MARA Blog

Overview

MARA Blog

Students in the MARA program and those interested in archives and preservation, electronic records management, information governance, and related fields are highly encouraged to visit this blog often. Managed by MARA Program Coordinator Darra Hofman and written by a current MARA student, this blog will keep you current with the MARA community and what’s happening in the profession.

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MARA Blog

Get to Know Your MARA Student Assistant

Photo of Student Assistant: Kenna Wulker

Published: July 19, 2019 by Kenna Wulker

Hi everyone! My name is McKenna Wulker; I usually go by Kenna, and I’m MARA’s current student assistant. Right now, I’m half way through my MARA program and intend to graduate in December of 2020. It’s coming up quick!

MARA Blog

National Treasure at the National Archives?

Published: July 12, 2019 by Kenna Wulker

We’ve all seen it: Nicholas Cage slyly stealing the Declaration of Independence to find hidden treasure map clues while in a twisted Robin Hood-type act, protecting the Declaration from falling into the hands of the rebel treasure hunters. While National Treasure presents a dramatic and over-exaggerated representation of a theft of great proportions, thefts similar can and have occurred, even with some of America’s most precious and prized documents.

MARA Blog

Australia National Archives is at Risk

Published: July 19, 2019 by Katie Kuryla

Nearly 200,000 hours of recordings containing Australia’s memory are at risk under a looming six-year deadline to save the National Archives’ vulnerable files, its director-general says.

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Around the Web: Preservation Standards for the Digital Age

Published: June 21, 2019 by Katie Kuryla

The expansion of standards in a digital era — and the need for interoperability between them — was the topic of a NAB 2019 Birds of a Feather discussion including representatives from five different groups involved with creating and redefining relevant standards: ASC, ETC, MESA, MovieLabs and CineCert.

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Around the Web: Cybersecurity and Malware

Published: June 14, 2019 by Katie Kuryla

Researchers in Israel say they have developed a malware to draw attention to serious security weaknesses in critical medical imaging equipment used for diagnosing conditions and the networks that transmit those images — vulnerabilities that could have potentially life-altering consequences if unaddressed.

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Disc-Free Gaming is a nightmare

Published: June 7, 2019 by Katie Kuryla

On May 7th, Microsoft is launching the new Xbox One S, which boasts “Disc-free gaming,” a feature that has already raised issues about ownership and access for players.

MARA Blog

Archives Awareness: Learning Game Initiative Research Archive

Published: May 31, 2019 by Katie Kuryla

The Learning Games Initiative was designed around the concept of “preservation through use” and makes the constantly expanding collection of computer games, systems, peripherals, memorabilia, scholarship, and a plethora of other game-related materials accessible to researchers all over the world and of all ages.

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End of Spring Semester

Published: May 24, 2019 by Katie Kuryla

Now that spring semester is over and summer is right around the corner, I’m here to let you know what you need to do to prepare for the end of the semester.

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Archives in Context Podcast

Published: May 9, 2019 by Katie Kuryla

Podcasts are having a moment. They have been having “a moment” for awhile now but due to a class I recently took, I’ve been looking at podcasts in a different light lately. I enjoy a plethora of podcasts from skincare to crime but now I’ve been interested in the new podcast Archives in Context.

MARA Blog

Archives Awareness: Digital Archive of the Shoshone Nation

Published: April 29, 2019 by Katie Kuryla

Digital archives are becoming popular in this instantaneous and constant communication world. Who wouldn’t want access to an archive digitally if you cannot make it to the physical location? The Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation has announced that Utah State University will help to convert and catalog the tribe’s historical documents into a public online archive.

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In the News: Notre-Dame

Published: April 19, 2019 by Katie Kuryla

It is a tragedy that was seen all around the world, flames leaping from the top of Notre-Dame Cathedral on the evening of Monday April 15. The Paris fire brigade chaplain, Jean-Marc Fournier, had one thing in mind as he tried to fight the fire - rescue the two most sacred relics.

MARA Blog

20th Century Fox Oral History

Published: April 5, 2019 by Katie Kuryla

I recently finished my oral history class and while I thought I was just taking this class for the credit, it ended up opening my eyes to the world of Oral History. And just in time too because as March 20, 2019, Walt Disney Co. acquired Twentieth Century Fox, FX, Fox Searchlight, and NatGeo. This marks the final drumbeat for the historic 20th Century Fox, which was one of Hollywood’s six major studios.