Karen F. Gracy

School of Library and Information ScienceTelephone: (330) 672-0049

Room 314JCell: (707) 815-4086

P.O. Box 5190Fax: (330) 672-7965

Kent State UniversityE-mail:

Kent, Ohio 44242-0001Web:

Research Interests

Moving image archiving and preservation; digital archiving and preservation; social contexts of information creation and use, focusing on ethics and values; preservation education; information policy, focusing on intellectual property issues

Education

Ph.D. (2001)Library and Information Science, UCLA

(Dissertation: “The Imperative to Preserve: Competing Definitions of Value in the World of Film Preservation”; Chair: Michèle V. Cloonan)

M.L.I.S. (1995)Library and Information Science, UCLA

M.A. (1995)Film and Television (Critical Studies Program), UCLA

A.B. (1991)English and French, UC Berkeley

Professional Experience

  • Assistant Professor, School of Library and Information Science, Kent State University, August 2007-present
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Library and Information Science, University of Pittsburgh, August 2001 – July 2007.
  • Lecturer, School of Library & Information Science, San José State University (Southern California Program), August – December 1999.
  • Teaching Assistant, Department of Information Studies, UCLA, April – June 1999.
  • Special Reader,Department of Information Studies, UCLA, October 1997 – March 1999.

Honors and Awards

2003Eugene Garfield — ALISE Doctoral Dissertation Award

2000Dissertation Year Fellowship, UCLA Graduate Division

1999Advancement to Candidacy Fellowship, UCLA Graduate Division

1998Charles F. Scott Fellowship, UCLA Graduate Division

1995-7U.S. Department of Education, HEA Title II-B Library Career Training Grant

Publications

Book

Film Preservation: Competing Definitions of Value, Use, and Practice. Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 2007. Overview available here:

Book Chapters/Encyclopedia Articles

“Film and Broadcast Archives,” with Karen E. King.Encyclopedia of Library and Information Sciences, ed. Marcia J. Bates and Mary Niles Maack (Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2010). Contribution: 80%.

“Documentar Comunidades de Práctica: El Caso de la Etnografía Archivística,” Nuevos Métodos de Investigación en Archivística, ed. Anne Gilliland and Sue McKemmish, trans Alejandro Delgado Gomez. Cartagena: Concejalía de Cultura, 3000 Informática, 2006. [Translation of article which originally appeared in Archival Science 4, no. 3-4 (“Documenting Communities of Practice”)—see below].

“The Preservation of Moving Images,” (with Michèle V. Cloonan), Advances in Librarianship, ed. Frederick C. Lynden, v. 27 (Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2004). My contribution: 50%.

Refereed Journal Articles

(In press)

“Distribution and Consumption Patterns of Archival Moving Images in Online Environments,” American Archivist (in press, 2012).

(Under consideration)

“Leveraging Semantic Analysis Technologies to Increase Effectiveness and Efficiency of Access to Information,” with Denise A.D. Bedford. Under consideration, Information Processing and Management.Contribution: 50%.

(In preparation)

“Ambition and Ambivalence: A Study of Professional Attitudes Toward Digital Distribution of Archival Moving Images.” To be submitted to American Archivist.

“De Facto Archiving: The Use of Social Networking Sites for Moving Image Collection Building and Preservation.” To be submitted to the Journal of the Society of Archivists.

(Published)

“Preservation in the Digital Age: A Review of Preservation Literature,” with Miriam B. Kahn. Library Resources and Technical Services 56, no. 1 (January 2012). Contribution: 90%.

“Moving Image Preservation and Cultural Capital,” Library Trends 55, no. 4 (Summer 2007).

“Quo Vadis: Preservation Education? A Study of Current Trends and Future Needs in Continuing Education,” with Jean Ann Croft, Library Resources and Technical Services 51, no. 2 (April 2007). Contribution: 80%.

“Quo Vadis: Preservation Education? A Study of Current Trends and Future Needs in Graduate Education,” with Jean Ann Croft, Library Resources and Technical Services 50, no. 4 (October 2006). Contribution: 80%.

