MARA Blog
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.
Around the Web: A Christmas Story House
Published: November 30, 2018 by Katie Kuryla
Christmas time is personally one of my favorite times of year. The lights, the music, eggnog, and the smell of the trees! It’s the best time of year. One of my favorite activities is watching A Christmas Story.
A Call for Papers – Archives and Popular Culture
Published: November 19, 2018 by Katie Kuryla
One of the great things while we are working on our degrees, is the opportunities regarding writing papers for peer-reviewed journals, official publications, and even books. Recently, I saw a post for a #CallforPapers from View Journal looking for proposals for a special issue of Journal of Popular Culture. The Special Issue is Archives and Popular Culture.
Ten Things that Terrify Archivists
Published: November 5, 2018 by Katie Kuryla
With Halloween just barely behind us, I thought we could look at the ten things that terrify archivists!
#FacultyFriday Spotlight: Matt Veatch
Published: September 28, 2018 by Katie Kuryla
The MARA Program Advisory Committee (PAC) welcomes a new member this semester. Matt Veatch, the State Archivist of the Kansas Historical Society in Topeka, Kansas. He will be participating in the biannual meetings to advise on curricular issues.
#Spotlight Series: Anna Belle Rosen and SAASC
Published: August 31, 2018 by Katie Kuryla
Welcome back everyone! Our first blog post of the fall semester is one of our spotlight series on Anna Belle Rosen. Anna Belle is the secretary of our school’s chapter of the Society of American Archivists. It is great to see MARA students becoming more active in the school community and Anna Belle is here to tell you about the wonderful things that SAASC has to offer.
What Started Your Passion for Archives and Records?
Published: June 15, 2018 by Katie Kuryla
What started your passion for archives and records? I had just started my first semester and I went to see a movie one night and noticed a Doctor Who cartoon on one of the television screens in the lobby. I was a recent Doctor Who fan and I had figured that the cartoon was an episode from the newest season, somehow the Doctor went so far in the Tardis that he ended up in a cartoon world. Boy was I wrong!
#Spotlight Series: Anna Maloney: A Year in the Life of a MARA Graduate
Published: June 8, 2018 by Katie Kuryla
I was introduced to Anna Maloney when I was taking over her position as an assistant at school. When I moved to a new city, it coincidentally was the same city that Anna lived in and by chance we found out. We don’t always get the opportunity to meet the people we go to school with but I was lucky enough to meet Anna in person.
End of Spring Semester
Published: May 23, 2018 by Katie Kuryla
As we wait for our grades, 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. Congrats to the graduates but if you are here for another year, make sure you are saving documents to your ePortfolio. Take a few minutes to read over what you need to do now that it is the end of the semester:
#FacultyFriday Spotlight: Joshua Zimmerman
Published: May 18, 2018 by Katie Kuryla
Getting to know our faculty
What really makes Josh’s research methods class great, is the professor himself. He is an excellent lecturer and his class was by far one of my favorites. While he will tell you in his answers below that he never imagined that he would be helping improve writing of graduate students, he not only helped my writing but he improved my focus on my research topic that I’ve been trying to get across in all my papers in my classes. While his quote from his #FacultyFriday photo talks about him learning new topics and new takes on old topics from his students, it has been his enthusiasm that I felt I learned so much in his class. I’m sure there have been other students who have felt this way too.
Marvel: Universe of Super Heroes
Published: May 4, 2018 by Katie Kuryla
Back in October, I went to the Star Wars Costume exhibit and found some really interesting facts about Star Wars. I wasn’t ever a fan and in fact, I could say I’m still not a fan but I do respect the work a lot more. Knowing the information I did about the costumes and the things I already knew through a project I did on Pixar (yes, Pixar was once owned by George Lucas), I appreciated the work that went into Star Wars when I watched it. One thing I also found important about the Star Wars costumes exhibit was how important it is to save these items.
