About the Forum
The BitCurator Users Forum brings together representatives from libraries, archives, museums, and related information professions engaged in (or considering) digital forensics work to acquire, better understand, and make available born-digital materials.
The forum will balance discussion of theory and practice of digital forensics and related digital analysis workflows with hands-on activities for users at all levels of experience with the BitCurator environment, digital forensics methods in general, and other tools for use in digital analysis and curation.
The BitCurator Users Forum is open to all. You do not need to be a BCC member or user to submit a proposal and/or attend the event.
Code of Conduct
The BCC is committed to fostering an open, inclusive, and safe environment.
View BCC Code of Conduct
Forum News
BUF2021 Registration Closes October 1st!
Registration is Closing Soon! Registration for the BitCurator Users Forum 2021 closes October 1st, 2021! We are proud to offer registration for BitCurator Users Forum 2021 at a sliding scale starting at $0. New this year, we have introduced group rates: discounted rates for groups … Read more →
BUF2021 Registration is Open!
The BCC Program Committee is pleased to announce that registration is open for the 2021 BitCurator Users Forum and Educators’ Summit! Registration Now Open! We are proud to offer registration for BitCurator Users Forum 2021 at a sliding scale starting at $0. New this year, … Read more →
BitCurator Users Forum 2021 – Preliminary Program Now Available
The Program Committee is pleased to announce that the preliminary program is now available for the BitCurator Users Forum 2021. The Forum will be held virtually October 12-14, 2021. Each day will include workshops, lightning talks, and themed sessions on starting from scratch, iteration and … Read more →
Save the Date: 2021 BitCurator Educators’ Summit
The BitCuratorEdu team in collaboration with the BitCurator Consortium is excited to announce a virtual symposium following the 2021 BitCurator Users Forum! The BitCuratorEdu Educators’ Summit will bring together digital curation practitioners, peer trainers, and graduate students with library and information science instructors from both … Read more →
BitCurator Users Forum 2021 – Call for Proposals
The BCC Program Committees invites proposals for the 2021 BitCurator Users Forum, to be held virtually October 12-14, 2021. An international, community-led organization with 35 member institutions, the BCC promotes and supports the application of digital archives tools and practices in libraries, archives, museums, and … Read more →
Save the Date: BUF2021 Will Be the Week of October 11, 2021
The BCC Program Committee invites you to mark off the week of October 11, 2021 for the 2021 BitCurator Users Forum. Due to the uncertainty of public health and travel budgets, and to make scheduling more direct for the Program Committee, like last year, the … Read more →
Program Committee
- Elvia Arroyo-Ramirez, University of California Irvine Libraries, Leadership Team
- Brian Dietz, NC State University Libraries, Leadership Team
- Lourdes Johnson, SJSU iSchool 2019 Graduate, Leadership Team
- Shira Peltzman, UCLA Libraries, Leadership Team
- David Cirella, Yale University Libraries
- Elizabeth Dunham, Arizona State University
- Jessica Farrell, Educopia Institute
- Wendy Hagenmaier, Georgia Tech
- Mary Jackson, NYU MIAP 2020 Graduate
- Monique Lassere, Houghton Library, Harvard University
- Thandokazi Maceba, UCT Libraries, University of Cape Town
- Margo Padilla, New-York Historical Society
- Caitlin Perry, Educopia Institute
- Kelly Phillips, Northern Arizona University
- Alice Prael, Yale University Libraries
- Hannah Wang, Educopia Institute
Get in Touch
If you have questions or feedback about the BitCurator Users Forum, please contact Jess Farrell.
Great Question!
Open session where people can ask questions to the entire audience anonymously. Anything goes! These could be questions related to workflows, policies, things you are struggling with, something you’d like some community advice or guidance about.
