Paul Conway

Associate Professor of Information,
University of Michigan
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Courses Taught




University of Michigan, School of Information
SI 410 "Ethics and Information Technology" (4 cr.), Fall 2010, Fall 2009

Open.Michigan: http://open.umich.edu/education/si/si410/fall2010

Ethics and Information Technology concerns the ethical dilemmas that exist where human beings, information objects, and social computing technologies interact. The course explores emerging ethical models from historical and cross-cultural perspectives and then applies these models to a variety of new and emerging technologies that are inherently social in their construction and use. Initial examples of issues that the course covers in discrete modules include: the integrity of digital content in a networked world; identity and avatars; and interpersonal engagement through online games and virtual environments. Students explore the technological underpinnings of associated technology systems, experiment with individual and group interaction with technologies, and examine the mechanics of ethical and unethical behaviors. The course satisfies the LSA Upper Level Writing Requirement.

University of Michigan. President's Ethics in Public Life Initiative, 2007-08. Technology environment for SI 410 Ethics and Information Technology. [$5,525]
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SI 580 "Understanding Archives and Records" (3 cr.), Winter 2010, Winter 2009, Winter 2007

Open.Michigan: http://open.umich.edu/education/si/si580/winter2009

This course is an introduction to principles, practices, and current debates in the field of archives and records administration. It is designed with two types of students in mind. For students who plan to specialize in archives and records management, this course: provides an in depth introduction to the field; introduces terms and concepts that will be used in other courses in the specialization; and, explains how the various components of archives and records administration fit together. For students who pursue another specialization, the course: offers an overview of archives and records administration; helps students become conversant with terminology; and, explains how archives and records relates to other aspects of information management. Show more...

SI 580 "Understanding Archives and Records" (3 cr.), Winter 2010, Winter 2009, Winter 2007

Open.Michigan: http://open.umich.edu/education/si/si580/winter2009

This course is an introduction to principles, practices, and current debates in the field of archives and records administration. It is designed with two types of students in mind. For students who plan to specialize in archives and records management, this course: provides an in depth introduction to the field; introduces terms and concepts that will be used in other courses in the specialization; and, explains how the various components of archives and records administration fit together. For students who pursue another specialization, the course: offers an overview of archives and records administration; helps students become conversant with terminology; and, explains how archives and records relates to other aspects of information management. Show more...

SI 615 "Special Topics: Seminar on Digital Libraries" (3 cr.), Winter 2008, Winter 2007

Open.Michigan: http://open.umich.edu/education/si/si615/winter2008

This is a special topics seminar focusing on the current state of "digital libraries" broadly defined. The seminar is multi-disciplinary in focus and in method, covering the history of the idea, its manifestation as projects and programs in academic, non-profit, and research settings, and the suite of policy issues that influence their development and growth. The concept of the digital library will serve as an intellectual construct within which to explore the related concepts of scholarly communication, intellectual property, digital preservation, representation, and information technology standards. Show more...

SI 640/SI 740 "Digital Libraries and Archives" (3 cr.), Fall 2010, Winter 2009

Open.Michigan: http://open.umich.edu/education/si/si640/winter2009
Open.Michigan: http://open.umich.edu/education/si/si640/fall2010

This course focuses on the current state of "digital libraries" and "digital archives" from a multidisciplinary perspective. Its point of departure is the possibilities and prospects for convergence of professions and cultures around the notion of digital media and content. The course covers the history of the idea of digital library and digital archive, especially its manifestation as projects and programs in academic, non-profit, and research settings, and the suite of policy issues that influence the development and growth of digital libraries and archives. A foundation of core archival principles as applied in digital library and archives settings will serve as an intellectual construct supporting the exploration of the related concepts of organized digital content, metadata schemes, and understanding the user experience. Show more...

SI 675 "Digitization for Preservation" (1.5 cr.), Winter 2011, Fall 2009, Fall 2008

Open.Michigan: http://open.umich.edu/education/si/si675/winter2011

Digital imaging has replaced the microfilm camera and photocopier as the primary technology of reproduction in libraries and archives; however, not all digital reformatting strategies are equal. Only a small portion of the digitization that is done is preservation-worthy. This course concentrates on the standards, techniques, metadata, and project requirements of digitally reborn images. The course also touches on why libraries and archives might want digitization for preservation, the building of digital collections, and policy setting around digitally "reborn" objects. Show more...

SI 678 "Preserving Sound and Motion" (1.5 cr.), Winter 2011, Winter 2010, Fall 2008, Fall 2007

Open.Michigan: http://open.umich.edu/education/si/si678/winter2010

The course examines and evaluates standards for media preservation and reproduction--focusing particularly on digital processes. The course provides a high level overview of specific standards relating to state of the art storage of specialized recording media, as well as care and handling techniques. The heart of the course is an examination of re-recording standards and restoration techniques for sound and motion picture media, with a special emphasis on magnetic to digital re-recording and film restoration. The final segment of the course moves beyond media preservation to consider other preservation challenges, including using preservation metadata schemes, working with vended services, and managing preservation projects. In addition the course addresses a range of important preservation issues, such as the identification of the original versus subsequent and multiple versions; the theoretical and practical distinctions between preservation strategies; and the relationship of digital technologies to traditional preservation practices. Show more...


Duke University, Information Science + Information Studies (ISIS)
ISIS 210 "How They Got Game: History & Culture of Interactive Simulations" (4 cr.), Spring 2006

ISIS 100 "Introduction to ISIS Topics" [2-week library issues module], Fall 2003-2005


University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, School of Library and Information Science

INLS 210 "Archival Approaches to Digital Content Management" (3 cr.) Spring 2002-2006


Southern Connecticut State University, School of Communication, Information, and Library Science
"Preservation of Library Materials" Spring 1994-2001

"Digital Preservation" Fall 1999-2001

"Preservation of Digital Media" [online distance learning] (3 cr.) Spring 2001



Program Development




University of Michigan, School of Information
New Undergraduate Concentration in Informatics, 2007-11

Three University of Michigan colleges/schools created and launched a new undergraduate concentration in Informatics in fall 2008. The planning phase of the program was supported by a generous grant from the Provost''s Multidisciplinary Learning and Team Teaching Initiative. The program is a multidisciplinary collaboration among faculty from the LSA Departments of Statistics and Mathematics, the School of Information, and the CoE Computer Science & Engineering Division. Informatics is the study of how human and technical information processing systems are used to understand and gain meaning from data. Students in the informatics concentration learn to use computational and mathematical tools in a cognitive and social framework to analyze, represent, and communicate information. Show more...

Informatics Website: http://informatics.umich.edu/informatics

Duke University, Information Science + Information Studies (ISIS)
First-Year Undergraduate FOCUS Program, "Game2Know," 2006.



Workshops




Northeast Document Conservation Center
School for Scanning Boston (1994), Washington, DC (1996), San Francisco (1997), New York (1997), New Orleans (1998), Chicago (1999), Seattle (2000), Del Ray, FL (2001), The Hague, Netherlands (2002), Los Angeles (2003), Chicago (2004), Boston (2005), Havana, Cuba (2001), San Juan (1998).

To Film or To Scan Preservation Workshop Philadelphia (1995), New York City (1995), Lexington, KY (1996), Boulder (1996), New York City (1996), New Orleans (1997), Ann Arbor (1998), Boca Raton (1999), Denver (1999), Providence (2000), Minneapolis (2001), and Cape Town, South Africa (2001), Cheyenne, WY (2002).