I wouldn’t get the author(s) points across very effectively (or worse get details completely wrong) and I was also worried that my posts would be boring. A lot of the blogs that I followed were funny, clever, and insightful, and I just didn’t feel that I would be able to measure up to such standards. Finally, I just felt out of practice doing that kind of writing – being just out of graduate school, I was used to doing lots of technical writing and writing for scholarly purposes, but writing for a blog is different – you want to impart your voice and opinions, and it can be difficult to adjust to such a different format and style.
Well, I did blog from the annual meeting that year, and then blogged again last year, and I’m here to say that it isn’t all that bad. In fact, it was really worthwhile (and dare I say, fun??). Knowing that I was blogging for specific presentations made me pay attention to details I otherwise wouldn’t have, and it also made me think of capturing components of the talks that would work well in a visual presentation on the blog – photos of a poster or handout, a screenshot from the powerpoint, or an image from the conference room, etc. Blogging is also a great way to reflect on a talk and form your own opinions about the content. You don’t need to express these all in your blogpost, but ultimately, digesting a talk in a follow-up blogpost helps make that particular presentation more memorable and valuable.
Thinking about blogging from the annual meeting but unsure if you can hack it? Keep the following points in mind:

Only sign up to blog for a presentation that you’re already planning on attending.
Don’t worry about capturing all of the details – it’s okay to say in your blogpost that you missed something, or to even say – “did anyone else understand this particular point, or capture that particular detail?” This is a way to engage readers-some of the best blogposts are those that ask for reader feedback or ask questions.
Start by signing up to blog for 1 presentation or event. This shouldn’t be a stressful task, and signing up for 1 blogpost will be a huge help. If you are feeling adventurous (or thirsty) AIC is offering a free drink ticket at the opening reception for the first 35 volunteers who sign up for two talks!
Try to write up your thoughts about the talk soon after you hear it, but don’t worry about posting something right away. The goal is to have posts up in the week after the meeting – but at least organizing your thoughts sooner rather than later will make things easier on yourself.
Think about images. If you have a camera or smartphone with you, snap a photo to include in your post. Readers always appreciate blogposts with images.
Have fun with it! Consider taking the opportunity to follow up with the speaker or talking to other attendees about the talk, and incorporate this feedback into your post. No pressure to do this, but it could make for a more enriching experience.
Keep it simple. Most people who read blogs don’t have a lot of time or patience to read thousands of words of content. They’re looking for quick access to information, so try to write succinctly and use headings to break up long blocks of text. Blogposts 600 words or less are typically best.
If you do end up blogging, include this on your CV. Future potential employers will take notice, and this type of writing is also good practice for future jobs or projects where you may be asked to contribute to a blog.

If, after reading this, you think you might be interested, please check out the Google Doc Spreadsheet to see which sessions or events are in need of bloggers and to sign up:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AsAfSHCce5kbdDdlQjV0bVRFbXYtYVAyQmhEZFFVdEE&usp=sharing

There is a separate tab down at the bottom for each session, workshop or event. Input your name and email next to the talk you are interested in covering. Easy! Also, please leave a comment here if you have further questions, and thanks for considering this!

Spotlight on Molly Gleeson, ECPN Chair and Project Conservator of "In the Artifact Lab: Conserving Egyptian Mummies" at the Penn Museum

Emerging Conservation Professionals Network (ECPN) Chair, Molly Gleeson has been busy in her new role as Project Conservator of “In the Artifact Lab: Conserving Egyptian Mummies” at the Penn Museum, Philadelphia, PA. “In the Artifact Lab” is a collaborative project between the Penn Museum’s Conservation Department and its Egyptian Section that is both a visible conservation laboratory and exhibition that opened on September 30, 2012. To learn more about this initiative and to see some exciting press, please visit the links below. Many congratulations to Molly and her colleagues at the Penn Museum for their work on this exciting initiative!
www.penn.museum/sites/artifactlab
http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/homepage-feature/item/45842- at-penn-museum-unveiling-the-secrets-of-mummies-while-you-watch?

