CSS Ahoy

Having played with Dreamweaver in the lab and a bit with Kompozer, I'm still undcided about which coding tool I like better. For once I didn't have to mentally shift gears in the middle of on campus weekend, since both courses were dealing with similar subject material - EAD is an interesting challenge, though the archivists toolkit ability to export EAD code is somewhat flawed...  I think I'm going to reserve judgement until end of term.

National Archive + Social Media

So I discovered that the US National Archive has a fun feature on their website called Today's Document.  They showcase something significant to the calendar date from the archive holdings.  They even have a mobile app for it!

Sadly, I have not yet figured out how to view/retrieve my favorite documents as catalogued in my app on my regular computer screen.  A data storage issue (tracking account info?), a developmental oversight (too much of a hassle?)  ... I can't figure it out. I still want to see if it's possible, and I haven't given up yet... I wnder if they'll accept this idea as a suggestion/ improvement or if I'm the only dork who think that would be a neat thing to be able to do?

Kudos to the Archive for a great PR trick though!

Why I love the Smithsonian

Okay, I promised myself more archival realted items in my next post, but I just can't help myself...

The Smithsonian Institue is hosting a museum exhibit on videogames in 2012!

I abhor large cities, but I'm starting to wonder if I can manage a federal internship in DC next year....

(Also, props to tech republic as another great tech information hub!)

Most. Awesome. Museum. Concept. Ever.

The computer history museum. I need to talk to Sara Lott, whose title is software archivist.  I am intensely curious about her job description...   Also Heather Yeager whose title is Digital Media Archivist


For the news related part of this post, the above link came from an article about the decomissioning of historic domain names, and why they might be worth preserving.

Justifying once again the need for increased technological awareness in the archival profession.

(Making me wish  I had room in my schedule for more classes, actually.)

Farewell to February

The shortest month, but an interesting one for me...

I had the opportunity to hear two archivists speak to audiences advocating  both their collections and the profession.

Keith Bingham spoke about the life of Carter G. Woodson and the legacy he left in the form of African American History Month.

And Edward C. Papenfuse spoke about the acquisition by the Maryland state archives of an original draft of a speech by George Washington.

Both gentlemen were inspiring and educational presenters, as well as supportive and encouraging of an aspring future professional.