“Documenting Communities of Practice: Making the Case for Archival Ethnography,” Archival Science 4, no. 3-4 (2004).

“Documenting the Process of Film Preservation,” The Moving Image 3.1 (Spring 2003).

“Coming Again to a Theater Near You: The Lucrative Business of Recycling Film Heritage,” Stanford Humanities Review 7.2 (Fall 1999). Part of special issue: “Inside the Film Archive: Practice, Theory, Canon.”

“At the Pleasure of the Board: Women Librarians and the Los Angeles Public Library, 1880-1905,” co-authored with Debra Gold Hansen and Sheri D. Irvin, Libraries and Culture 34.4 (Fall 1999). Contribution: 30%.

Book Reviews and Other Articles

Review of Preserving Digital Materials by Ross Harvey (Munich: K.G. Saur, 2005). American Archivist 69, no. 2 (Fall/Winter 2006): 532-535.

“Gaining Control Over the Moving Images in Your Collections,” Records & Information Management, no. 3 (March 2003).

“Film and Television Preservation Concerns Come of Age: An In-Depth Report on the Second Preservation Intensive Institute, Focusing on Moving Images Preservation.” Library Hi Tech News 117 (Nov. 1994): 1-5.

Research Funding

Funded Grants

“Connecting Libraries to the Unfamiliar Data and Metadata Resourcesin the Linked Open Data (LOD) Universe—The Metadata Vocabulary Junction (MV-Junction) Project” (M. Zeng, principal investigator; K. Gracy, co-principal investigator). Funded in the amount of $219,386.

“Building Connections.”(as partner; PI is Ohio Historical Society). IMLS National Leadership Planning Grant Application, 2009. Funded in the amount of $49,964.

“Preservation Education Needs for the Next Generation of Information Professionals” (K. Gracy, principal investigator). University of Pittsburgh Central Research Development Fund's Small Grants Program (2003). Funded in the amount of $12,478.

Summary: Requested funding to conduct a survey of preservation education opportunities in both library and information science graduate programs and non-profit field service programs.

Unfunded Grants

“Encouraging Digital Advocacy and Professional Training (EDAPT):Educating Information Professionals to Build and Preserve Digital Collections” (K. Gracy, principal investigator). Institute for Museum and Library Services (2010). Applied for grant in the amount of $928,000.

“SLIS Digital Libraries and Preservation Computer Laboratory Project.” Kent State University Foundation (2008). Applied for grant in the amount of $33,918.92.

“Preservation Education Needs for the Next Generation of Information Professionals” (K. Gracy, principal investigator). Institute for Museum and Library Services (2005 and 2006). Applied for grants in the amount of $741,275 (2005) and $274,441 (2006).

Scholarly Presentations

“Distribution and Consumption Patterns of Archival Moving Images in Online Environments,” Digital Conversion Interest Group, American Library Association Mid-Winter Meeting, Dallas, Texas, January 20-24, 2012

“Distribution and Consumption Patterns of Archival Moving Images in Online Environments,” Archival Education and Research Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, July 10-15, 2011.

“Positioning Preservation Education Programs to Prepare Professionals and Researchers in the Area of Audiovisual Preservation,” At the Nexus of Analog and Digital: A Symposium for Preservation Educators,” Ann Arbor, Michigan, June 5-7, 2011.

“Leveraging Semantic Analysis Technologies to Increase Effectiveness and Efficiency of Access to Information,” (co-authored with Denise A.D. Bedford), Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries 2011, Athens, Greece, May 24-27, 2011.

“Consumption of Archival Moving Imageson Mobile Devices: A Proposed Research Agenda,” poster presentation, Archival Education and Research Institute, Ann Arbor, Michigan, June 21-25, 2010.

“De Facto Archiving: The Use of Social Networking Sites for Collection Building and Preservation,” invited lecture, Society of Archivists, Bristol, UK, September 1-4, 2009.

“De Facto Archiving: The Use of Social Networking Sites for Moving Image Collection Building and Preservation,” Archival Education and Research Institute, Los Angeles, July 6-11, 2009.

