This paper describes a number of critical challenges faced by digital curation educators and suggests how the choices we make in building educational programs may impact the development of curation as a professional discipline. We focus on curriculum and program building as key steps in defining the educational needs of curators, and we argue for greater collaboration among educators, researchers and practitioners in the field, as a way to speed the emergence of curation as a discipline and to foster the integration of curation programs within libraries and archives.

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Archivists create MARC AMC catalog records to enhance access and make information about holdings more widely available, but they have not evaluated the effectiveness of those descriptions for a diverse audience. Inclusion of MARC AMC descriptions in integrated online catalogs and other factors have increased the difficulty of interpreting catalog records. Studies of patron understanding of MARC AMC records are needed to validate or contradict our assumptions that these descriptions are intelligible to our patrons. The integrated online catalog environment at the Arizona State University Libraries is a test site for the formulation of a user study to measure patron understanding of MARC AMC records.

Purpose -The purpose of this article is to make readers aware of the MayDay effort, an annual event, begun in 2006, designed to be the one day each year that emergency preparedness is concentrated on fully, and to encourage participation in MayDay 2007. The article also lists some general resources for disaster planning and preparedness. Design/methodology/approach -This is a viewpoint article discussing the MayDay initiative, and ways to enhance disaster planning and preparedness in cultural institutions. Findings -The article finds that MayDay 2006 launched a new initiative for disaster preparedness and planning. The idea is that this will become an annual time when cultural institutions dedicate the day to emergency preparedness and planning. Selected results of the first MayDay are described and the ideas for MayDay 2007 events are listed. Practical implications -This article provides information and examples of appropriate MayDay activities by describing MayDay 2006 events and providing pointers to online resources to assist archives and museums identify activities for MayDay 2007.Originality/value -Since Hurricane Katrina, substantial focus has been placed on disaster planning and preparedness in cultural organizations. This article promotes concrete actions that can be taken to enhance disaster planning and preparedness in cultural institutions and identifies resources on the Internet to help archives and museums in this endeavor.