Session 2: Iteration and Scalability
To Disk Image, Or Not to Disk Image?: Identifying Potential Factors for Disk Imaging in Digital Archival Workflows Elise Tanner, UA Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture; Dianne Dietrich, Cornell University Library; Lara Friedman-Shedlov, University of Minnesota; Alex Nelson, US National Institute of … Read more →
Session 3: BitCurator
Leveling Up on Preservation: Using BitCurator Reports to Better Preserve State Archives Materials Jamie Patrick-Burns, State Archives of North Carolina In 2020 the State Archives of NC (SANC) adopted a “levels of preservation” document to standardize preservation actions for electronic records. These actions include generating … Read more →
Session 4: Troubleshooting
Restart It Again: Troubleshooting in Context Nick Krabbenhoeft, Ben Turkus, and Alison Rhonemus, New York Public Library; Caroline Gil Rodríguez Troubleshooting isn’t something that should be approached haphazardly. And unfortunately, there is little available training in how to bring systematic thinking to solving problems in … Read more →
Session 5: Access and Discoverability
Virtual Reading Rooms: Remote Access in Ethical and Responsible Ways Shelly Black, North Carolina State University; Annalise Berdini, Princeton University; Greg Cram, The New York Public Library Virtual reading rooms provide remote, mediated access to digitized and born-digital archival materials held by cultural heritage institutions. … Read more →
Session 6: Tools and Demos Showcase
What Would You QEMU? Ethan Gates, Yale University Library QEMU (Quick EMUlator) is a powerful open-source program for emulation and virtual machine management. In this lightning talk, I will discuss its potential application in digital archive and curation workflows, including: running BitCurator in a virtual … Read more →
Workshop: Intro to Digital Forensics/BitCurator
Intro to Digital Forensics/BitCurator Amy Berish, Rockefeller Archive Center; David Cirella, Yale University; Satya Miller, University of Ottawa; Katie Martin, Rockefeller Archive Center; Hannah Wang, Educopia Institute In the past, the “Intro to Digital Forensics” class has provided a brief introduction to digital forensics and … Read more →
Workshop: Legal & Ethical Due Diligence for Providing Access to Born-Digital Collections
Legal & Ethical Due Diligence for Providing Access to Born-Digital Collections Kate Dundon, University of California Santa Cruz; Jessika Drmacich, Williams College In February 2020, the DLF Born-Digital Access Working Group (BDAWG) identified a need for practical guidance for practitioners in considering legal and ethical … Read more →
Session 1: Remote Workflows
DARTing to the Future: Remote File Transfers During the COVID-19 Pandemic Christina Velazquez Fidler, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley; Andrew Diamond, APTrust During the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown, The Bancroft Library explored how to best continue the acquisition and transfer of born … Read more →
BitCuratorEdu Educators Summit: BitCurator Advocacy Workshop
A workshop on creating an advocacy plan for installing and implementing BitCurator at your school or institution, based on the BitCurator advocacy talking points developed by the BitCuratorEdu team and partners. The project team will introduce the BitCurator Talking Points Database and walk through different advocacy scenarios … Read more →
BitCuratorEdu Educators Summit: Digital Preservation & Curation Training Roundtable
A panel discussion on recent studies and efforts in continuing education to provide training in digital preservation and curation to practitioners.
BitCuratorEdu Educators Summit: Getting Started: Independent Learning with Digital Forensics Tools
A panel discussion on independent learning with BitCurator, including some technical aspects of how to get started and transitioning from being a student to a practitioner.
Our Sponsors
A very big and heartfelt thank you to this year’s Forum sponsors!
Data Curation Experts (Gigabyte Level)
Myriad Consulting (Megabyte Level)
Northeast Document Conservation Center (Megabyte Level)
Sponsorship Information
Sponsorship offers a valuable opportunity to demonstrate your commitment to the emerging community of digital curation practitioners within libraries, archives, and museums, including their many affiliates and partners. By becoming a sponsor, you will reach a highly influential, international audience of potential new partners and clients.
To become a sponsor please complete our Sponsorship Contract. For additional information about sponsorship, please contact Jess Farrell (jess.farrell@educopia.org).