An update from the Emerging Conservation Professionals Network (ECPN)

On the heels of a busy and successful 2012, 2013 is turning out to be another eventful year for the Emerging Conservation Professionals Network (ECPN), with many exciting activities planned and several projects already underway. We’re also working hard to prepare for our activities at the AIC Annual Meeting in May. Here is a summary of what we have been up to and what lies ahead. You can also find out more about our network’s mission on our webpage.
ECPN at AIC’s 41st Annual Meeting in Indianapolis

Shots from our portfolio review session at the 2012 annual meeting

Portfolio Seminar
On Wednesday, May 29th, ECPN will be holding a Portfolio Seminar from 4:00 to 6:00pm. Following the successes of ECPN’s Portfolio Review Sessions at the 2011 and 2012 AIC Annual Meetings, we are expanding the session this year to address a larger, more diverse audience and provide increased opportunities for discussion. This two-hour session will include presentations, a panel discussion, and interactive portfolio sharing. The presentations will focus on topics including building conservation portfolios, creating an architectural conservation portfolio, creating an online or digital portfolio, and professional development beyond the portfolio. The panel discussion will address audience questions, and portfolio sharing will be composed of volunteers representing different graduate programs and conservation specialties.
ECPN Happy Hour
After the Portfolio Session on May 29th, join us for an extended happy hour from 6:30 to 10:00pm at High Velocity in the JW Marriott, sponsored by Tru Vue. Our happy hour is a great opportunity to mingle with other emerging conservators, as well as mentors and colleagues. Please join us – all are welcome!

One of the break-out discussions during ECPN's 2012 informational meeting — One of the break-out discussions during ECPN’s 2012 informational meeting

ECPN Informational Session
On Friday, May 31st, from 5:30 to 6:30pm, we will be holding our annual informational session, where you can learn about ECPN, propose and discuss ideas, and meet others in the network.
ECPN Poster
This year, ECPN is presenting a poster entitled “The Art_Con<server>:  How conservation professionals make use of online resources,” in which we will explore different viewpoints surrounding public access to conservation information and its effects on the conservation profession. The content of the poster was generated with support from the AIC Publications Committee and is based on a survey distributed to AIC members that addressed the creation and promotion of conservation content online and the accessibility of conservation literature.
In addition to ECPN’s activities, please support emerging conservators who will be presenting in the Specialty Group sessions and poster session. In addition to presentations interspersed throughout these sessions, the Architecture Specialty Group is holding a special student session on Friday, May 31st from 8:00 to 10:00am .
ECPN Webinars
In 2012, ECPN held two webinars, both of which received an outstanding response. Our first webinar – “Self-advocacy and Fundraising for Independent Research” – was held in July and featured Debra Hess Norris. This webinar attracted over 90 registered participants from 6 different countries. Our second webinar – “Considering your future career path: working in private practice” – was held in November, and 80 registered participants called in to learn valuable insight into the world of private practice from Paul Messier, Rosa Lowinger, and Julia Brennan.
ECPN is planning for our next webinar on the topic of Pre-program internships to be held in summer 2013. Webinar speakers include both emerging conservators and conservators with experience supervising interns. Stay tuned for more details. For more information on ECPN’s webinar series, please follow this link. You can also find reviews of last year’s two webinars on AIC’s blog and video content by following these links:
Self-advocacy and Fundraising webinar
Private Practice Webinar
Mentoring Program
ECPN’s Mentoring Program, which successfully matched 24 mentees with mentors since last year’s annual meeting, is undergoing a restructuring to better and more swiftly meet the needs of emerging conservators, including pre-program, graduate, and post-graduate. This will involve the creation of pre-program resources that will address common concerns, such as tips for applying to graduate school programs. To learn more about the program, or to apply to be a mentor or to find a mentor, follow this link.
AIC Wiki
This past January, ECPN officers and members actively participated in the AIC Wiki January edit-a-thon, working on the Exhibiting Conservation page and the Lexicon Project.
ECPN would also like to encourage emerging conservators to participate in the AIC Annual Meeting wiki edit-a-thon luncheon event on Friday May 31 from 12-2pm. For more details about this event please contact ECPN Chair Molly Gleeson at: mollygleeson [at] gmail [dot] com.
ECPN Liaisons
This year ECPN welcomed the following new graduate program liaisons:
Christina Simms and Christina Taylor – Buffalo State College
Mayank Patel and Brooke Young – Columbia University
Saira Haqqi – Institute of Fine Arts, New York University
Samantha Fisher and Marie-Lou Beauchamp – Queen’s University
Casey Mallinckrodt – UCLA/Getty
Michelle Sullivan – Winterthur/University of Delaware
Sarah B. Hunter – University of Texas, School of Architecture
A complete list of our current liaisons can be found on our webpage.

