Have you ever wondered how government is working with social media tools? Or, how those charged with stewardship of public information sharing and maintaining it? 

On Friday, January 21, the School of Information and Library Science (SILS) and the School of Government (SOG) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill  will host a day-long seminar called, "Curation of Social Media as a Public Asset." An impressive list of speakers will provide their expertise on topics  such as:  The Library of Congress' Twitter Acquisition, the National Archives and Records Administration's (NARA) and the State of North Carolina's social media policies, legal issues related to curating social media as a public asset and topics surrounding self-disclosure and strategic policy for public records social media. An additional session will allow seminar registrants to discuss their questions, concerns and ideas with the speakers.

The speakers who will contribute their insights based on extensive experience in a variety of professional contexts include:

* Martha Anderson, Director of Program Management, National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP), Library of Congress 

* Ken Thibodeau, Director of the Center for Advanced Systems and Technologies, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) 

* LeeAnn Potter, Director of Education and Volunteer Programs, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) 

* Arian D. Ravanbaksh, Electronic Records Policy Analyst, Office of Modern Records Programs, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) 

* Kelly Eubank, Electronic Records Archivist, Department of Cultural Resources, North Carolina State Archives 

* William Polk, Deputy General Counsel, Office of the Governor, State of North Carolina 

* Anne Klinefelter, Associate Professor and Director of the Law Library, School of Law, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 

* Christopher (Cal) Lee, Assistant Professor, School of Information and Library Science, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 

*  Javier Velasco-Martin, Doctoral Student and expert on Self-Disclosure Over Social Media, School of Information and Library Science, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Archivists, records managers, librarians and other information professionals are often directly charged with ensuring that public information is accessible and meaningful over time. They increasingly do so in environments in which public and private information are mutually entangled in the bounds of distributed, online social networks. Public officials and public servants also must increasingly make and enact decisions related to sharing public information via these networked forums; they must be able to develop strategies and policies that ensure that public records are properly maintained while simultaneously managing the risks associated with the intermingling of public and private information that often occurs on social networks. To do this, these information professionals must be equipped to engage in curatorial policy and processes and to understand the history, principles, processes and methods of public administration and archives and records management.

The seminar will take place from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Pleasants Family Room of Wilson Library on the UNC at Chapel Hill campus. A continental breakfast will be served from 8 a.m. until 9 a.m. in the seminar room and a boxed lunch will be included with the seminar fee which is $60 per participant with a student rate  of $35 for the day. 

To register, go to: http://ils.unc.edu/esopi21/seminar11.html


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The "Curation of Social Media as a Public Asset" seminar is part of Educating Stewards of Public Information in the 21st Century (ESOPI-21), a three-year collaboration between SILS and the SOG at UNC at Chapel Hill, sponsored by the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS). ESOPI-21 is based on the belief that the stewardship of public information is a fundamental responsibility of a democratic society. Public information (e.g. agency records, government publications, datasets) serves as evidence of governmental activities, decisions, and responsibilities at the local, county, state, and federal levels. Providing appropriate access to public information promotes accountability, rights of citizens, effective administration of policy and social memory.

ESOPI-21 is developing educational and professional engagement opportunities to prepare for the stewardship of public information and the integration of policy with information technology solutions and workflows. It is funding graduate-level Fellows, who pursuing dual degrees at SILS and the SOG, and providing internships for the Fellows at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, Archives and Records Section (NC-ARS), UNC-CH's University Archives, and UNC-CH's Environmental Finance Center. The project builds on the work and accomplishments of the DigCCurr I & II (Digital Curation Curriculum) projects, which were also funded by the IMLS. ESOPI-21 is also benefiting from the extensive knowledge of experts who compose its Advisory Board. Further information on ESOPI-21 can be found at: http://ils.unc.edu/esopi21/index.html


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Wanda Monroe
Director of Communications
School of Information and Library Science University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
100 Manning Hall, CB 3360
Chapel Hill, NC  27599-3360
Phone: 919-843-8337
Web: sils.unc.edu
Follow us on Twitter at: UNC SILS