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Dear Colleagues,

The Software Preservation Network (SPN) 2016 Forum will be Monday, August 1st, 2016 on the Georgia State University campus in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The SPN 2016 Forum theme,"Action Research: Empowering the Cultural Heritage Community and Mapping Out Next Steps for Software Preservation" reflects the mission of the Software Preservation Network (SPN) to solicit community input and build consensus around next steps for preserving software at scale - in the larger effort to ensure long-term access to digital objects.

Community participation is key to success - Be apart of the SPN 2016 Forum program!

Registration will be free but space is limited!

Proposals are invited<http://www.softwarepreservationnetwork.org/spn-forum/submit-a-proposal/> on topics such as:

  *   Current collaborations/consortial efforts
  *   Collective software licensing approaches
  *   Preservation efforts
  *   Emulated or virtualized access options
  *   Organizational structures that have worked for other multi-institutional initiatives that may work for software preservation

The SPN project team believes that the practice of critical reflection around software preservation must incorporate members from complementary domains to actively participate in a coordinated effort to develop a sustainable, national strategy for proprietary software licensing and collection - pulling heavily from the collective, lived experience and expertise of researcher-practitioners in software development, law, archives, libraries, museums, and other domains.

While proposals that provide historical context for software collection or preservation are welcome, every proposal should include the following components:

  *   Relevance to the Software Preservation Network project (what core component of the network does the proposal address?)
  *   Pre-conference materials for attendees (surveys, worksheets, thought piece, etc.)
  *   Session participant outcomes and how those outcomes pipe into the larger discussion of a national software preservation strategy
  *   Assessment method - how would you define a successful session? How would you gauge the productivity of your session?

Session format options include but are not limited to:

  *   Use cases (30-45 minute presentation): describes specific institutional cases/situations where software played a key role in providing (or not being able to provide, as the case may be) access to digital collection material
  *   What IFs (5-10 minute presentation): lightning talks that propose a realistic "what if?" scenario for addressing some aspect of software preservation
  *   Context panels (45-60 minutes): provide contextual information about issues related to software preservation
  *   Workshops (30-60 minutes): small group breakout activities that asks participants to reflect on and refine emerging solutions to software preservation

Important Dates:
April 4: Deadline for forum proposal submissions
April 5: Registration opens
April 18: Notification of acceptance
May 31: Registration closes

More information about the forum, the call for proposals, and registration is available on the the Software Preservation Network website<http://www.softwarepreservationnetwork.org/>.

Friendly Regards,


Zach Vowell, <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>>, Digital Archivist, Robert E. Kennedy Library, California Polytechnic State University
Jessica Meyerson, <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>>, Digital Archivist, Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin