Organization > Committees > Data Standards
Data Standards Committee
The Data Standards Committee (DSC) was established in 1993 to meet the visual resources community's growing need to manage complex visual collections in the networked environment. Our charge from the Visual Resources Association is "To develop, advocate and promote standard descriptive practices in visual resources collections that will facilitate the management, organization, and exchange of information."
More specifically our goals are:
- To identify, develop, and disseminate information that promotes standard descriptive practices
- To communicate visual resources interests to public agencies that make policy and commercial vendors who develop tools and resources applicable to visual collections
- To establish liaisons and cooperative exchanges with similar interest groups in the museum, library, and archival communities
The Data Standards Committee meets annually at the VRA conference and conducts business via conference calls and a committee listserv during the rest of the year. In addition to the creation of the Core Categories for Visual Resources, the committee's work includes the development and sponsorship of VRA conference sessions, publication of articles, and participation on panels at related conferences. In June 1996, the DSC urged the VRA Board to petition the Library of Congress for representation on the USMARC Advisory Committee. The request was granted by LC and the current VRA representative, Sherman Clarke, attended his first meeting in February 1997. To contact the DSC email datastandards@vraweb.org
Committee Structure
The DSC altered its structure during the 2010 VRA meeting in Atlanta. The Committee is now divided into two (2) Working Groups and two (2) Task Forces. These reflect the Committee's focus for the 2010-2011 year.
- VRA Core 4.0 Oversight Committee - Task Force
- VRA Core 4.0 Survey of Users - Task Force
- Mapping Project - Task Force
- Embedded Metadata - Working Group
- Controlled Vocabularies - Working Group
Co-Chairs:
Johanna Bauman, Pratt Institute
Kari Smith,
University of Michigan
Members:
Mary S. Alexander, University of Alabama Libraries
Robert Carter, Independent Metadata and Systems Consultant
Sherman Clarke, New York University, Retired
Bill Connor, Harvard University
Jolene de Verges,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Jodie Double, University of Leeds
Jan Eklund, University of California, Berkeley
Heidi Eyestone, Carleton College
Sheryl Frisch, California Polytechnic State University
Denise Hattwig, University of Washington
Benjamin R. Kessler, Chicago, IL (Consultant)
Shane McDonald, Kennesaw State University
Liz Muller, Cornell University
Greg Reser,
University of California, San Diego
Tricia Rose-Sandler,
Missouri Botanical Garden
Andrea Schuler, MIT
Kelcy Shepherd, Amherst College
Steve Tatum, Virginia Tech
Margaret N. Webster, Cornell University, Emerita
Susan Jane Williams, Independent Cataloging & Consulting Services
VRA Executive Board Liaison:
Brian Shelburne, University of Massachusetts Amherst
