VRA 2021 virtualChicago

In 2020, most if not all of us went from working in an office to working at home in the blink of an eye, forcing us to immediately pivot into new practices and approaches to our professional roles. From assisting faculty and students with the transition to online teaching to managing our collections from a distance, we all rose to the challenge of our new “normal,” transforming our day-to-day work in the process. And while some of these changes may be temporary, others will permanently impact how VR professionals approach their facilities, patrons, and practices. This roundtable discussion is designed to help us engage with and process these changes, with an eye to how we have met these challenges and thrived. Through a series of short, lightening round talks by speakers from a range of institutional roles and via lively discussion we will explore what has changed and what remains core to our work, addressing enhanced responsibilities; the use of new tools; innovative changes to our services; cultivating connections with patrons in a remote environment; safely transitioning back to the office; and what changes we anticipate to the profession and our professional lives moving forward based on the experience gleaned from working at home.   

Endorsed by the VRA Education Committee

Lightning Round Speakers (Lightning round speakers will briefly address the range of topics outlined above, to prepare for what we hope will be a robust discussion!)

Andrea Degener, Visual Materials Processing Archivist, and Skye Lacerte, DB Dowd Modern Graphic History Library Curator, both of Washington University in Saint Louis
Amy McKenna, Visual Resources Curator, Williams College
Lorraine Gerrity, Visual Resources Curator, School of Visual Arts
Betha Whitlow, Visual Resources Curator, Washington University in Saint Louis