These are just a few of the activities that ECPN is engaged in. We encourage you to join us at our annual meeting events, or on one of our conference calls! If you have any questions, ideas, or would like to get involved, please leave a comment here or contact Eliza Spaulding, ECPN Vice Chair, at elizaspaulding [at] gmail [dot] com.

Support Museum Funding Today

Once again, loyal museum advocate Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is circulating a letter urging the Senate Appropriations Committee to provide FY14 funding for the Office of Museum Services (OMS) at the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).
The deadline to sign on to this letter is Wednesday, April 24, 2013.
Ask your Senators to sign the OMS appropriations letter today!
The House version of this year’s OMS appropriations letter has already closed and at least 95 Representatives have signed the letter–a new record!
“This year’s record-setting effort in the House of Representatives is a testament to the hard work of museum advocates nationwide,” said American Alliance of Museums President Ford W. Bell. “But we can’t afford to lose any momentum, so I hope everyone will take one minute to contact their Senators today.”
The Office of Museum Services received $30.8 million in the FY12 appropriations cycle, but that was reduced to $29.2 million in FY13 as a result of across-the-board cuts known as “sequestration.” While President Obama has proposed increasing OMS’s budget in FY14, Congress will ultimately decide on funding, so it is imperative that legislators hear from their constituents.
Thank you for taking action on this important issue!

Committee On Sustainable Conservation Practices Collaborates with NEU Environmental Engineers and MFA Boston

On May 30, 2013 at this year’s AIC meeting in Indianapolis, the Committee for Sustainable Conservation Practices (CSCP) will host its second lunch session, “Linking the Environment and Heritage Preservation: Life Cycle Assessment of Loans, RH Parameters and Lights.” CSCP and environmental engineers from Northeastern University will present our collaborative project that examines the sustainability of loans, exhibitions and environmental control from cradle to grave based on case studies at the Museum Fine Arts, Boston. After the presentations, lunch session attendees will have the opportunity to work with the CSCP and our guest speakers as we break out into groups and brainstorm about the next phase of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) project. We will discuss how to implement the LCA findings- create blueprints and methods for new, sustainable best practices.
Since the 1990s industries and businesses have applied a quantitative method to evaluate the environmental and economic impact of materials use and related activities. The process, called a life cycle assessment, looks at issues from cradle to grave by evaluating data using a range of computer software programs. An LCA is a method developed to better understand and quantitatively address the environmental impacts associated with manufactured and consumed products throughout a lifecycle from raw material acquisition through production, use, end-of-life treatment, recycling and final disposal (cradle-to –grave). To carry out an LCA, an issue, material, or action is researched, quantitative values are assigned to each aspect of a life cycle, and the values are inserted into selected database(s). Software processes the data and the results are evaluated, analyzed and applied.
This tool can be incredibly useful to the art/heritage conservation community as we work towards determining sustainable best practices that will reduce energy consumption and lower related costs. The LCA results can be implemented to achieve more efficient heating/cooling and lighting methods. It can clarify cost and energy benefits that might result from wider relative humidity parameters and new lighting methods. Through evaluating all aspects of loans and exhibitions, the LCA results can help museum staff to reduce associated waste and carbon footprint.
AIC CSCP/Northeastern University LCA Projects
The CSCP has collaborated with Northeastern University environmental engineer Dr. Mathew Eckelman and his students to conduct three LCAs related to museum activities and collections care. LCA 1 studies environmental control and energy and costs savings; LCA 2 looks at loans and exhibitions to identify the most and least sustainable aspects; LCA 3 will include a comparative lighting study. The Northeastern students are working with conservators and museum maintenance staff at the Museum Fine Arts, Boston to become familiar with museum practices and to set the LCAs in an actual environment. Their work will complete the first phase of this project in May 2013. In the second phase, the LCA findings and proposed methods will be presented at future meetings, workshops and through publications to educate the AIC community and related fields about our work.
LCA Defined: www.epa.gov; www.iso.org; www.quantis-intl.com

