For the past several years, archivists and conservators from different Smithsonian archives have gathered on a Wednesday in October to listen and respond to questions about historic material that you might own or care for personally. We've enjoyed fielding questions about your personal historic documents, photos, videos, film, audio and born digital material. Here is a little bit about the staff who will be participating in today's Ask-the-Smithsonian Online Q & A, available virtually on the Smithsonian’s main Facebook page from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Riccardo Ferrante, IT Archivist, Smithsonian Institution Archives

Riccardo Ferrante, Information Technology Archivist and director of the Smithsonian Institution Archives' Digital Services Division, oversees the Archives’ digitization, digital preservation/curation, web and social media efforts, and its Electronic Records Program. He also participates in a number of national and international groups focused on best practices and standards in these areas.

Nora Lockshin, Paper Conservator, Smithsonian Institution Archives.

Nora Lockshin is a Paper Conservator at the Smithsonian Institution Archives, and conserves physical objects and consults on preservation goals with archivists, collection managers, and curators at the Archives and throughout the larger Smithsonian archival and museum community. She runs the Smithsonian Center for Archives Conservation, a service and teaching laboratory of Smithsonian Institution Archives Collections Care team.

Michael Pahn, Media Archivist, National Museum of the American Indian.

Michael Pahn is a Media Archivist, specializing in audio, video, and motion picture film, at the National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, a position he has held since 2003. He has a BA in Anthropology from the University of Pittsburgh and an MLS from the University of Maryland.

Lynda Schmitz Fuhrig, Electronic Records Archivist, Smithsonian Institution Archives

Lynda Schmitz Fuhrig, Electronic Records Archivist at the Smithsonian Institution Archives since 2005, specializes in preserving born-digital materials that include images, audio, video,  websites, and email from across the Smithsonian. Her work involves using tools and creating methods that help digital objects remain accessible in the future.

Marguerite Roby is the Photograph Archivist at Smithsonian Institution Archives and manages several large photographic collections. Her work involves establishing intellectual and physical control over these collections as well as contributing efforts towards digitization and the management of digitized assets.

 We hope that you’ll join us on Facebook today, and we look forward to your questions!