WORKSHOP ON

A NATIONAL PLAN FOR

PRESERVING ASTRONOMICAL PHOTOGRAPHIC DATA

Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute

One PARI Drive
        Rosman, North Carolina 28772

Dear Colleague,

The Workshop on a National Plan for Preserving Astronomical Data will be held November 1-3, 2007, at the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute (PARI).  The conference is partially supported by a grant from the Nations Science Foundation.  This letter provides some important details.  Please review this information carefully. 

Participation form

Participants should complete the Participation Form and return it as soon as possible.  The form will confirms participation and allows us to coordinate local travel, lodging arrangements and meals.

In completing the form, pay particular attention to your choice for lodging.  Those who wish to stay in a hotel should know that PARI is located in the Pisgah National Forest about a 30 minute drive from the hotels in Brevard.  Furthermore, it turns out that the workshop falls in the height of the leaf color season in the Appalachians, and hotel rooms are fairly scarce and with higher rates than normal.   We have arranged to hold some rooms for November 1, 2 and 3 at a special rate of $89/night (before taxes) at the following hotels in Brevard:

Hampton Inn (828) 883-4800

Holiday Inn Express (828) 862-8900

Hotel reservations should be made as soon as possible, but after September 12.  To receive the special rate, you must mention the PARI workshop. 

More convenient lodging is available on the PARI campus.  Both the workshop and the workshop-provided meals will at PARI. The room rates are only $72 per night ($48 for double occupancy), but the PARI rooms are dormitory style with a shared bathroom for all but a few. 

Registration fee

The registration fee is $35.  This should be sent as soon as possible to:

                                    National Plan Workshop

                                    Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute
                                    One PARI Drive

                                    Rosman, North Carolina 28772

Please pay by check, payable in U.S. dollars, made out to “PARI Workshop.”  We are sorry that we cannot accept credit cards.  Contact Wayne Osborn (Wayne.Osborn@cmich.edu) if payment by a check in dollars is not possible.

Workshop program

Please review the tentative workshop program.  The first day will include a tour of the PARI facilities.  An understanding of the potential and limitations of PARI as the site for a national photographic data repository will be important for the discussions on how the national plan should be framed.  The rest of the workshop will consist of discussion sessions focused on specific topics.   Each session will be framed around a “guiding question” to which an answer is needed in order to develop the national plan.  The guiding question will serve to focus the session’s discussion and several secondary questions are posed to provide additional direction. Workshop participants will be organized into a round table format so that all can easily participate in the discussion and debate, which will be moderated by a session chair. 

The questions are being provided in the program now so you can review them and prepare responses, based on your experience and areas of expertise, prior to arrival at the workshop.  You may want to consult your colleagues as you consider these issues.   Please do your homework!

Travel support

Thanks to a National Science Foundation grant, some travel assistance is available for those who do not have full institutional support.  If you need travel support, please complete the registration form and submit it to Wayne Osborn as soon as possible

Wayne Osborn

Wayne.osborn@cmich.edu

989-774-2222 (office)

989-773-2800 (home phone)