Preservation Week April 21-27, 2013

Preservation Week is coming soon—April 21-27! How can your institution or those institutions you work with promote Preservation Week? Propose a project that can be publicized and help make it happen. Need ideas? Start with these and suggest others:
• A public lecture on a preservation topic
• A behind-the-scenes preservation tour for school groups, special donors, or the board of trustees
• A condition survey of a particular collection with a summary provided for visitors (why this is an important step in preservation)
• A preservation quiz to give to visitors (with answers, of course!)
• Print outs to leave in galleries about the conservation of a particular piece on view
• Offering Guides for Taking Care of Your Personal Heritage to visitors (www.conservation-us.org/treasures)
Be a part of Preservation Week and be sure to spread the news!

PRESS RELEASE: Foundation Supports Ongoing Care of Collections After Devastation of Superstorm Sandy

>>> This press release can be found on our website at http://bit.ly/crcpress <<<

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 21, 2013
Contact: Eric Pourchot
Phone: (202) 661-8061
Email: epourchot@conservation-us.org

Foundation Supports Ongoing Care of Collections After Devastation of Superstorm Sandy

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (FAIC) has completed work at the Cultural Recovery Center (CRC) in Brooklyn, NY after serving a community of artists and organizations in dire need of assistance. The CRC offered space and help at no cost to owners of artworks damaged as a result of Superstorm Sandy. Volunteer assistance and work space was provided to museums, libraries, archives, historic sites, galleries, collectors, and artists. While full conservation treatment was not covered, guidance and assistance in the cleaning and stabilization of art and cultural materials was.
23 members of the AIC Collections Emergency Response Team (AIC-CERT) contributed 128 days of professional volunteer services in New York and New Jersey. At least 34 additional conservators from the region also volunteered. At the CRC, volunteers worked with nineteen artists on hundreds of items, including paintings, works on paper, photographs, textiles, and multi-media works. Many of the works were at risk because of toxic deposits and potential mold growth.
The Center for Cultural Recovery was operated by The Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (FAIC), in cooperation with a consortium of organizations:
Alliance for Response New York City
Heritage Preservation
New York City Department of Cultural Affairs
New York Regional Association for Conservation
Industry City at Bush Terminal
Smithsonian Institution
Initial funding for the response and recovery efforts, including initial costs for the Center, was provided by a leadership gift to FAIC from Sotheby’s. A grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation allowed the Center to remain open through March 8. Industry City at Bush Terminal provided the space rent-free. Rapid Refile set up containment tents and air scrubbers to prevent the spread of mold from incoming objects to cleaned objects. Collector Systems provided free use of its web-based collection management system. The Smithsonian Institution and a grant to Heritage Preservation from the New York Community Trust, as well as support from TALAS, enabled purchase of supplies. The Center was also outfitted with supplies from Materials for the Arts, a creative reuse program managed by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. Additional donations to FAIC came from PINTA, The Modern & Contemporary Latin American Art Show; Tru Vue; Aon Huntington Block Insurance; Aon Foundation; members of AIC; and others. The American Museum of Natural History and MoMA also provided key in-kind support for recovery efforts and establishment of the CRC.
As the need for conservation continues, those with damaged pieces are encouraged to use AIC’s Find A Conservator tool available for free on the AIC website: www.conservation-us.org/findaconservator . The tool provides a systematic, consistent method of obtaining current information to identify and locate professional conservation services from all across the United States and abroad. It allows users to address a wide range of conservation problems, whether the needs are long-range or short-term and whether the collection consists of thousands of valuable historic artifacts, one priceless work of art, or items of great personal value.

