Preservation Everywhere: Bridging the Physical and Digital 

Ohio Preservation Symposium 2025

August 1, 2025, 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Columbus Metro Library, Main Branch (96 S. Grant Ave, Columbus, OH 43215)

Co-sponsors - Ohio Preservation Council and LSTA Open Grant (State Library of Ohio)

Schedule 

9:45- 10:15AM | Registration and coffee

10:15AM | Welcome and Introduction of Keynote Speaker

10:30AM | Keynote Presentation: Beatriz Haspo (LoC, Apoyo) 

APOYOnline: Fostering Accessibility and Equity in Cultural Heritage for the Latin American Region

11:45AM | Break –  Visit vendors

12:00PM | Lunch– Box lunch 

1:00PM | Concurrent Sessions I

Track 1: Jessica Ebert (Assistant Conservator at the Preservation Lab - Session on RTI (Reflectance Transformation Imaging) with a set up demo. 

Title: A Practical Approach to Highlight RTI for Cultural Heritage Collections  

Description: Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) is a two-dimensional, computational photographic method that captures the surface shape and color of an object and enables the interactive re-lighting of it from any direction. This presentation will focus on the highlight RTI method and how it can be achieved successfully using a standard photography studio setup, some additional inexpensive equipment and free, non-proprietary software. The key elements to producing effective RTI results will be discussed, as well as the exciting discoveries that can be made during an RTI session.  A mock setup will be shown for reference so that attendees can have an up-close look at how a session might operate.

Track 2: Dyani Feige (Director of Preservation Services, Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts (CCAHA), Philadelphia, PA

Title: Succession planning for cultural heritage

Description: The unanticipated acceleration of career changes and transitions within the field of collections stewardship, many of which came to light for the first time due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has greatly increased the need for collecting institutions to address a subject long overdue for attention. Transparent processes of succession planning, coupled with investments in employee training, can go far in addressing concerns. In recent years, nonprofit leaders have begun to address succession planning as a critical element in determining an organization’s long-term effectiveness, stability, and sustainability. Very helpful resources have been created to assist an organization’s leadership in preparing and implementing succession plans for high-level staff positions and the most critical Board roles. While these resources offer valuable general information, the impact of slashed budgets, closed doors, and lost talent can often be seen most tangibly on the collections themselves when their care is under-acknowledged. The loss of trained collections care staff can be devastating to small organizations with important collections and limited resources to address all their needs.

Through a project funded by the Institute for Museum & Library Services, the Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts and Lyrasis gathered data and have begun developing resources to support succession planning aimed directly at collections stewardship staff. This session will introduce some of the resources developed so far and open a discussion about how participants might utilize the tools within their own organizations.

2:00PM | Coffee, break and tours - Pre register for one of CML’s tours, visit the vendors, or enjoy a break. Tours start at 2:15 

3:00PM | Concurrent Sessions II

Track 1: Alyssa Pierce, Digital Preservation Librarian, Case Western Reserve University

Title: How to Develop a Digital Preservation Program and Still Sleep Well at Night

Description: Now in our third year of establishing a digital preservation program, Case Western Reserve University has gone through quite a number of digital preservation tools and platforms as we have navigated the challenges of building a program from scratch, reimagining our program after the sunset of our LOCKSS network, and widening our focus to include born-digital objects. In this presentation, we will go through the various evolutions of our program, walk participants through specific tools and platforms, and generally reflect on what it takes to build an agile and resilient digital preservation program, with an emphasis on “right-sizing.” We hope that participants will walk away with a concrete understanding of digital preservation tools and services that they can take back to their own institutions as we all work on building a resilient digital preservation landscape in Ohio.

Track 2: Vanessa Applebaum (Toledo Museum of Art) and Sarah Scaturro (Cleveland Museum of Art) 

Title: The Past, Present, and Possible Futures of Conservation Ethics

Description: This presentation traces the evolution of conservation ethics from its earliest conceptualizations to the pressing challenges confronting practitioners today. Beginning with a historical overview of how foundational principles were established, this talk demonstrates how such tenets have shaped the field’s development. Present-day concerns are then addressed, such as accommodating intangible cultural heritage, grappling with new modes of digital preservation, and navigating the complexities of cross-cultural collaboration. Finally, attention turns to future possibilities, exploring how traditional frameworks may be adapted to meet emerging ethical dilemmas stemming from rapid technological and societal change. Attendees will gain insight into conservation ethics’ enduring significance, its responsiveness to current needs, and the exciting potential for ongoing innovation in preserving both physical and digital heritage.

4:00PM | Final break (workshop set-up)

4:15PM | Workshop(s)/Demo open for everyone - 

Three concurrent workshops: 

• Library and Archives Emergency Preparedness and Response (Holly Prochaska and Ashleigh Ferguson Schieszer, University of Cincinnati)

This session will provide attendees with guidance on preparing for emergencies in libraries and archives, including the creation of policies, priorities, and training.  Additionally, the session will include  hands on triage of wet materials in a variety of physical formats.  

•  Create Your Own Scanner on a Budget  (Rachel Littleton, University of Dayton)
  

Digitization offers libraries an opportunity to preserve their physical collection and reach a larger audience, but acquiring the necessary scanners to do so can come at a high cost. During this workshop, participants will explore how their library can best utilize their available resources to create their own digitization scanners. The instructor will walk participants through the design, construction, and assessment phases of Do-It-Yourself digitization scanners with consideration of existing models.

• Digitization Lab: How to scan the tough stuff (Angela O'Neal, Aaron O’Donovan and Kristen Newby, Columbus Metro Library)

This hands-on workshop focuses digitization techniques for complicated materials such as scrapbooks, tightly-bound books, glass plate negatives, newspapers, etc. The workshop will briefly review FADGI standards and best practices before breaking into smaller groups for scanning demonstrations. Participants are encouraged to submit materials to be used as examples in advance.

5:30PM | Closing remarks