Dance Heritage Coalition profile on Library as Incubator Project

As promised, here's my September post about the Dance Heritage Coalition for the Library as Incubator Project. Enjoy!

http://www.libraryasincubatorproject.org/?p=6331

Let me know in the comments below what other performing arts libraries or organizations you think I should profile.

My post on Library as Incubator Project

At the recent ALA Annual conference in Anaheim, I had the good fortune to meet Erinn Batykefer who co-founded the Library as Incubator Project.  I have been a fan and a follower of the project on Twitter, and when I met Erinn in person she said they are always looking for new libraries that support the arts programming and collaborate with artists to feature on their blog.  One thing led to another.  I sent them a list of performing arts libraries and organizations, exchanged emails with Laura Damon-Moore and they invited me to write a couple of profiles for their blog!  The first post about the Performing Arts Library at the Museum of Performance and Design came out today (see the link below) and the next post about the Dance Heritage Coalition will go up in September.

http://www.libraryasincubatorproject.org/?p=5815

What are your favorite libraries that support and encourage library-artist collaborations?

Almost done with my MJDC work

I am nearing the end of my work with Margaret Jenkins Dance Company (MJDC).  I have completed the inventory of their papers, photos, videos, audio, costumes and other materials.  I spent the most time working with the videos as this was the largest part of their collection.  Most of them were in good shape, but there were several that MJDC cannot access because they no longer have the equipment to play certain formats like, for example, U-Matic tapes, Beta and half-inch open reel tapes.  


MJDC identified eight works by Margaret Jenkins which will be digitized and placed in the Dance Heritage coalition's Secure Media Network.  Because there is a loss of quality when videos are copied, I worked with MJDC to sort through their videos and find the most original recording of these performances, the master copy or archival original, to ensure that the digitized version will be of the highest quality.  These recordings will be digitized by the Bay Area Video Coalition.  Below are photos of some of the reel to reel video and audio formats that I found in the MJDC collection.

Margaret Jenkins Dance Company Archival Inventory

The work that I am doing to create an archival inventory for the Margaret Jenkins Dance Company (MJDC) basically consists of making a list of the archival materials which the company might decide in the future to place in a repository such as a library or an archive. When I come across materials with preservation issues I make a note of the concerns. We will address the most pressing issues at the completion of the inventory. Below you can see some of the audio and video materials that I have been working with:





The images above were taken at the Museum of Performance and Design (MPD) where I have been working with most of the MJDC materials.  The head librarian has helped me to move boxes from the MJDC storage space to MPD so that I may easily consult with her if I have questions.  I also have access to archival boxes and other supplies that I can use if I need to rehouse materials.  It is also nice to have a place to work that is not a dusty storage space!

Even though it is a little bit dusty, the MJDC storage space is well organized.  I am grateful that I have had the help of the MJDC General Manager to reach the boxes on the top shelves though!  Below you can see the layout of the MJDC storage space which is located in the Mission District in San Francisco.



These images were created using a Flip camera which the Dance Heritage Coalition has generously loaned to me.  I will soon be getting a new camera of my own and I will share more images of my work once I have that up and running.

Dance Heritage Coalition Fellowship

I am currently working with the Dance Heritage Coalition (DHC) as an Archival/Preservation Fellow to create an inventory of archival materials for the Margaret Jenkins Dance Company (MJDC) in San Francisco. This week I am working with audio materials, and over the past few weeks I have inventoried photos and videos.

The Museum of Performance and Design (MPD) generously provides me with a place to work and with access to their Head Librarian. I consult her for advice if I come across preservation issues with which I am unfamiliar, and she graciously provides transportation and manual labor to help me move boxes and materials from the MJDC storage space to MPD.

I will post some images of the materials and my work here over the next few weeks.