VCARA 2nd annual Conference in SL/Meet Caed Aldwych, co-founder of The Road to Deadwood

Tweet Caed Aldwych, co-founder of the Road to Deadwood, is one of two keynote speakers at the 2nd annual conference to be held in the Virtual Center for Archives and Records Administration (VCARA) at 5:30 p.m. SLT (pacific time) on Tuesday, May 24. If you haven't visited yet, you should!  Caed will explain the tought process that went into developing this environment and describe its social and economic model.


Brande Gex, MARA 2011 graduate and the 2nd keynote speaker at 6:00 p.m. SLT (pacific time), will describe her efforts to develop an appraisal process for virtual worlds, including Second Life.  


Following the keynotes, conference participants will move to the open courtyard to view and hear presentations on 8 unique glimpses into "lives and times past and present."  Poster presentation topics are:  Last Soul Surviving Knowledge Keepers," "There's a Photographer in  Your Town: Brining Family Stories and Photographs to Life," "Lower East Side Tenement Museum in NYC," "Virtual Texas: Information delivery into virtualw worlds," "9/11 New York & DC: A Decade of Revival," "American REality TV Virtual Time Capsule," "Web 2.0 and the Fluxus Movement," and "Around the world in one day: A foodie on each continent."  


Everyone is welcome--you do not need to be a SLIS student, alum, or grad to attend. Plan to join us on VCARA beginning at 5:30 p.m. SLT on Tuesday, May 24.  The SLURL is http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/SJSU%20SLIS/50/25/33

SLIS Commencement 2011

Tweet Approximately 178 of the over 700 SLIS graduates attended commencement ceremonies in San Jose on Saturday, May 21.  Dr. Ken Hayckock, former SLIS Director and commencement speaker, encouraged the graduates to consider employement opportunities by how well they fit the student's interests and goals and not by  job title, stressing that in over 40 years in the field, he has never held a position with the title of "libriarian." The digital environment has brought with it a myriad of opportunities for graduates of SLIS; the task of finding just the right opportunitiy is now up to each individual graduate.  Congratulations and good luck to all!!

Reflections on a semester almost over

Tweet It's been a busy few weeks, and instead of blogging I've been teaching and reviewing final projects and reports. One report, in particular, struck me with how much the worlds of archives, records, and even museums are converging. To learn more about one Master of Archives and Records Administration student's semester-long experience in the archives at the Museum of Idaho, read his blog.

Start at the bottom with week one and work your way to week 16--the end of his successful internship experience. Note the variety of tasks completed that include accessioning, scanning, working on both wired and wireless networks, and indexing using PastPerfect. This is a small museum that required someone with knowledge in archives, records, and information technology/management.  John is an example of the 'new breed' of "recordkeeper" that exemplifies the "convergence" of knowledge and skills needed today.