Call for Proposals
BitCurator Users Forum 2019: Communities of Practice
Submission Form - https://forms.gle/
The BitCurator Consortium (BCC) invites proposals for the 2019 BitCurator Users Forum, to be held October 24-25 at Yale University. An international, community-led organization with 42 member institutions, the BCC promotes and supports the application of digital forensics tools and practices in libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural heritage organizations.
In previous years, the BitCurator Users Forum has focused on sharing strategies, approaches, and best practices for using digital forensics tools and methods within processing workflows in archives, libraries, and museums. While we still encourage proposals in these topic areas, this year we are seeking to expand the scope and discussions at the 2019 Users Forum to explore themes and concepts across organizations and fields of practice, such as collaboration, advocacy, ethics, and other areas. We particularly welcome participation from organizations and individuals working outside of academic and special collections libraries, as well as individuals working outside of the United States. See more details on our Call for Proposals page.
Please note that the BitCurator Users Forum is open to all. You don't need to be a BCC member to submit a proposal and/or attend the event.
The first day of the BitCurator Users Forum will feature an introduction to digital forensics workshop aimed at practitioners who are just getting started working with digital forensics tools and methods. This workshop will include an overview of digital forensics concepts, and will mostly focus on hands-on exercises and activities. Other programming on both days of the Forum will include a variety of sessions, from to participant-driven workshops to panel presentations.
Submission Information
Deadlines
Submission Deadline: May 17, 2019
Acceptance Notification: June 14, 2019
Participant-focused session formats
Sessions facilitated by individuals or groups welcome. 60 minutes - 4 hours
Please submit a 250-word (maximum) abstract describing the session format and topic(s).
The Program Committee particularly encourages participant-focused session formats that incorporate interactivity. This can include any type of non-traditional session format, such as peer-to-peer learning sessions, collaborative working sessions, roundtables, etc.
Presentations
Individual or group submissions welcome. 30 - 60 minutes
Please submit a 250-word (maximum) abstract. If submitting as an solo speaker, individual panelists may be matched by the BCC Program Committee based on complementarity of subjects or overarching themes.
We encourage presentations to move beyond the case study and address pressing issues, best practices, opportunities for collaboration, visions, and expanded uses for digital forensics in libraries, archives, museums, and beyond. The Program Committee strongly encourages proposals from underrepresented groups, and/or those that feature the perspectives of a variety of roles, organizations, or fields. We particularly welcome alternative panel formats (pecha kucha, group discussions, or others) that will facilitate dialogue and enlarge participation.
Lightning Talks
1 presenter, 5-12 minutes
Please submit an abstract of no more than 250 words.
Lightning talks are a great format for case studies, digital forensics “success stories” or “tragic tales,” and research updates.
Themes
The BCC Program Committee recognizes that the field of digital forensics is broad and diverse, and accepts proposals that focus on any related topic from any field. We particularly encourage proposals to consider areas of interest such as:
- Integration and Collaboration
- How have cross-departmental or intra-institutional projects helped to build, teach, or improve digital archives workflows and outcomes?
- Are there examples of tools or systems that have been linked or leveraged to improve preservation outcomes? What areas of opportunity exist for future integrations?
- What communities of practice exist around digital archives?
- What challenges and opportunities are involved in cross-disciplinary digital archives collaborations?
- Advocacy and Building Capacity
- How are you building capacity through “in-reach” and cross-training?
- How does your work with digital archiving connect to other forms of advocacy and organizing?
- What does successful advocacy for digital archives, preservation, and forensics look like?
- How can we better demonstrate the value of digital archives and digital forensic work?
- How can staff at small or underfunded organizations advocate for the time, tools, and expertise to conduct digital archives work?
- People and Policy
- What training curricula exist for working with digital archives and forensics? Are existing options sufficient?
- How do people come to work with digital archives, preservation, and forensics? What skills from past experience have proven valuable?
- How do digital archivists learn on the job?
- What policies impact the experiences of digital archives workers?
- How can we balance the need to maintain existing infrastructure with innovation and responding to new technologies?
- Ethics
- How do privacy and security, donor relations, institutional risk tolerance, and other ethical issues affect your work with digital archives?
- How do we address the fact that doing one’s work often means relying on tools and techniques that were originally developed for the law enforcement community?
- How do we address the environmental impact of large digital archives while managing researcher’s expectations of immediate/online access to digital materials?
How to Submit
How Proposals will be Evaluated
The BCC Program Committee will review all 2019 BitCurator Users Forum proposals. To see the criteria used to evaluate proposals, click here.
Eligibility & Requirements
We welcome proposals from archivists, librarians, digital forensics software and systems providers (vendors), scholars, students, and other individuals working with digital forensics on a regular basis, regardless of BCC membership or organization size. We particularly welcome submissions from individuals working outside of the United States and/or outside of academic and special collections libraries.
Presenters must register for and attend the conference. Presenters must also designate their permission in the submission form related to livestreaming their presentation during the event, making a recording of their presentation available online, and posting their presentation slides online.
BitCurator Consortium
The BitCurator Consortium (BCC) is an independent, community-led membership association that serves as the host and center of administrative, user and community support for the BitCurator environment. Its purpose is to support the curation of born-digital materials through the application of open-source digital forensics tools by institutions responsible for such materials.
The BCC is now welcoming institutions in all sectors and nations to join as General Members. Member benefits include:
- Access to the BCC help desk
- Prioritization in future feature and enhancement requests
- Dedicated educational offerings
- Voting rights
- Eligibility to serve on the BCC Executive Council and Committees
- Service opportunities
- Community engagement and networking
- Professional development and training
- Subscription to a dedicated BCC member mailing list
- Special rates for BCC events, including the annual BitCurator User Forum
The BCC exists to ensure that the BitCurator community continues to thrive in the years to come. Please consider joining this growing community of practice and international conversation around this emerging set of practices.
For more information, visit bitcuratorconsortium.org