#FacultyFriday Spotlight: Norman Mooradian
Published: April 27, 2018 by Katie Kuryla
If you are planning on taking a one credit summer course for MARA, you would have seen Norman Mooradian’s name come up with the ethics class. I had the opportunity my first summer to take Ethics and it was a wonderful class. Norman is such a great teacher and he really knows his subject but as you will read, he has been in the business for almost 20 years. If you get the opportunity for the summer to take his class or are planning on taking his class, take it from me, it’s well worth learning about ethics in records management! Thank you Norman for taking the time to let us get to know you! – Katie
#Spotlight Series: Tiffany Knight Awarded VSFS eInternship
Published: April 21, 2018 by Katie Kuryla
As our spotlight series continues, I have the great honor of introducing one very special student, Tiffany Knight. Tiffany received the sole vacancy in the US NARA Virtual Student Federal Service eInternship and she has spent her last year of graduate school working with transcriptions. After reading her profile, if you are interested in applying for the next vacant spot, make sure you check out the website because the information is provided. I bet she has had a wonderful year of working in the Citizen Archives area! Thank you Tiffany for sharing your experience! – Katie
Archives Awareness: Archives for a “Cork Dork”
Published: October 18, 2017 by Katie Kuryla
I started reading a book called Cork Dork by Bianca Bosker. It is a book about a woman who goes on a “wine-fueled adventure among the obsessive sommeliers, big bottle hunters, and rogue scientists who lead her to live for taste.” I enjoy a good glass of wine but there is so much more to wine than just what we are drinking. Bianca Bosker, a journalist turned sommelier, wanted to know wine through taste and what stirs people to want to become a sommelier but what about the history of wine?
Archives: Yosemite Archives
Published: October 6, 2017 by Katie Kuryla
October is Archives Month, and archival institutions throughout the U.S. are celebrating! This is the perfect chance to take the plunge if you’ve always wanted to go to an archive, but have hesitated to do so. Many institutions plan special events including open houses, exhibits, programs, and a variety of other activities. In this blog, I decided to take a closer look at Yosemite National Park Archives.
#AskAnArchivistDay
Published: October 4, 2017 by Katie Kuryla
Since 2011, one day a year in October, archivists have been taking to Twitter to answer all kinds of questions from members of the public and other archivists. Archivists are available all year round to answer questions but this special day helps to raise awareness of the services that Archives provides. This year on October 4th, you can ask Archivists any question.
Random Thoughts: Droughtlander is Over!
Published: September 25, 2017 by Katie Kuryla
Are you an avid fan of the series Outlander, have you’ve been watching the new season on Starz channel since September 10th, or are you fan of the books? If you haven’t heard of Outlander, it follows the story of Claire Randall, a married combat nurse from 1945 who is mysteriously swept back in time to 1743, where she is immediately thrown into an unknown world in which her life is threatened.
Agents of Change: ARMA LIVE! Orlando
Published: August 30, 2017 by Anna Maloney
Going to Florida in October for ARMA International? Look for Dr. Patricia Franks and Dr. Lisa Daulby, who will be there along with other iSchool faculty, staff, students and alumni!
MARA Partnership with the Institute of Certified Records Managers
Published: August 23, 2017 by Anna Maloney
Earlier this summer, the MARA program announced a partnership with the Institute of Certified Records Managers (ICRM) that would allow MARA graduates a fast track to either the Certified Records Analyst (CRA) or the Certified Records Manager (CRM) designation.
MARA Program Coordinator Dr. Patricia Franks Going on Sabbatical
Published: August 16, 2017 by Anna Maloney
MARA lecturer Dr. Lisa Daulby will be filling in as MARA Program Coordinator for Dr. Pat Franks while Dr. Franks takes a sabbatical during the fall semester. Dr. Franks is using the time to work on three exciting publishing projects: the International Directory of National Archives, the Encyclopedia of Archival Writers, and the second edition of her textbook Records & Information Management.
Around the Web: Internet Archive to Stop Referring to robots.txt Files
Published: August 2, 2017 by Anna Maloney
The Internet Archive is planning to discontinue the recognition of robots.txt files that can limit an archived website’s availability to future viewers.