[Humanist] 28.197 the BitCurator Consortium: call for members

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Jul 13, 2014, 12:05:26 PM7/13/14
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Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 28, No. 197.
Department of Digital Humanities, King's College London
www.digitalhumanities.org/humanist
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Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2014 16:19:26 -0400
From: Matthew Kirschenbaum <mkirsc...@gmail.com>
Subject: BitCurator Consortium - membership now open


http://www.bitcurator.net/bitcurator-consortium/

The BitCurator Consortium (BCC) is an independent, community-led membership
association that will serve as the host and center of administrative, user
and community support for the BitCurator environment. Its purpose is to
support curation of born-digital materials through the application of
open-source digital forensics tools by institutions responsible for such
materials.

The BitCurator project (2011-2014), funded by the Andrew W. Mellon
Foundation, has developed, packaged and documented open-source digital
forensics tools to allow libraries, archives and museums (LAMs) to extract
digital materials from removable media in ways that reflect the metadata
and ensure the integrity of the materials, allowing users to make sense of
materials and understand their context, and preventing inadvertent
disclosure of sensitive data. The BitCurator project has also engaged with
interested professionals, through conferences, specialized events, online
interactions, and site visits. Together, these tools and relationships
provide a strong foundation upon which the BitCurator Consortium now builds.

The Software

The BitCurator software is freely distributed under an open source license.
It can be installed as a Linux environment; run as a virtual machine on
top of most contemporary operating systems; or run as individual software
tools, packages, support scripts, and documentation.

Tools in the BitCurator environment – both those produced by the project
team and those from third-party developers – can advance core curation
activities, including (but not limited to):

- Reduce the risk of inadvertent changes to content through software-based
write-blocking

- Create authentic copies of content through disk imaging and cryptographic
hashing

- Mount forensically packaged disk images to view and export their content

- Reflect original order of materials through capture of filesystem metadata

- Establish trustworthy chains of custody through documentation of
curatorial actions (log files, PREMIS records)

- Generate reports that characterize the contents of disks and directories

- Identify and document duplicate files

- Discover and expose associated contextual information

- Identify sensitive information that should be filtered, redacted or
masked in appropriate ways

- Export contents of disks and directories for inclusion in Archival
Information Packages and Dissemination Information Packages

Consortium Membership

Institutions responsible for the curation of born-digital materials –
especially those held or acquired on digital storage media – are invited to
participate in the BitCurator Consortium. Membership is open to
institutions in all sectors and all nations. The BCC envisions a robust
network of institutions committed to enhancing, promoting, and exploring
this growing area of activity.

There are two categories of BCC membership: Charter and General. Charter
Members will play an early, active role in the shaping of the BitCurator
Consortium’s governance, ongoing development, and overall sustainability.
Charter Membership is a one-time membership option, available only through
December 31, 2014.

The most important member benefit is assurance that the BitCurator software
will persist and evolve in future years. Other membership benefits include:

General Members:

- Access to a BCC help desk

- Prioritization in future enhancement requests

- Dedicated educational offerings

- Voting rights

- Eligibility to serve on the BCC Executive Council and Committees

- Service opportunities

- Community engagement and networking

- Professional development and training

- Subscription to a dedicated BCC member mailing list

- Special rates for BCC events, including the annual BitCurator User Forum

Charter Members - all General Member benefits and:

- Opportunity to participate in and shape the initial BitCurator Consortium
Executive Council and BitCurator Consortium Committees, including exclusive
eligibility for election or appointment to the Executive Council during the
charter period

- Participation in the development of the initial BitCurator Consortium
user, technical and service roadmaps.

- Recognition through the placement of your institution name, logo and link
on the BitCurator Consortium web site.

- Use of the "BitCurator Consortium Charter Member" icon

During the Charter period (June-December 2014), members can take advantage
of the following rates (subject to potential changes in the future):

Dues for Charter Members in the first year are $5000 (US). After the first
year of membership, dues will be the same as those of General Members.

General Member dues are $2000 (US) per institution per year, for a
three-year period with annual billing opportunities. Members can pay in
full for their three-year period during their first six months of
membership to lock in the above rates.

- If you’re interested in joining the BitCurator Consortium, contact Cal
Lee - callee {at} ils [dot] unc {dot} edu

- For information about the BitCurator Consortium, visit:
http://www.bitcurator.net/bitcurator-consortium

- For information about the BitCurator software and user community, visit:
bitcurator.net and wiki.bitcurator.net

The BCC is administered by the Educopia Institute, a non-profit that
advances cultural, scientific, and scholarly institutions by catalyzing
networks and collaborative communities.

--
Matthew Kirschenbaum
Associate Professor of English
Associate Director, Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities
(MITH)
University of Maryland
301-405-8505 or 301-314-7111 (fax)
http://mkirschenbaum.net and @mkirschenbaum on Twitter

Track Changes tumblr: http://trackchangesbook.tumblr.com/

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