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PAPER SESSION 9: Inclusive Approaches (75 minutes)

Tracks
Virtual Stream
Wednesday, November 5, 2025
10:45 AM - 12:00 PM
Virtual

Speaker

Agenda Item Image
Miss Jo Ana Morfin
Teacher
ENPEG La Esmeralda

What Can Digital Preservation Learn from “Tequiology”?

Summary Abstract

This paper explores how the concept of 'tequiology', derived from Indigenous communal labour practices in Mexico, can inspire alternative approaches to digital preservation. Rooted in collective care, community organisation, and decolonial resistance, tequiology invites us to rethink preservation beyond Western-centric models. Through case studies of collaborative digital initiatives in Mexico, the paper demonstrates how community-driven methodologies can create inclusive, ecologically responsible, and socially embedded digital preservation practices

Biography

Jo Ana Morfin is a time-based media conservator based in Mexico City. She is actively involved in communities of practice dedicated to the care, preservation, and circulation of digital commons. Her work bridges conservation, digital archiving, and cultural memory, with a focus on socially engaged preservation strategies.
Rachel Appel
Digital Preservation Librarian
University Of Pennsylvania

Navigating Transitions: Sustaining Community Collaborations in Digital Preservation

Summary Abstract

Community-driven endeavors play a critical role in digital preservation by fostering collaboration, knowledge exchange, and shared infrastructure. However, many community-based programs in the United States operate with limited resources and volunteer labor, making sustainability and governance transitions challenging. This paper will showcase five digital preservation initiatives—NDSA, BitCurator Consortium, Software Preservation Network, Digital Preservation Coalition, and ePADD—to discuss their recent transitions, lessons learned, and strategies for building long-term capacity. By aligning with the iPres 2025 theme, "Tūhono (Connect)," this paper will explore the vital role of community, collaboration, and capacity-building in ensuring the future of digital preservation networks.

Biography

Rachel Appel is the Digital Preservation Librarian at the University of Pennsylvania. In this position, she develops and implements preservation workflows, procedures, and policies for the Penn Libraries' digital collections. She is an active member of NDSA, including serving as co-chair for the Membership Working Group and the 2025 Staffing Survey.
Shelly Black is the Digital Archivist at North Carolina State University Libraries where she manages the day-to-day operations of acquiring, processing, and providing access to born-digital collections. She currently serves on the BitCurator Consortium Executive Council as Treasurer.
Elena Colón-Marrero is the Archivist for Digital Curation at the Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan. She is responsible for the preservation and access to born-digital materials. She serves as the current President of the BitCurator Consortium.
Sally DeBauche is a Digital Archivist in the Department of Special Collections at Stanford Libraries. She is responsible for acquiring, processing, and describing born digital collection materials, with a particular focus on developing policy and workflows for processing email collections. She is an active member of the ePADD Steering Group.
Stacey Jones is the Digital Preservation Librarian at the University of Arizona, a co-leader of the Digital POWRR Project, a workforce development initiative focused on building capacity at under-resourced organizations, and co-chair of NDSA’s Membership Working Group.
Wendy Hagenmaier is the Head of Software Preservation and Emulation at Yale Library, where she provides strategic direction for using software preservation and emulation to preserve access to collections for teaching and research. She oversees the EAASI development roadmap and leads Yale’s collaborations with SPN and organizational partners.
Tricia Patterson is a Senior Digital Preservation Specialist at Harvard University, where she ensures the longevity, integrity, and usability of Harvard's digital collections through a variety of projects and program offerings. Tricia was a project manager for ePADD’s EA:BCC-funded development and serves on the ePADD Steering Group.
Anna Perricci is the Head of DPC Americas at the Digital Preservation Coalition, which is an organization that supports community, advocacy, workforce development, good practice and good governance in digital preservation. Her professional focus is extending the beneficial impact of the DPC’s resources, assets and team members throughout North and South America.
Chelle Sanders is the program manager at Software Preservation Network where she collaborates with different constellations within SPN to develop and assess annual goals, integrate the EAASI Research Alliance into SPN’s initiatives, and supports working and conversation groups, ensuring that SPN grows and innovate in the field of software preservation.
Bethany Scott is the Head of Preservation Imaging in Yale University Library’s Preservation and Conservation Services department, where she provides vision, leadership, and strategic direction for high-end scanning and photography operations. She served as NDSA’s Coordinating Committee Chair in 2024.
Kelsey O'Connell
Digital Archivist
Northwestern University

IMPROVING PRESERVATION AND ACCESS TO BORN-DIGITAL COLLECTIONS: A CRITICAL DISABILITY AND INTERSECTIONALITY-INFORMED ASSESSMENT OF PRAXIS

Summary Abstract

Computers were invented and designed by the status quo with the status quo in mind as the primary uses. As such, there are implicit, systemic, and unconscious biases built into hardware and software which can have negative impacts on users. As we grapple with the increasing amounts of born-digital records in archival collections, how can we steward resources in ways that authentically preserve records while simultaneously accommodating them to fit users’ needs? Leveraging the frameworks from Critical Disability Theory and Intersectionality Theory, the author identifies both historic and current biases that are present in computing design. She provides suggestions for modifying digital preservation, processing, and access workflows to account for said biases and attempt to improve the user experience.

Biography

Kelsey A. O’Connell (she/her) is the Digital Archivist at Northwestern University’s Charles Deering McCormick Library of Special Collections and University Archives in Evanston, IL, United States.

Co-presenter

Elena Colon-Marrero
Archivist For Digital Curation
Bentley Historical Library, University Of Michigan

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