Terabyte Level ($1,000)
At this level, your sponsorship will:
- Subsidize the cost of registration for BUF attendees who do not have institutional professional development funding
- Support one Birds of a Feather “coffee break” for BIPOC only or Students and New Professionals
- Subsidize the operating expenses associated with hosting and promoting a virtual conference
- Contribute towards offsetting the cost of technology to make the conference more accessible
The BCC will acknowledge your support through:
- Crediting you as a sponsor of one Birds of a Feather “coffee break” for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) only or Students and New Professionals
- Scheduling a breaktime “office hours” presentation, during which you can present slides (to be provided by you) and hold a Q&A with participants
- Distributing a sponsor-produced digital “swag bag” (promotional flyers, white papers, posters — whatever you’d like to include etc.) to all conference attendees
- Displaying a large logo on the program site page(s) and acknowledgement on the schedule
- Publicly recognizing you on the BCC Listserv and a “shout-out” via the BCC Twitter account
- Publicly recognizing you at the event during the program introductions
- Acknowledging you on the BCC and conference websites as a Terabyte Sponsor
Gigabyte Level ($500)
At this level, your sponsorship will:
- Subsidize the cost of registration for BUF attendees who do not have institutional professional development funding
- Support one Birds of a Feather “coffee break” for BIPOC only or Students and New Professionals
- Subsidize the operating expenses associated with hosting and promoting a virtual conference
The BCC will acknowledge your support through:
- Either crediting you as a sponsor of one Birds of a Feather “coffee break” for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) only or Students and New Professionals OR by scheduling a breaktime “office hours” presentation, during which you can present slides (to be provided by you) and hold a Q&A with participants
- Displaying a medium logo on the program site page(s) and acknowledgement on the schedule
- Publicly recognizing you on the BCC Listserv and “shout-out” via the BCC Twitter account
- Publicly recognizing you at the event during the program introduction
- Acknowledging you on BCC and conference website as Gigabyte Sponsor
Megabyte Level ($250)
At this level, your sponsorship will:
- Subsidize the cost of registration for BUF attendees who does not have institutional professional development funding
- Contribute towards offsetting the cost of technology that will make the conference more accessible
The BCC will acknowledge your support through:
- Scheduling a breaktime presentation, during which you can present slides (to be provided by you)
- Displaying a small logo on the program site page(s) and acknowledgement on the schedule
- Publicly recognizing you on the BCC Listserv and “shout-out” via the BCC Twitter account
- Publicly recognizing you at the event during the program introduction
- Acknowledging you on BCC and conference website as Megabyte Sponsor
Sponsorship funds will be applied directly to the costs of the 2021 BitCurator Users Forum virtual meeting. Generated revenues from registration and sponsorship that are in excess of meeting costs will be allocated to the BCC’s operating reserve fund, which supports the sustainability of our community.
Tuesday, October 12, 2021 (Day 1)
Looking for session links? Registrants receive a daily message with the link – search your inbox for Evenbrite or BitCurator Users Forum.
8:00am – 8:30am Pacific / 11:00am-11:30am Eastern
Opening Remarks
- Lauren Work & Program Committee
8:30 am – 9:35am Pacific / 11:30 am-12:35pm Eastern
SESSION 1: REMOTE WORKFLOWS
- DARTing to the Future: Remote File Transfers During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Christina Velazquez Fidler, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley; Andrew Diamond, APTrust - Make It Work: Digital Archiving Without Your Toolkit
Elena Colón-Marrero, Computer History Museum - Workflow in Progress: A Born-Digital Case Study
Kiera Sullivan; Tori Maches, UC San Diego Library
9:35am – 10:30am Pacific / 12:35pm-1:30pm Eastern
BREAK
10:30am – 11:30am Pacific / 1:30pm – 2:30pm Eastern
SESSION 2: ITERATION AND SCALABILITY
- To Disk Image, Or Not to Disk Image?: Identifying Potential Factors for Disk Imaging in Digital Archival Workflows
Elise Tanner, UA Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture; Dianne Dietrich, Cornell University Library; Lara Friedman-Shedlov, University of Minnesota; Alex Nelson, US National Institute of Standards and Technology - You Do What With What?: Leveraging Available Resources to Build a Good-Enough Digital Infrastructure
Sheridan Sayles, Seton Hall University; Satya Miller, University of Ottawa; Brad San Martin, Apollo Theater
11:30am – 12:00pm Pacific / 2:30pm-3:00pm Eastern
BREAK
12:00pm – 12:55pm Pacific / 3:00pm-3:55pm Eastern
BIRDS OF A FEATHER 1 (BIPOC ONLY)
1:00pm-2:30pm Pacific / 4:00-5:30pm Eastern
WORKSHOP 1
- Fostering Meaningful Student Worker Experience
Jessica Venlet, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Libraries Libraries, Wilson Special Collections; Clare Carlson, Lindahl Reed Inc.
