The Nevada State Historical Records Advisory Board (SHRAB) is pleased to announce another winner of the 2024 Scholarship for archivists and associated professionals working to preserve Nevada's historical documents to attend the 2024 CIMA annual meeting and any workshops offered as part of the conference. This scholarship was funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).
Congratulations to Sarah Patton, Archivist at the Nevada Historical Society!
Post by Sarah Patton:
Thanks to SHRAB’s generosity, I was able to attend the pre-conference Society of American Archivists (SAA) workshop, “Preserving Digital Archives.”
Sarah Patton at the Nevada Historical Society
Having graduated from library school 15 years ago, my knowledge of digital preservation was feeling a little out-of-date. As I’ve been tasked with managing our digital files in my role as Archivist at the Nevada Historical Society, I knew I needed to brush up on my skills in this area. This course, in the Tactical & Strategic tier of the SAA Digital Archives Specialist curriculum, aimed to address how to start a digital preservation program and help archivists “move from understanding the core vocabulary, standards, and best practices of digital preservation toward program planning, policy development, and systems evaluation” – just what I was looking for!
The workshop covered a lot of material in a variety of areas, and I felt like I came away with some specific tools to use to evaluate the Nevada Historical Society’s existing policies and procedures, assess what we have in the way of digital content, and identify next steps. The National Digital Stewardship Alliance Levels of Digital Preservation template was particularly useful for conceptualizing categories to consider and best practices for each.
The main takeaway was that “Doing something, no matter how imperfect, is better than doing nothing.” This was a helpful reminder to just get started, and I’m now feeling more motivated and better prepared to proceed with a digital preservation program at the Nevada Historical Society.
In addition to the educational component, the opportunity to connect with colleagues and hear about their own experiences and struggles in this area was equally valuable. I always find that workshops and conferences reassure me that I am not alone, and others are facing the same issues I am, so I’m grateful that I had the chance to attend in-person and have those conversations.
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