Patrick Wallace (Digital Projects & Archives Librarian) will introduce a selection of current techniques used to harvest web and social media content for preservation and research.  Rather than a user tutorial or deep dive into technical arcana, the discussion will draw on examples from Special Collections’ digital projects to illustrate how popular websites and mobile applications—such as Twitter and Facebook—confound historical memory through legal and technical means. We will also explore tools and strategies available for researchers interested in preserving dynamic web content, and examine key ethical questions surrounding social (and similarly ephemeral) media preservation.

Lunch will be served. Please sign up below so we can provide as accurate an amount of food as possible.

What Is the Digital Fluencies Series?

The Digital Fluencies Series investigates what it means to develop more critical facility with digital technologies. Meetings usually feature informal discussion of 1-3 short readings (access to materials will be provided) and sometimes a case study. Faculty, students, and staff are all welcome to participate regardless of digital skills. Feel free to suggest a topic. Co-sponsored by DLA, CTLR, Davis Family Library, and DLINQ. Organized by Leanne Galletly, User Experience & Digital Scholarship Librarian, and Michael J. Kramer, Assistant Professor of the Practice, Digital History/Acting Director, Digital Liberal Arts @ Middlebury College. Middlebury go link: go/digitalfluencies.

Digital Fluencies Series: The Technology & Ethics of Social Media & Web Harvesting—Patrick Wallace