"Digital Demands: Preservation and Access Issues" is the title of an August 12 statewide teleconference exploring the challenges and issues in digital technology confronting academic and archival institutions, libraries, county and local government agencies, and other organizations which maintain documentary records. Sponsored by the North Carolina State Historical Records Advisory Board (SHRAB) as part of its Local Records Educational Assistance Program, the teleconference will be aired by the NC Agency for Public Telecommunications over C-band (big dish) satellite on satellite GALAXY 6 [G6], transponder 11.

Scheduled to air between 7:00 and 9:30 PM, the teleconference will be downlinked to various reception sites (including community colleges, libraries, etc.) all across North Carolina and will be viewable in the clear in every corner of the United States for individuals and institutions with C-band satellite capability.

"Digital Demands: Preservation and Access Issues" will feature presentations by Ms. Rhoda Channing, Director, Wake Forest University Library; Dr. Lee Mandell, Director of Research and Information Technology, NC League of Municipalities; Mr. Paul Jones, of the faculties of the School of Information and Library Science and the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and Ms. Drusilla Simpson, Information Management Archivist, NC Division of Archives and History.

Topics to be addressed include indexing standards and access, records and the web, electronic publication issues, public versus private issues, digital file management, life cycles of digital records, and dealing with vendors. The first hour of the teleconference will be dedicated to panelist presentations, followed by an hour and a half of live discussion in which viewers may interact with and pose questions to panelists. An "800" number will facilitate this exchange.

"Digital Demands: Preservation and Access Issues" is the third of four teleconferences sponsored by the SHRAB utilizing a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), Washington. D.C. The SHRAB hopes to broaden interest in this conference. The Southeastern Library Network (SOLINET), with over 800 member libraries in the southeastern United States, has expressed support for the program. Other national archival and library organizations have also signaled an interest in "Digital Demands: Preservation and Access Issues."

The conference is free and open to anyone interested in how digital technology is affecting the task of maintaining records.

For additional information and details, contact Dr. Boyd D. Cathey, Program Coordinator, at bcathey@ncsl.dcr.state.nc.us; mailing address: 109 E. Jones Street, Raleigh, NC 27601; telephone, (919) 733-3952.