# # #

About FAIC
FAIC, the Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic & Artistic Works, supports conservation education, research, and outreach activities that increase understanding of our global cultural heritage.

Portfolios and career transitions: pre-program, graduate, and post-graduate portfolio tips

The following article was written by Suzanne Davis and posted on her behalf by Carrie Roberts. Suzanne Davis is Associate Curator of Conservation at the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, University of Michigan, and a member of the Education and Training Committee of AIC. Suzanne will be speaking on the subject of conservation portfolios at ECPN’s Portfolio Seminar at AIC’s 41st Annual Meeting in Indianapolis, on Wednesday, May 29, 2013 starting at 4PM.
I can still remember the satisfaction of creating my portfolio in graduate school. This was before digital photography or Adobe Photoshop, and the black cloth-covered binder is filled with slides, black and white photographs (that I printed myself in my school’s cramped dark room), and intricate hand-drawn condition diagrams. Sixteen years later, this binder sits on the bookshelves just above my desk at work, and I still like to look at it sometimes.
Your portfolio is a representation of your identity as a conservator and scholar, so it’s a good idea to be constructive and discriminating in the way you assemble and use it. Typically it’s most useful early in your career, at a time when you might feel pressure to showcase every conservation experience you’ve ever had. But it can serve you best if you’re selective. Think about what you want a review committee to notice, and which experiences you want to highlight. Make it work for you.
If you’re applying to a graduate program, the admissions committee will be concerned with your academic ability in addition to your pre-program conservation experience. If you’ve undertaken research projects in conservation or a related field like art history or archaeology, feature these! The committee will also be looking to see if your research and career interests are a good fit for their program. How does your portfolio demonstrate this? At this stage in your career, your portfolio should clearly reflect your academic identity, interests, and your potential to succeed as student and professional.
Once in graduate school, it’s most helpful to think about your vision for your future. Knowing what kind of job you’d ultimately like to have will help you shape your graduate experience, choose classes and internships, and create a useful portfolio. Talk to conservators who have the kind of job you’d like. Try to intern with them, if possible. Learn what do they do every day, and what experiences and skills they value. What would they want a prospective employee to feature in a portfolio?
When using your portfolio to apply for post-graduate fellowships and jobs, it’s important that it reflect the full range of your experience. Many portfolios that I see for young conservators focus almost exclusively on conservation treatments and technical studies. But treatment is only one small piece of what most professional conservators do on a daily basis, and technical research is an even smaller component. Preventive conservation knowledge is very important, as is the ability to assess condition, prioritize work, and manage projects. The same is true for communication skills and working with students and volunteers. Experience with outreach and education activities is also good. As you read a fellowship or job description, think about ways to use your portfolio to highlight the skills and experience that the employer seeks.
When presenting your portfolio in an interview, it’s useful to pre-select the projects you’ll discuss. If it will be reviewed in your absence, indicate the projects you’d like reviewers to turn to first. The portfolio should be well-organized, with a table of contents and tabs that will make different sections easy to find. Consider including short project summaries to give readers a quick overview of each experience. Too much information can be overwhelming, so think about removing projects that are not relevant and do not contribute to the overall message you want to communicate. Many prospective employers will expect a presentation in addition to or in place of the portfolio, so spend some time thinking about how to translate the experience captured in your portfolio into an engaging talk.
Finally – and this is very important – don’t focus on your portfolio to the neglect of other application components. An interview and portfolio review is usually the very last step in a selection process. Without a well-crafted curriculum vitae and cover letter or personal statement, no one is ever likely to see your amazing portfolio. Good luck!
ECPN’s Portfolio Seminar is a FREE event for AIC’s 41st Annual Meeting attendees and will cover topics including ideas for building your portfolio, digital portfolios, and ‘beyond the portfolio’ topics like application materials and networking.
If you are a conservation student or recent graduate and are interested in sharing your portfolio during the ECPN Portfolio Seminar, please contact Carrie Roberts at carrizabel@gmail.com.