Wednesday, October 13, 2021 (Day 2)
8:00am – 8:15am Pacific / 11am-11:15am Eastern
DAY 2 OPENING REMARKS
- Program Committee
8:15am – 9:20am Pacific / 11:15 am – 12:20pm Eastern
SESSION 3: BITCURATOR
- Leveling Up on Preservation: Using BitCurator Reports to Better Preserve State Archives Materials
Jamie Patrick-Burns, State Archives of North Carolina - BitCurator from Scratch: Internship to Production Environment Implementation at Concordia University
John Richan and Sarah Lake, Concordia University - Teaching with BitCurator: A Case Study in the Development of an Online Instructional Module
Grace Muñoz, UCLA
9:20am – 9:30am Pacific / 12:20pm-12:30pm Eastern
BREAK
9:30am – 10:30am Pacific / 12:30pm – 1:30pm Eastern
SESSION 4: TROUBLESHOOTING
- Restart It Again: Troubleshooting in Context
Nick Krabbenhoeft, Ben Turkus, and Alison Rhonemus, New York Public Library; Caroline Gil Rodríguez
10:30am – 11:45pm Pacific / 1:30pm – 2:45pm Eastern
GREAT QUESTION!
- Membership and Program Committees
11:45am – 12:45pm Pacific / 2:45pm – 3:45pm Eastern
BREAK
12:45pm – 2:15pm Pacific / 3:45pm – 5:15pm Eastern
WORKSHOP 2
- Intro to Digital Forensics/BitCurator
Amy Berish, Rockefeller Archive Center; David Cirella, Yale University; Satya Miller, University of Ottawa; Katie Martin, Rockefeller Archive Center; Hannah Wang, Educopia Institute
Thursday, October 14, 2021 (Day 3)
9:00am-9:15am Pacific / 12pm-12:15pm Eastern
DAY THREE OPENING REMARKS
- Program Committee
9:15am-10:00am Pacific / 12:15pm-1:00pm Eastern
SESSION 5: ACCESS AND DISCOVERABILITY
- Virtual Reading Rooms: Remote Access in Ethical and Responsible Ways
Shelly Black, North Carolina State University; Annalise Berdini, Princeton University; Greg Cram, The New York Public Library - COVID-19 Telling Her-Stories in Canada
Satya Miller, University of Ottawa
10:00am-11:00am Pacific / 1:00pm-2:00pm Eastern
Office Hours with Digital Curation Experts and BREAK
11:00am – 11:55pm Pacific / 2:00pm – 2:55pm Eastern
BIRDS OF A FEATHER: STUDENTS AND NEW PROFESSIONALS
12:00pm – 1:00pm Pacific / 3:00pm – 4:00pm Eastern
SESSION 6: TOOLS/DEMOS SHOWCASE
- What Would You QEMU?
Ethan Gates, Yale University Library - Designing and Launching a Multi-Institutional Email Metadata Discovery Platform
Sally DeBauche, Stanford University - Using a Common Specification to Preserve Email
Gregory Wiedeman, University at Albany, SUNY - Lightweight Distributions of Tools
Brian Dietz, NC State University Libraries
1:00pm – 1:15pm Pacific / 4:00pm – 4:15pm Eastern
CLOSING REMARKS
- Lauren Work
1:20pm – 2:20pm Pacific / 4:20pm – 5:20pm Eastern
WORKSHOP 3
- Legal & Ethical Due Diligence for Providing Access to Born-Digital Collections
Kate Dundon, University of California Santa Cruz; Jessika Drmacich, Williams College
Friday, October 15, 2021
Looking for session links? Registrants receive a daily message with the link – search your inbox for Evenbrite or BitCurator Users Forum.
