Conference: Archival Innovations for Preserving the History of Space Exploration

该奖项支持将于2018年春季在华盛顿特区举行的为期三天的会议。其目标是应对创造和保存太空探索历史的前所未有的挑战和机遇。它将把历史和档案社区的成员与航天工业、记录管理、数字人文和图书馆的代表聚集在一起，研究世界范围内创建、收集、保存和访问空间档案的关键问题。会议组织者将传播这些战略和做法，鼓励空间利益攸关方（特别是国际组织）纳入这些建议，并鼓励代表性不足的少数群体和社区创造并存档他们对空间历史的贡献。发展便于广泛查阅的更好档案的战略将增加公众对空间科学和技术的兴趣。此外，通过推广可访问的工具和技术以及使用它们的最佳实践，它们将使更大的历史专业受益。这次会议既及时又重要。创造和保存太空探索的历史面临着前所未有的挑战和机遇。随着早期的研究人员、工程师、管理人员和用户退休，参与太空的国家、组织和公司的数量正在急剧增加。此外，包括口述历史和社交媒体在内的新形式的电子通信和数据正在改变历史记录的性质。如果历史学家、档案工作者和太空界不尽快采取行动，鼓励建立和保存太空档案，未来的记录将是不完整的、难以接近的，甚至可能是无法理解的。如果取得成功，本次会议将制定数据管理战略和示范性最佳做法工具箱，极大地协助保护人类遗产。外联工作将提供指导方针，促进支持网络，并与国内和国际空间行为体接触。

This award supports a three-day conference that will occur in the Washington DC area in spring 2018. Its goal is to address unprecedented challenges and opportunities in creating and preserving the history of space exploration. It will bring members of the historical and archival communities together with representatives of the space industry, records management, digital humanities, and libraries to examine the critical issues in creating, collecting, preserving, and accessing space archives worldwide. Conference organizers will disseminate these strategies and practices, encourage space stakeholders (especially international organizations) to incorporate these recommendations, and encourage underrepresented minorities and communities to create and archive their contributions to space history. Strategies for developing better archives that are broadly accessible will increase public interest in space science and technology. In addition, they will benefit the larger historical profession by promoting accessible tools and techniques together with best practices for their use.The conference is both timely and important. Creating and preserving the history of space exploration face unprecedented challenges and opportunities. As early generations of researchers, engineers, administrators and users retire, the number of countries, organizations, and companies involved in space is sharply expanding. In addition, new forms of electronic communication and data including oral histories and social media are changing the nature of historical records. If historians, archivists and the space community do not act soon to encourage the creation and preservation of space archives, the future record will be incomplete, inaccessible, and possibly incomprehensible. If successful, this conference will develop data management strategies and toolboxes of exemplary best practices that greatly assist in preserving humanity's heritage. Outreach efforts will provide guidelines, promote support networks, and engage with both domestic and international space actors.