ECPN December Meeting Minutes

ECPN MEETING MINUTES

Monday 17 December 2012

Attendees:
Molly Gleeson (Chair)
Eliza Spaulding (Vice Chair)
Angela Curmi (Communications)
Anisha Gupta (co-Outreach)
Genevieve Bieniosek (Student Liaison, ETC)
Megan Salazar-Walsh (co-Outreach Coordinator)
Carrie Roberts (co-Professional Education and Training)
Gwen Manthey (co-Professional Education and Training)
Mina Thompson (OSG Chair)
Emily Williams (ETC Chair)
Ryan Winfield (AIC Staff Liaison)

1. November Meeting Minutes Approved
2. Portfolio Seminar – updates and planning

Gwen and Carrie have invited the speakers and heard back from all but 2. They have commitments from a few and others have expressed interest. They will follow-up with those they have not yet heard back from. The schedule has been planned.
An email has also been sent out to the grad program liaisons and an invitation posted on the blog and facebook for portfolio presenters. So far, 1 student from Winterthur, 1 from Buffalo, and 1 from Northumbria have responded. Gwen and Carrie will re-visit this after the new year and maybe try a more grassroots approach. It will also depend on students’ academic schedules.
Molly asked if, for the more formal presentations, we have speakers for all topics. Carrie said that Suzanne Davis is interested in the “beyond the portfolio” topic. Gwen will be speaking about building the portfolio. Cher Schneider will be speaking about digital portfolios. They will now focus on finding someone for the networking/ interviews topic.
Molly asked Gwen if she had reached out to Richard McCoy, and Gwen said that he was interested but couldn’t commit at this time. She is now thinking of Kathleen Kiefer.Gwen thinks Kathleen would be good for this topic, but is less familiar with her work in outreach. While the topic should be defined, Gwen is also trying to keep the invitation a bit loose so the speakers can bring their own ideas to it. Speakers should be finalized by mid- to late January.

Blog post on portfolios

Emily Williams asked if ECPN would be willing to recruit an employer and an educator to write a blog post on portfolios (the idea came up because they are re-doing the ETC education webpages). Molly suggested we ask 2 or more of the people involved in this session to write the post. Emily recommended Suzanne Davis. Carrie and Gwen will talk to her about this. And as soon as the speakers are finalized, they will ask about the blog post; however, we don’t have any educators among the speakers. Molly said we moved away from this because we didn’t want to invite someone from just one program. Gwen suggested that perhaps in the blogpost, it can be phrased as the viewpoint of an educator from a particular program. Emily recommended that rather than have just 1 educator for the blogpost, we approach all the programs (because there do seem to be differences) – Suzanne might be willing to help with this – and talk to several employers so that it’s not just 1 person’s opinion but a synthesis. Anisha suggested we create a survey to send out to the programs and streamline the information, then write a blogpost based on the results. Everyone agreed this was a good idea.
Molly will schedule a call in January to discuss the portfolio session and poster.

3. Webinar Q&A plans, feedback

Thank you to Eliza, Anisha, Ryan, and everyone who helped make the webinar possible. It was a huge success.
A follow-up Q&A is planned (using google hangout) for tomorrow morning at 11. There are 15 questions. Anisha will moderate the Q&A and Eliza will also be on the call. Each speaker has arbitrarily been given 5 questions. They will try to get through the questions as fast as possible (approx. 4 minutes each). The google hangout will be recorded and uploaded to youtube. Anisha said that the only issue is that it will be uploaded to her account if she records it. Molly asked if Ryan wanted the Q&A to be uploaded to AIC’s account. Ryan will discuss with Anisha later today.
Eliza asked Ryan if he was able to locate the recording of the program. Ryan responded that he had not, but he had emailed Eric about it and will ask him again today. It looked like it was saved on someone’s desktop or hard-drive, not within the account itself.
Eliza asked everyone about the audio quality. Carrie said it was great, but there was a bit of a lag between video and audio, though it didn’t disturb her at all. Not everyone saw the lag. Angela said it would be nice to go back and forth between powerpoint and live video. Eliza said we can try this in future and are gradually adding more technology to our toolkit.