Missed registration for the Summit? There are still spots available! Sign up here: https://airtable.com/shrTqXiveYzCGR8De
BitCuratorEdu Educators’ Summit
9:00-9:15am Pacific / 12:00-12:15pm Eastern
OPENING REMARKS
9:15-10:00am Pacific / 12:15-1:00pm Eastern
DIGITAL PRESERVATION & CURATION TRAINING ROUNDTABLE
- Jessica Farrell, BitCurator Consortium
- Sharon McMeekin, Digital Preservation Coalition
- Lauren Sorensen, Digital Preservation Outreach & Education Network
- Hannah Wang, BitCuratorEdu Project
10:00-10:15am Pacific / 1:00-1:15pm Eastern
BREAK
10:15-11:15am Pacific / 1:15-2:15pm Eastern
GETTING STARTED: INDEPENDENT LEARNING WITH DIGITAL FORENSICS TOOLS
- Amy Berish, Rockefeller Archive Center
- Jerman Brenning, Mid Sweden University
- Alison Rhonemus, New York Public Library
- Tessa Walsh, Artefactual
11:15-11:30am Pacific / 2:15-2:30pm Eastern
BREAK
11:30am-12:30pm Pacific / 2:30-3:30pm Eastern
BUILDING AN ANTI-RACIST DIGITAL CURATION CURRICULUM
- Jessica Farrell, BitCuratorEdu Project
- Grace Muñoz, UCLA
- Ricky Punzalan, University of Michigan iSchool
- Hannah Wang, BitCuratorEdu Project
12:30-1:00pm Pacific / 3:30-4:00pm Eastern
BREAK
1:00-2:00pm Pacific / 4:00-5:00pm Eastern
BITCURATOR ADVOCACY WORKSHOP
- Nick Connizzo, Independent Archivist
- Nancy McGovern, MIT
- Kelsey O’Connell, Northwestern University
- Kari Smith, MIT
- Hannah Wang, BitCuratorEdu Project
BitCuratorEdu Educators' Summit
Friday, October 15, 2021
9:00-9:15am Pacific / 12:00-12:15pm Eastern
OPENING REMARKS
9:15-10:00am Pacific / 12:15-1:00pm Eastern
DIGITAL PRESERVATION & CURATION TRAINING ROUNDTABLE
- Jessica Farrell, BitCurator Consortium
- Sharon McMeekin, Digital Preservation Coalition
- Lauren Sorensen, Digital Preservation Outreach & Education Network
- Hannah Wang, BitCuratorEdu Project
10:00-10:15am Pacific / 1:00-1:15pm Eastern
BREAK
10:15-11:15am Pacific / 1:15-2:15pm Eastern
GETTING STARTED: INDEPENDENT LEARNING WITH DIGITAL FORENSICS TOOLS
- Amy Berish, Rockefeller Archive Center
- Jerman Brenning, Mid Sweden University
- Alison Rhonemus, New York Public Library
- Tessa Walsh, Artefactual
11:15-11:30am Pacific / 2:15-2:30pm Eastern
BREAK
11:30am-12:30pm Pacific / 2:30-3:30pm Eastern
BUILDING AN ANTI-RACIST DIGITAL CURATION CURRICULUM
- Jessica Farrell, BitCuratorEdu Project
- Grace Muñoz, UCLA
- Ricky Punzalan, University of Michigan iSchool
- Hannah Wang, BitCuratorEdu Project
12:30-1:00pm Pacific / 3:30-4:00pm Eastern
BREAK
1:00-2:00pm Pacific / 4:00-5:00pm Eastern
BITCURATOR ADVOCACY WORKSHOP
- Nick Connizzo, Independent Archivist
- Nancy McGovern, MIT
- Kelsey O’Connell, Northwestern University
- Kari Smith, MIT
- Hannah Wang, BitCuratorEdu Project
Educators’ Summit News
BitCuratorEdu Educators Summit: BitCurator Advocacy Workshop
A workshop on creating an advocacy plan for installing and implementing BitCurator at your school or institution, based on the BitCurator advocacy talking points developed by the BitCuratorEdu team and partners. The project team will introduce the BitCurator Talking Points Database and walk through different advocacy scenarios with participants.
BitCuratorEdu Educators Summit: Digital Preservation & Curation Training Roundtable
A panel discussion on recent studies and efforts in continuing education to provide training in digital preservation and curation to practitioners.
BitCuratorEdu Educators Summit: Getting Started: Independent Learning with Digital Forensics Tools
A panel discussion on independent learning with BitCurator, including some technical aspects of how to get started and transitioning from being a student to a practitioner.
Save the Date: 2021 BitCurator Educators’ Summit
The BitCuratorEdu team in collaboration with the BitCurator Consortium is excited to announce a virtual symposium following the 2021 BitCurator Users Forum!
The BitCuratorEdu Educators’ Summit will bring together digital curation practitioners, peer trainers, and graduate students with library and information science instructors from both academic programs and continuing education efforts to explore the latest topics, research and developments in digital curation education.
The program will be a combination of panel discussions and workshops facilitated by the BitCuratorEdu team and invited speakers. Save the date for Friday, October 15, and we’ll share information on the program and how to register in August 2021!