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The purpose of this paper is to highlight the challenges to born-digital institutional archiving using a New York Archive Museum (NYAM) as a case.

The digital record-keeping practices at NYAM were studied using three data sources: focus groups with staff, totaling 81 individuals, or approximately one-third of all staff; analysis of network file storage; and analysis of digital records in archival storage, or specifically removable media in acid-free archive boxes.

This case study indicates that the greatest challenges to born-digital institutional archiving are not necessarily technological but social and cultural. Or rather, the challenge is getting individuals to transfer material to a digital archive so that it can undergo the technological transformations needed to ensure its long-term availability. However, transfer is impeded by a variety of factors which can be addressed through education, infrastructure development and proactive appraisal for permanent retention.

This paper highlights the challenges to born-digital institutional archiving, yet notes that these challenges can be overcome by following a multi-pronged approach.

This paper outlines the challenges to born-digital institutional archiving, which is not often discussed in the literature outside of the context of higher education.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether virtual space can be used to alleviate physical space constraints for group collaboration in an urban academic library environment. Specifically, this paper looks to uncover whether library users will turn to library‐provided virtual space when there is a scarcity of physical space.

This project discusses the design of the physical and virtual environment, and then measures the use of this environment quantitatively over a 47‐month period (2005‐2009).

Results indicate that physical spaces for group collaboration are in very high demand, whereas virtual ones are not. A scarcity of physical collaboration spaces does not lead users to library‐provided virtual space, but rather to work around the scarcity in the physical world.

The paper highlights the value of the library as a gathering place and the ways in which virtual collaboration space cannot easily take the place of physical collaboration space.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate strategies to appraise email correspondence to select significant email for permanent preservation without capturing trivial or personal emails. The strategies were tested on the actual email accounts of selected individuals occupying important roles within an important cultural institution in the Northeastern USA.

Treating this art museum as a case study site, email messages are manually appraised for retention using a rubric. Following the appraisal, strategies for expediting this appraisal process, using what is learned from the manual appraisal process, are explored.

A major finding of this study is that sent mail is almost always significant, although preserving only sent mail, or preserving sent mail in combination with inbox items that have been acted upon (replied to or forwarded), are not sufficient to capture significant correspondence. Rather, a social network approach holds the most promise to accelerate the process of email appraisal.

This study provides empirically grounded strategies for appraising email for permanent retention.

The purpose of this study is to answer the questions: Can students discern the difference between oral histories digitized at archival quality (96 kHz/24-bit) versus CD-quality (44.1 kHz/16-bit)? and How important do they believe this difference is? Digitization of analog audio recordings has become the recommended best practice in preserving and making available oral histories. Additionally, well-accepted standards in performing this work are available. However, there is relatively little research that addresses if individuals can hear a qualitative difference in recordings made with best practices versus those that have not.

In all, 53 individuals participated in the study, where they listened to three sets of oral histories and had to decide which was the archival-quality recording versus the CD-quality recording and mark their answer on a survey.

Students could discern less than half of the time on average which was the archival quality versus the CD-quality recording. Further, after listening to the differences, they most often indicated the difference was “a little bit important”.

This research does not suggest that archivists abandon well-established sound digitization practices that produce results that audio archivists (and those able to hear fine-grain audio differences) find superior. Rather, it does imply that additional work may be needed to train listeners to discern these fine-grain differences, and appreciate the highest-fidelity replication of original audio recordings.

This research addresses a gap in the literature by connecting audio digitization practices to its impact on listener perception.

The aim of this research project is to uncover if place‐based learning can increase learner engagement and understanding of historical topics.

To study this, learners will use GeoStoryteller to learn about a historical topic on the places where significant events occurred, and then be interviewed by the researchers. GeoStoryteller is a tool developed by the researchers that runs on smartphones, such as an iPhone or Android. It provides the user multimedia stories about the historical sites, delivered via the mobile web or through Layar, an augmented reality web browser. The initial application of this technology focuses on German immigration to New York City between 1840 and 1945 through a partnership with the Goethe‐Institut, the Federal Republic of Germany's cultural institution. After using GeoStoryteller to learn about this content, n=31 participants were interviewed by the researchers, and transcripts were subjected to a quantitative content analysis.

Results indicate that the use of place increases learner perceptions of their engagement and understanding of historical topics; however, novel user interfaces like augmented reality impose significant usability issues, and more standard interfaces are preferred by users.

The use of place in mobile learning environments provides a meaningful entry point into historical content. Teachers of history and social studies, as well as those working in memory institutions (museum, libraries, and archives), should be encouraged in using place in their teaching and mobile education initiatives.

Digital collections are becoming more commonplace at libraries, archives and museums around the world, creating potential for improved accessibility to information that may otherwise remain hidden and further support for intellectual exploration. As a result of the growing potential for digital collections to inform and influence, the conversation surrounding ethics and digital collections needs to be continually examined and adapted as technologies evolve, user expectations change and digital information plays an increasing role in our everyday lives. In this context, this paper presents an overview of multifaceted ethical realities that impact the how, why and what digital information is created, accessed and preserved.

Written from the perspective of a digital collections librarian, this paper relies on existing research in presenting ethical considerations and complements that research with professional observations in providing subsequent reflections on addressing challenges in the age of digital information.

There are and should be considerations given to not only what information is contained in a given collection, but also how that information is selected, accessed and consumed by the public. The conclusions offered are designed to provoke reflection on the evolving and interconnected nature of information and ethics in the context of digital collections.

Information ethics is multifaceted, with one of those facets relating directly to digital collections. This paper demonstrates that digital collections are more complex than simply a collection of digitized documents and photographs. As the field of information management continually evolves and adapts, so, too, do the ethical realizations identified in this paper, all of which go beyond the (virtual) walls of a library, archive or museum, and carry the potential to have a long-term impact concerning information and its integrity, equity and access.

The purpose of this paper is to report on the Spring 2013 MARAC Conference.

This report focuses on the use of technology in archives, libraries, and museums, as presented in various sessions at the Spring 2013 MARAC Conference.

Archives, libraries, and museums are utilizing various technologies including QR codes, data visualization, open‐source platforms, and single search boxes to better reach and serve the demands and expectations of today's users.

The paper condenses the author's notes from various sessions.