4. Next webinar – topic, dates

Molly asked if we could have one more webinar before the annual meeting, sometime in the next 2-3 months. She will start a basecamp discussion on possible topics. Anisha thinks it is feasible. Though it was a lot of work, she never felt overwhelmed because the work was divided, and it resulted in a great discussion. Ryan agreed that it is more than worth the work and is great programming. Although it’s simpler with 1 speaker, the interaction between multiple speakers makes it worthwhile. Everyone agreed having 3 speakers was great, as opinions were varied, the speakers were able to feed off of each other, and the pressure is off each individual, which makes it less daunting to commit to.
Regarding topics, there is a lot of discussion lately on paid vs. unpaid internships (Rose Cull suggested this when she was chair). Molly asked how we can tackle this for a webinar in a constructive way. Everyone agreed this is a good idea and that it would be great to turn this into a constructive conversation. Molly will start a basecamp discussion – we will think about how to tackle this topic, what format it will take, and what kind of involvement everyone would like to have.

5. Mentoring program – updates, next steps

Over the past month Eliza has been able to make matches here and there and follow-up with people (for the 3-month follow-up on how mentorships are going). The latest group of mentee/mentor candidates included 9 mentee applications and 11 mentor applications (there are more mentors than mentees for the first time.) She would like to work on making those matches. Broader changes to the program have also been discussed and we can continue talking about this. Gwen and Carrie were not on the last call but can find the discussion in the minutes. Eliza asked Gwen how she felt about leading the match process with her assistance. Gwen feels comfortable taking it on with Eliza’s guidance. Carrie will take on the responsibility of the second officer (for the general resource).
Ryan explained that the new database/ website has a member-matching tool, so you can set up criteria for people to fill out and the system will automatically match them based on the criteria. So a lot of the arcane matching process using spreadsheets won’t be necessary anymore – it can be handled automatically through the website. This will launch when the new website is launched.
Eliza will follow-up with Gwen and Carrie about the changes to the program.

6. Wiki edit-a-thon in January and at annual meeting; Grad program liaisons – tie-in with Wiki event in January

The Wiki edit-a-thon is in January. They’re also organizing a live edit-a-thon at the annual meeting and we should try to get emerging conservators involved. Molly will be speaking to Rachael and Emily Williams about the PR Toolkit later today. We may want to work on the toolkit during the January edit-a-thon. Molly also asked for ideas for the live session and getting emerging conservators’ input for the wiki. One idea Rachael has is to contact grad programs (through the liaisons) and find out what they think they can contribute and if professors are willing to let them put coursework on the wiki.
Megan agreed it would be good to get students involved. Students will be on break in January, so they will have more time to contribute. But faculty members might be hesitant to put course material on there.
Molly suggested sending out a few questions to the liaisons – have they contributed to the wiki? What do they think they can contribute? Would their programs be interested?
Molly will get a list of topics from Rachael that she’s hoping to have fleshed out so that we don’t leave it too open – some are topics students may be working on in their courses. We should also be proactive in pairing up emerging conservators with more experienced conservators through the wiki (like a mentorship). Megan and Molly will work together on a letter to send the grad liaisons and will reach out to them in January.

7. Student representation
Letters have been sent to most SG chairs about student representation and supporting students at the annual meeting. Mina responded and is interested. Molly will reach out to the rest of the chairs within the week.
8. Next conference call:
2^nd or 4^th Monday in February, with a few project-specific calls in January (one about the annual meeting). Molly will follow-up.

Preservation EXPOsed!

National Archives and Records Administration presents Preservation EXPOsed!
March 14, 2013
11:00 a.m to 2:00 p.m.
William G. McGowan Theater and Lobby
National Archives Building
7th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC
Learn about preservation and caring for your personal treasures at the 2013 Preservation EXPO. Hear preservation lectures and bring in a document, book, photograph, artifact, motion picture, photographic film or audio recording for a consultation with a NARA Conservator on how to preserve it. Appointments are required for individual consultations. Please contact Preservation by email at preservation@nara.gov or call Preservation Programs Officer, Allison Olson at 301-837-0678 to schedule one.
Attendees should enter the National Archives Building through the Special Events Entrance on Constitution Avenue between 7th and 9th Streets, NW.
http://www.archives.gov/preservation/exposed-2013.html