“De Facto Archiving: The Use of Social Networking Sites for Moving Image Collection Building and Preservation,” Popular Culture Association, New Orleans, April 8-11, 2009.

“Digital Preservation Basics: How to Ensure Long-Term Access to Your Digital Assets,” American Society for Information Science and Technology, Northern Ohio Chapter, Cleveland, April 7, 2008.

“Methods of Documenting Preservation,” part of panel (“Documenting Preservation”), Association of Moving Image Archivists, Rochester, New York, September 26-29, 2007.

“Preservation Education Needs for the Next Generation of Information Professionals,” with Jean Ann Croft, American Library Association Annual Conference, Chicago, June 25, 2005.

“AMIA and the A*CENSUS (Archival Census and Education Needs Survey in the United States),” poster presentation, Association of Moving Image Archivists, Minneapolis, November 9-13, 2004.

“Preservation Education: New Directions for Archives and Libraries” (with Jean Ann Croft), an interim report on study, “Preservation Education Needs for the Next Generation of Information Professionals”, Symposium on Preservation Education, Simmons College, Boston, Massachusetts, April 12, 2004.

“Introducing LIS Students to Moving Image Archiving,” Summer Film Symposium, Northeast Historic Film Archive, Bucksport, Maine, August 8-9, 2003.

"The Imperative to Preserve: Competing Definitions of Value in the World of Film Preservation," in acceptance of the 2003 Eugene Garfield – ALISE Doctoral Dissertation Award at the Association of Library and Information Science Education Annual Conference, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, January 21-24, 2003.

“Adding the Social Dimension: An Argument for a Value-Laden Definition of Preservation,” as part of panel: “Manifold Perspectives on the Definition of Preservation Across Allied Fields,” Social Theory, Politics, and the Arts, Charleston, South Carolina, October 3-5, 2002.

“Curricular Needs for Electronic Media Preservation: Teaching Digital Preservation at the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Library and Information Science,” as part of panel: “Education Needs for Electronic Media Conservation,” The American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, June 6-11, 2002.

"The Imperative to Preserve: Competing Definitions of Value in the World of Film Preservation," as part of panel: “Documenting the History and Culture of the Archival Movement: A Summary of Recent Graduate Research on Moving Image Preservation,” at the 10th Annual Association of Moving Image Archivists Conference, Los Angeles, California. November 13-18, 2000.

"The Imperative to Preserve: Competing Definitions of Value in the World of Film Preservation," 26th Annual Conference on Social Theory, Politics, and the Arts, Washington, D.C. October 12-15, 2000.

“Yours, Mine, and Ours: The Zapruder Film and the Politics of Cultural Appropriation,” 25th Annual Conference on Social Theory, Politics, and the Arts, Nashville, Tennessee. October 7-10, 1999.

“Serving at the Pleasure of the Board: The Tenure of Tessa Kelso at the Los Angeles Public Library, 1889-1895,” as part of a panel: “Pioneering the Profession: Women Librarians at the Los Angeles Public Library,” at the California Library Association Annual Meeting, Pasadena, California. November 15-17, 1997.

“Coming Again to a Theater Near You: Examining the Lucrative Business of Recycling Film Heritage,” 23rd Annual Conference on Social Theory, Politics, and the Arts, Cocoa Beach, Florida. October 2-4, 1997.

“Copyright Protection, Fair Use, and the Public Domain: Framing a Policy for the Protection of Interests,” Western States Graduate Student Communication Conference, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Southern California, Los Angeles. April 11-12, 1997.

“Serving at the Pleasure of the Board: The Tenure of Tessa Kelso at the Los Angeles Public Library, 1889-1895,” “Thinking Gender”: 7th Annual Graduate Student Research Conference, Center for the Study of Women, University of California, Los Angeles. March 8, 1997.

Teaching Experience
Interests

Digital preservation; moving image and sound archives; information organization; preservation management; qualitative research methods.

