2010 Best Practices Exchange

It's Best Practices Exchange time again! It's Best Practices Exchange time again! Well, it will be in a few months.

The 2010 Best Practices Exchange (BPE) will take place in Phoenix, Arizona, from Wednesday, 29 September through Friday, 1 October. David Ferriero, the Archivist of the United States, and Laura Campbell, Associate Librarian for Strategic Initiatives at the Library of Congress and the leader of the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program, will deliver keynote addresses. The program will also feature a one day pre-conference workshop on digital preservation management.

BPE 2010 is open to practitioners in government and university archives and libraries; educators and researchers in the fields of library science, information science, technology, archives, and records management; and product developers working to create systems for managing and preserving digital assets. In my opinion -- and I've had the good fortune to attend every BPE -- it's the the most stimulating, invigorating, inspiring, and fun archival professional conference series that I've ever attended.

The BPE is not a conventional conference. As in past years, the program will include exchange sessions with presentations by individuals working in the field, followed by facilitated discussion. These grass-roots sessions are informal and collaborative. Attendees are encouraged to ask many questions and offer their own perspectives. This year, the sessions will focus on:

• Track 1: New ways of working: strategically rethinking digital curatorial strategy
• Track 2: New tools: Practical, hands-on techniques, tips, and tools
• Track 3: New media: Collecting and preserving social media, the rising use of audio and video formats
• Track 4: Policy and administration: Sustainable programs and commitment to long-term preservation
• Track 5: Additional tracks that evolve out of proposals from the community

In addition to submitted proposals, this year's program will feature presentations from the four States Initiatives projects funded by the Library of Congress's National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP). The projects include:

• Geospatial Multistate Archive and Preservation Project (GeoMAPP), led by the North Carolina Center for Geographic Information and Analysis
• Persistent Digital Archives and Library System (PeDALS), led by the Arizona State Library and Archives
• A Model Technological and Social Architecture for the Preservation of State Government Digital Information, led by the Minnesota Historical Society
• A Multi-State Preservation Program, led by the Washington State Archives

The deadline for submission of proposals is 30 June 2010. More information about submitting proposals, making travel arrangements, and registering for the conference (there is no fee for doing so!)is on the Best Practices Exchange 2010 Web site.