MARA Blog: General

Overview

MARA Blog: General

MARA Blog

Current Predictions for Digital Preservation

Published: April 12, 2017 by Anna Maloney

Records and Information Management Month is a great opportunity for records managers and archivists alike to share the value of RIM and to garner excitement for the future. In a March 2017 opinion piece in Information Management, Jon Tilbury, Chief Technology Officer for Preservica, forecasted the following predictions regarding the future of digital preservation:

MARA Blog

March 12-18 is Sunshine Week

Published: March 16, 2017 by Anna Maloney

March 12-March 18 is Sunshine Week in the United States, a national celebration of freedom of information, freedom of the press, and open government. 

MARA Blog

Ceramicist Develops New Way to Preserve History

Published: February 8, 2017 by Anna Maloney

The salt mines of Halstatt, Austria are home to a new hybrid record with archeological and archival implications. In a recent Atlantic article, ceramicist Martin Kunze, founder of Memory of Mankind, discusses his work creating engraved ceramic tablets that preserve significant cultural information.

MARA Blog

Students, Faculty to Begin Work on International Directory of National Archives

Published: September 7, 2016 by Anna Maloney

Earlier this year, SJSU iSchool professors Dr. Pat Franks and Dr. Anthony Bernier submitted a proposal to the Rowman & Littlefield Publishing group to compile and publish an International Directory of National Archives. This summer, their proposal was accepted and the two faculty members began working to recruit students and alumni who would be interested in participating in the project for course credit or as volunteers.

MARA Blog

A brief history on Freedom of Information legislation

Published: July 4, 2016 by Anna Maloney

 

Government archives and records programs at the local, state, and federal levels all contribute to open government initiatives and support Freedom of Information laws. U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the federal Freedom of Information Act in 1966 to make publicly available by request those records related to statements of policy, interpretations, and staff manuals. But where did this political ideal originate?

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DNA as digital storage

Published: June 29, 2016 by Anna Maloney

Thanks to technology, information professionals are able to preserve just about any record in a digital format. But as digital records and big data proliferate (digital data is estimated to reach 44 trillion gigabytes—an almost incomprehensible number—by 2020), there have been questions about which digital storage medium is most sustainable over the long-term. One exciting research trend, covered by Tech Times and other sources, is the use of synthetic DNA for digital storage. “In a study, [researchers] detailed a new technique they have developed which allowed them to successfully encode four image files worth of digital data…More importantly they were able to reverse the process and retrieve the right sequences…without compromising an information byte” (Tech Times, 10 April 2016).

MARA Blog

World-Tree Project

Published: May 18, 2016 by Anna Maloney

A few weeks ago, the MARA blog highlighted history harvests, an emerging trend that aims to involve the public in historic preservation by accepting donations of letters, journals, and ephemera that may or may not be related to a general theme. In late April, University College Cork in Dublin, Ireland launched the World-Tree Project, attempting to crowdsource material on Viking and Norse history from across the globe.

MARA Blog

Joining Professional Organizations

Published: April 18, 2016 by Anna Maloney

Joining professional organizations is a great way to network with other archivists and records managers. Networking benefits include being introduced to others in your research area; having awareness of workshops, webinars, and other training; connecting with potential employers; and participating in and advancing the professional dialogue.

MARA Blog

Call for papers — Records Management Journal

Published: April 2, 2016 by Anna Maloney

Message from Pat: You have written so much–especially those of you in 289 right now. The call is for anyone a student “at the time the call was issued” so those of you graduating in May do qualify. See if one of your papers fits into one of the categories listed in this letter. Edit it as necessary. Submit for publication. We would love to have a MARA student in this edition!!! Let me know if you decide to do this.

MARA Blog

Save the Date–MARA Colloquia

Published: March 14, 2016 by Anna Maloney

On Wednesday, March 23, from 1-2PM PT MARA will host guest lecturer Sarah Romkey, the Archivematica Program Manager. Ms. Romkey will introduce Archivematica, discuss its use by large and small institutions, and expand on the importance of open-source solutions for digital preservation. This promises to be a very interesting presentation for those interested in emerging technologies and the future of archival management! We hope to see you there.

MARA Blog

Wisconsin Open Records Law

Published: February 19, 2016 by Anna Maloney

A few weeks ago, the MARA blog covered the Netflix docuseries Making a Murderer, and the influx of records requests that Manitowoc County, Wisconsin has seen since the series premiered in December 2015. Wisconsin open records laws are now being publicly examined after a state board expanded the definition of “transitory records” to include correspondence (electronic and analog), interim files, and recordings used for training purposes.