Dr. Nancy Y. McGovern | |
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Known for | 72nd President of the Society of American Archivists, Digital preservation, data curation, Digital Preservation Management workshops, Radical Collaboration. |
Awards | Emmett Leahy Award 2023. Awarded for Outstanding Contributions and Accomplishments that Have a Major Impact on the Records and Information Management. |
Academic background | |
Education | University College London, Northeastern University, Saint Anselm College |
Thesis | Technology Responsiveness for Digital Preservation: A Model (2009) |
Academic work | |
Discipline | digital preservation,data curation archivist |
Institutions | Massachusetts Institute of Technology,University of Michigan,Cornell University,Blinken Open Society Archives,National Archives of the United States of America |
Dr. Nancy Y. McGovern is a digital preservation pioneer. She is the 2023 recipient of the Emmet Leahy Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Information and Records Management professions. [1] Dr. McGovern has devoted her career to developing digital records and preservation programs for a series of prominent institutions,translating those experiences into widely-used curriculum and continuing education programs to help organizations and individuals build their capacity to develop sustainable programs to preserve digital content,defining and promulgating standards-based good practice for digital archives and preservation,and engaging in research-based practice to fill gaps in good practice for digital archives and the preservation of them. She has focused on building an international community of practice for digital archives and preservation most recently with the development and promulgation of the Radical Collaboration model for working within and across domains.
After graduation from St. Anselm College in Manchester,New Hampshire,and Northeastern University in Boston,Nancy McGovern worked for the Center for Electronic Records [2] at the National Archives and Records Administration and the Open Society Archives (Budapest,Hungary). Considered to be a pioneer of digital preservation, [3] McGovern has focused on digital preservation and practice since 1986,when she became senior staff of the Center for Electronic Records at the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. Prior to her tenure at MIT,McGovern worked as a research assistant professor and digital preservation officer at the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) [4] and Director of Research and Assessment Services and digital preservation officer at Cornell University. She was the first digital preservation officer for Cornell University Library and for the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR),and the first director of digital preservation [5] at the Massachusetts institute of Technology (MIT) Libraries. She was awarded her Ph.D. at University College London in 2009,one of the first to focus on digital preservation with a thesis on technology responsiveness.
Dr. McGovern co-founded the Electronic Records Section of the Society of American Archivists (SAA) in 1993,co-founded and chaired the SAA Research Forum from 2007 to 2022,and recently served as the Society’s president. In 2009 she was named a Digital Preservation Pioneer by the National Digital Information Infrastructure Preservation Program (NDIIPP) and continues to be engaged with its successor,the National Digital Stewardship Alliance (NDSA). Since 2008,she has collaborated with community leaders in South Africa to develop and implement good practice for digital curation and preservation. At the 2015 International Conference on Digital Preservation (iPres),she convened the first community discussion on digital preservation storage and has since served on the working group that developed and maintains the Preservation Storage Criteria,a de facto community standard. For the International Council on Archives (ICA),she co-developed an online course “Managing Digital Archives”that has worldwide impact. Nancy McGovern was the 72nd president of the Society of American Archivists (2016-2017). [6] She presented her SAA Presidential Address,"Archives,History,and Technology:Prologue and Possibilities for SAA and the Archival Community" at the 2018 Annual Meeting of the Society. McGovern was named a pioneer in digital preservation by the Library of Congress in 2010. [7] McGovern was previously a research assistant professor and digital preservation officer at the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) at the University of Michigan and Director of Research and Assessment Services and digital preservation officer at Cornell University. [6] McGovern's work has focused on digital preservation and practice since 1986,when she became senior staff of the Center for Electronic Records at the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
In 2003,while working at Cornell,McGovern,with Anne R. Kenney,co-developed the Digital Preservation Management Workshop for digital preservation managers. [8] The workshops and online tutorial she co-developed has been widely used by practitioners and academic programs since 2003,having been offered more than 60 times since 2003 to attendees from more than 30 countries. [7]
Since 2022 Dr. McGovern is the Director for Digital Preservation Instruction and Practice with Global Archivist LLC a consulting,coaching,and training small-business.
An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials –in any medium –or the physical facility in which they are located.
An archivist is an information professional who assesses,collects,organizes,preserves,maintains control over,and provides access to records and archives determined to have long-term value. The records maintained by an archivist can consist of a variety of forms,including letters,diaries,logs,other personal documents,government documents,sound and/or picture recordings,digital files,or other physical objects.
The Society of American Archivists is the oldest and largest archivist association in North America,serving the educational and informational needs of more than 5,000 individual archivist and institutional members. Established in 1936,the organization serves upwards of 6,200 individual and member institutions.
Archival science,or archival studies,is the study and theory of building and curating archives,which are collections of documents,recordings,photographs and various other materials in physical or digital formats.
