Margaret L. Hedstrom is an American archivist who is professor emerita of

information Information is an Abstraction, abstract concept that refers to something which has the power Communication, to inform. At the most fundamental level, it pertains to the Interpretation (philosophy), interpretation (perhaps Interpretation (log ...

at the University of Michigan School of Information. She has contributed to the fields of

digital preservation In library science, library and archival science, digital preservation is a formal process to ensure that digital information of continuing value remains accessible and usable in the long term. It involves planning, resource allocation, and appli ...

, archives, and electronic records management. Hedstrom led the

National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...

-funded Sustainable Environment through Actionable Data (SEAD) project, which worked to "develop a system whereby sustainability scientists can manage and share their data." Hedstrom led the CAMiLEON project, which was conducted jointly with the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

and funded by the

and Jisc, and investigated the use of emulation tools as part of a strategy for long-term preservation of digital records. Her research interests include digital preservation strategies as well as cultural preservation and outreach in

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. She has also been a consultant to government archival programs, the

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, and the International Council on Archives. She has served on doctoral committees at the State University of New York at Albany, the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

, and the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

Biography

From 1985 to 1987, Medstrom worked at the New York State Archives as Director of the Special Media Records Project; in 1987 she became their Chief of the Bureau of Records Analysis and Disposition (later State Records Advisory Services), and in 1989 she founded their Center for Electronic Records, staying with the archives until 1995. She earned

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library science Library and information science (LIS)Library and Information Sciences is the name used in the Dewey Decimal Classification for class 20 from the 18th edition (1971) to the 22nd edition (2003). are two interconnected disciplines that deal with info ...

(1977) and history (1979) and a PhD in History (1988), all from the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

. Hedstrom conducted research on the management and preservation of electronic records for nearly 20 years, beginning at the Wisconsin Historical Society (1979–83). She was a principal planner of a major conference on electronic records research held in 1991. She has shaped research in digital preservation, beginning with her 1991 article "Understanding Electronic Incunabula". In addressing continuing education needs on electronic records, Hedstrom argued for the importance of ensuring that

postgraduate education Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of Academic degree, academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by higher education, post-secondary students who have ...

emphasized core archival concepts. She was a main author of ''It's About Time: Research Challenges in Digital Archiving and Long-Term Preservation'' (2003), sponsored by the National Science Foundation Directorate for Computing and Information Sciences and Engineering's Digital Government Program and Digital Libraries Program and the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

' National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program. In 2002-03, she was part of the Working Group on Digital Archiving and Preservation, which was co-sponsored by the National Science Foundation and by the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

through the DELOS Network of Excellence on Digital Libraries. She co-authored the report ''Invest to Save: Report and Recommendations of the NSF-DELOS Working Group on Digital Archiving and Preservation'' (2003).

Awards and honors

In 1989, she was the first recipient of the New York State Forum for Information Resource Management's annual Award for Excellence in New York State Government Information Services. Hedstrom was named as a

fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of the Society of American Archivists in 1992. In 2008, the

recognized Hedstrom as a Digital Preservation Pioneer. She received the

's Distinguished Scholarly Achievement Award for her work at the

University of Fort Hare The University of Fort Hare () is a public university in Alice, Eastern Cape, Alice, Eastern Cape, South Africa. It was a key institution of higher education for Africans from 1916 to 1959 when it offered a Western-style academic education to ...

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References

External links

* Schwarz, John (2008-04-09)
"In Storing 1’s and 0’s, the Question Is $"
''The New York Times.'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Hedstrom, Margaret 1953 births Living people American archivists American women archivists Grinnell College alumni University of Michigan faculty University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Library and Information Studies alumni Fellows of the Society of American Archivists University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni