POST: IEEE Big Data Conference 2016: Computational Archival Science

Meredith Claire Broadway (World Bank) has written a post for the Library of Congress blog, The Signal, reporting on the IEEE Conference on Big Data 2016, focusing specifically on Computational Archival Science (CAS).

The assembly agreed that CAS differs enough from the traditional Library and Information Science and Archival tracks, in both the United States and Canada, that it qualifies as a new area of study.

CAS differs from the LIS and Archival fields in large part due to its technology-centric nature. “Hard” technical skills take more than two years (the usual time it takes to complete an LIS master’s program) to develop, a fact I can personally attest to as a former LIS student and R beginner. It makes sense, then, that for CAS students to receive a robust education they should have a unique curriculum.

If CAS, LIS and the Archival Science fields merge, there’s an assumption that they will run the risk of taking an “inch-deep, mile-wide” approach to studies. Our assembly agreed that, in this case, “less is more” if it allows students to cultivate fully developed skills.

Broadway closes her post by encouraging practitioners to facilitate a conversation about the future of the Computation Archival Science field as it continues to evolve.