Experience

Kent State University (with links to most recent syllabi):

  • LIS 60631, Introduction to Digital Preservation:
  • LIS 60632, Technologies for Digital Preservation and Web Archiving:
  • LIS 60633, Digital Curation:
  • LIS 60654, Preservation Management:
  • LIS 61095, Introduction to Audiovisual Archiving:
  • LIS 60600, Foundations of Library and Information Science:
  • Workshop: Archival Description: DACS, MARC, and EAD:
  • Workshop: Introduction to Audiovisual Archiving:

University of Pittsburgh:

  • Preservation Management (Summer, 2003-2006)
  • Archival Representation (Spring, 2002-2007; co-taught in 2002)
  • Moving Image and Sound Archives (Summer, 2003-2007)
  • Digital Preservation (Spring, 2002-2004, 2006-2007)
  • Collections Conservation (Summer, 2004-2006; taught moving image conservation unit)
  • Doctoral seminar (Summer, 2007; Topic: Epistemological Foundations of Library and Information Science)

Student Advising: Doctoral Committees and Independent Studies

Doctoral Dissertation Committees (University of Pittsburgh)

Member

  • Daniel Joudrey, “Peeling Onions and Growing Pearls: A Qualitative Exploration of Determining Aboutness,” dissertation defended November 2005
  • Kip Currier, “Informing Darwin: An Historical Case Study of Charles Darwin’s Information Behaviors,” dissertation defended February 2006
  • Donghee Sinn, “Records and the Understanding of Violent Events: Archival Documentation, Historical Perception, and the No Gun Ri Massacre in the Korean War,” dissertation defended June 2007

Independent Studies (University of Pittsburgh)

Masters Students:

  • Cheryl Beredo, “Authenticity and the Archive,” Spring 2002
  • Adrienne Bell, “The Production of Paper in 15th and 18th Century England: A Study in Materials and Labor,” Summer 2003
  • Michelle Ray, “The Contemporary Debate on Value: Considerations for Preservation Selection,” Summer 2004
  • Tanya Carter, “User Preferences for Fiction Classification and Organization: A Survey of the Penn Hills Public Library,” Summer/Fall 2005
  • Amber Morgan, “Documentation and Preservation of Variable Media Art Objects,” Summer 2006

Doctoral Student:

  • Jonathan Miller, “Librarians’ Involvement in U.S. Copyright Revision, 1955-76: Evidence from the ALA Archive,” Summer/Fall 2004

Field Placement/Practica

  • Supervised over 125 archives and preservation masters students in field experiences and culminating experiences (practicum and research options) in the period from 2003-2011.

Service

Curriculum Development

Kent State University

  • Proposed and launched Certificate of Advanced Study and master’s level specialization in the area of digital preservation, 2009
  • Designed and helped set up the Digital Laboratory to support digital preservation and digital libraries curricula (in conjunction with SLIS faculty in the digital libraries area), 2009-11
  • Developed new coursework:
  • Introduction to Digital Preservation (LIS 60631), 2008
  • Technologies for Digital Preservation and Web Archiving (LIS 60632), 2010
  • Taught for first time in Fall 2010
  • Digital Curation (LIS 60633), 2010
  • Taught for first time in Spring 2010
  • Introduction to Audiovisual Archiving (LIS 61095: Special Topics), 2009
  • Workshop (LIS 50693): Archival Description: DACS, MARC, and EAD, 2009
  • Workshop (LIS 50693): Introduction to Audiovisual Archiving, 2009
  • Workshop (LIS 50693): Metadata for Digital Audio and Video, 2011

University Committees

Kent State University

  • KSU University Press, 2011-2014
  • Library and Media Services Committee, 2010-2013
  • Multidisciplinary Advisory Committee, 2009-2012

School and Department Committees

Kent State University

  • Information Science and Technology Committee, 2007-2009
  • Faculty Handbook Review Committee, 2008-2010
  • Online Education Committee, 2010-2011 (chair, 2010-2011)
  • Educational Technology Committee (replaced IST Committee), 2010-2012

