THEATRE LIBRARY ASSOCIATION
SYMPOSIUM
Howard Besser, New York University's Moving Image Program
Howard Besser is a Professor at New York University, where he is Director of a new Master's Degree program in Moving Image Archiving and Preservation. Previously he was a Professor of Information Studies at UCLA, where he taught and did research on multimedia, image databases, digital libraries, metadata standards, digital longevity, web design, information literacy, distance learning, intellectual property, and the social and cultural impact of new information technologies.
Dr. Besser is the author of three articles on digital preservation, has participated in planning for the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program, and is on the National Research Council panel reviewing the National Archives' plans for their Electronic Records Archives. He has been involved in numerous standards development efforts for digital cultural heritage material, including the Dublin Core and the Metadata Encoding and Transmission Standards (METS). He has done extensive work with the Electronic Literature Organization (planning preservation projects for interactive hypermedia fiction) and with the Electronic Cafe International (trying to preserve their electronic performance art).
Besser has authored dozens of articles on automation of cultural materials. And he consults widely with libraries, museums and archives over a wide range of issues, including metadata, digital preservation and intellectual property.