The National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP) of the United States was an archival program led by the Library of Congress to archive and provide access to digital resources. The program convened several working groups,administered grant projects,and disseminated information about digital preservation issues. The U.S. Congress established the program in 2000,and official activity specific to NDIIPP itself wound down between 2016 and 2018. The Library was chosen because of its role as one of the leading providers of high-quality content on the Internet. The Library of Congress has formed a national network of partners dedicated to preserving specific types of digital content that is at risk of loss.
Margaret L. Hedstrom is an American archivist who is the Robert M. Warner Collegiate Professor of Information at the University of Michigan School of Information. She has contributed to the field of digital preservation,archives,and electronic records management and holds a doctorate in history from the University of Wisconsin.
Charles M. Dollar,an internationally recognized expert on the life cycle management of electronic records,particularly electronic records archiving,pioneered research into digital preservation of electronic records.
Archival processing is the act of surveying,arranging,describing,and performing basic preservation activities on the recorded material of an individual,family,or organization after they are permanently transferred to an archive. A person engaging in this activity is known as an archival processor,archival technician, or archivist.
In conservation,library and archival science,preservation is a set of preventive conservation activities aimed at prolonging the life of a record,book,or object while making as few changes as possible. Preservation activities vary widely and may include monitoring the condition of items,maintaining the temperature and humidity in collection storage areas,writing a plan in case of emergencies,digitizing items,writing relevant metadata,and increasing accessibility. Preservation,in this definition,is practiced in a library or an archive by a conservator,librarian,archivist,or other professional when they perceive a collection or record is in need of maintenance.
Paul Conway is an associate professor at the University of Michigan School of Information and has worked with Yale University and Duke University Universities after starting his career at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library. His research and educational work focuses primarily on digital preservation and electronic media. He has published extensively throughout his career on library preservation,conservation issues,and education of library and archives personnel.
The Section 108 Study Group was a select committee of copyright experts and library and archives professionals,convened by the Copyright Office and the Library of Congress's National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP). The Study Group was charged with updating Section 108 of the United States Copyright Act—relating to libraries and archives' ability to make copies of copyrighted works available under certain circumstances—for the digital age. The Study Group issued a final report in March 2008,outlining proposed changes and updates to Section 108.
Ann Josephine Wolpert was an American librarian who was a pioneer in digital libraries. As director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Libraries from 1996 to 2013,she was instrumental in a variety of projects,including leading an initiative between MIT and Hewlett Packard to develop the DSpace digital repository system,and supporting MIT OpenCourseWare,one of the earliest large-scale projects to provide open access to university course materials. She also championed MIT's adoption of an open access mandate in 2009,the first of its kind in the United States.
Luciana Duranti is an archival theorist and professor of archival science and diplomatics at the University of British Columbia School of Library,Archival and Information Studies in Vancouver,Canada. She is a noted expert on diplomatics and electronic records. Since 1998,she has been the director of the electronic records research project,InterPARES. She has disclosed the concept of the archival bond originally initiated by Italian archivist Giorgio Cencetti in 1937.
Meredith Evans is an archivist,historian and scholar and the director of the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum in Atlanta. Her work focuses on the African-American experience in the United States,including the documentation of archival records from African-American churches in the Atlanta area,and the preservation of social media from recent civil rights protests such as those of the Ferguson unrest in Ferguson,Missouri after the shooting of Michael Brown.
Elizabeth Yakel is an archivist,researcher,and educator in information science. Yakel is known for work advancing archival practice,the use of primary sources in archives education,studies of data reuse practices,and digital curation. Yakel is the senior associate dean for academic affairs and a professor at the University of Michigan School of Information,where she has been on the faculty since 2000. She is the former coordinator of the Preservation of Information specialization in the Master of Science in Information program and teaches in the Archives and Record Management area. She specializes in digital archives and digital preservation and has developed five such graduate level courses at UM,including "Economics of Sustainable Digital Information" and "Practical Engagement Workshop in Digital Preservation."
Anne R. Kenney was an American librarian and archivist known for her work in digital preservation.
Helen Wong Smith is an American archivist and librarian. She is the archivist and librarian for University Records at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She works in the University Archives and Manuscripts Collection of the Public Services Division. She is formerly an Archivist and Librarian for the State Historic Preservation Division as well as the Executive Director of the Kauaʻi Historical Society. Smith is an active member of the Society of American Archivists,becoming President in 2023,and having served in many leadership roles including on the Council,the Committee on Education,and the Nominating Committee from 2012-2014. Smith was named an SAA Fellow on June 10,2016.
Helen Ruth Tibbo is an American archivist,professor and author writing about digital preservation in the archival profession. At the University of North Carolina,she created and directed the first American master's degree on digital curation. She is a past President of the Society of American Archivists
Kenneth Francis Thibodeau is an American specialist in electronic records management who worked for many years at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). He was responsible for development of the pioneering DoD 5015.02 standard for electronic records management and for creation of NARA's Electronic Records Archives System (ERA).
Adrian Cunningham is an Australian archivist who worked for many years at the National Archives of Australia. He is known for his contributions to the practice of digital records management,including development of international standards in this field.