University of Pittsburgh

  • Peer Review of Teaching, 2006-2007
  • CONTI, 2001-2002
  • Teaching Faculty, 2001-2002
  • Accreditation Committee, 2004-2006
  • Archives and Preservation Management Working Group, 2001-2007
  • Admission, Recruitment, and Academic Review Committee, 2001-2007
  • Colloquium Committee, 2001-2003, 2005-2006
  • Curriculum Committee, 2003-2006
  • Doctoral Studies Committee, 2002-2007
  • Financial Aid Committee, 2003-2004
  • Search Committee, 2004-2005
  • United Way fundraising, 2001-2003

Advising

Kent State University, 2008-present

  • Advisor for approximately 125 students enrolled in the Masters and Certificate of Advanced Studies LIS programs. Duties have included:
  • Program advising
  • Supervision of culminating experiences (practica and research papers/projects)
  • Career advice
  • Writing letters of recommendation for students applying for positions and to graduate school
  • Advisor, Society of American Archivists/Society of Ohio Archivists student chapter

University of Pittsburgh, 2001-2007

  • Advisor for approximately 150 students enrolled in the Masters and Certificate of Advanced Studies LIS programs during the period of 2002-2007.
  • Co-advisor, Infinity (student group for those interested in preservation), 2001-2007
  • Co-advisor, Society of American Archivists student chapter, 2004-2007

Guest Lectures

  • Asked to speak on topics related to moving image archiving, digital preservation, and ethnographic methods in the following courses:
  • Kent State University
  • Museum Studies for Librarians, 2009
  • Digital Libraries, 2008
  • Foundations and Administration of Archives, 2007
  • University of Pittsburgh
  • Understanding Information, 2001
  • Library and Archival Preservation, 2001 and 2002
  • Records and Information Resources Management, 2001
  • History of Books, Printing, and Publishing, 2005
  • Digital Image Collections, 2003
  • Introduction to Doctoral Studies, 2003
  • Other lectures offered to the local community (by invitation):
  • “Getting Your Films Online,” Ohio’s Heritage Northeast, Beachwood, Ohio, February 23, 2012.
  • “The Restoration of Billy Wilder’s The Apartment,” The Oaks Theatre, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, June 23, 2005.
  • “Film as Art, Film as Evidence: Mediating the Value of the Zapruder Film,” University of Pittsburgh Film Studies Colloquium, October 21, 2004.
  • “The Ethics of Restoration: Revisiting Lawrence of Arabia,” The Oaks Theatre, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, March 31, 2003.

Editorial and Peer Review Activities

  • Reviewer, Journal on Computing and Cultural Heritage, 2011
  • Reviewer, Journal of Education for Library and Information Science (JELIS), 2010
  • Reviewer, The Moving Image (journal of the Association of Moving Image Archivists), 2008-present (review 1-2 articles per year)
  • Editor, The Moving Image (peer-reviewed journal of the Association of Moving Image Archivists), 2006-2008 (volumes 7-8, 4 issues)
  • National Historical Publications and Records Commission, National Archives and Records Administration, proposal reviewer, 2009
  • National Endowment for the Humanities, panel review participant, 2007.
  • Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (Canada), proposal reviewer, 2005, 2006
  • Referee, Libraries and Culture, 2005
  • Referee, ACM Transactions on Information Systems, 2003

Professional Organizations

  • Association of Library and Information Science Education (ALISE), 2001-present
  • Chair of the Preservation Education Special Interest Group, 2004-2005.
  • Association of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA), 1994-present
  • Candidate for the Board of Directors, 2009
  • Editorial Board Member, The Moving Image, 2009-present
  • Co-Chair, Education Committee, 2001-2004
  • Member, Subcommittee on Scholarships and Fellowships, 2000-2004
  • Chair, Publications Committee, 2004-2006; currently chairing search committee for Editor of The Moving Image
  • Co-Chair, Book Publishing Program Task Force for the Board of Directors, 2004-2005
  • Oakland Library Consortium Preservation Working Group, 2001-2003
  • Assisted with the Save Your Family Treasures Preservation Fair, February 23, 2002
  • Society of American Archivists (SAA), 2000-present
  • Member, Archival Educators Roundtable, 2001-present
  • Member, Visual Materials and Preservation Sections, 2000-present

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