Step one of my website update is relatively complete--I have created a new site under a new host.
Step two of my new site is is progress. I have switched http://www.robincpike.com/ to a new host. The DNS/CNAME switch was less tricky than last time, and has already been confirmed! I plan to maintain my Google Sites original site as an example of a free site under the generic URL http://sites.google.com/site/robincpike/, which is why I originally bought my domain, to have an example of this site for my project.
Step three will include migrating the rest of my content and migrating my blog. The current URLs should transfer, but it will all be under the robincpike.com domain. I've also migrated the Google Analytics tracking code. Let's hope that transfers smoothly.
Step four, create web tutorials.
Showing posts with label Technology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Technology. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Friday, April 9, 2010
New Look Coming Soon
I'm in the process of giving robincpike.com a makeover and it will soon be moved to a new hosting server (not free, but totally affordable even for an archivist) so I can add "Web Tools For Archivists" tutorials that Google Sites (free) makes a bit clunky to create. You get what you pay for. This blog, which is currently separate from my site, will also be integrated into the main site. I'm also looking to add feeds onto my homepage--my blog, what blogs I like to read, etc.
What does this mean?
The URL for this blog will be changing, though the hosting service preserves old URLs, so those should (in theory) still work.
robincpike.com and social a/v archivist should still be indexed by search engines, and should still appear in their normal ranking. Google me. You'll see. Well, not yet.
I've already created an entire new section so I can add web tutorials for archivists, and might even integrate video. We'll see.
I will be blogging about these changes for the benefit of archivists or other people who'd like to do something similar.
What does this mean?
The URL for this blog will be changing, though the hosting service preserves old URLs, so those should (in theory) still work.
robincpike.com and social a/v archivist should still be indexed by search engines, and should still appear in their normal ranking. Google me. You'll see. Well, not yet.
I've already created an entire new section so I can add web tutorials for archivists, and might even integrate video. We'll see.
I will be blogging about these changes for the benefit of archivists or other people who'd like to do something similar.
Something Not A/V Related, but Tech
While getting ready this morning, I caught a quick segment of the Today Show. Normally, features during the 8am hour don't catch my attention, but this one was about mom blogs (a growing trend in overall blogging), but more importantly, blogging with integrity. The repercussions of negative, disrespectful, and anonymous blog comments have been in the news so it seems fitting to feature the site. I've had several different blogs over the past decade, writing about several different topics, and I've been involved in social networking sites since 2004. In my personal observations, it appears like the trend of anonymous rudeness on blogs and other social networking sites is unfortunately growing.
It amounts to this: be nice. :-)
It amounts to this: be nice. :-)
Monday, March 8, 2010
Archiving From Home
Over the weekend, I was still helping my boyfriend unpack his new condo, and we came across his three very large boxes of VHS tapes that have been packed since his move in Dec 2008. The plan was for one of his more tech-savvy friends to transfer them. Well, that hasn't happened yet, and now I've been recruited to find a cheap way of transferring these to a DVD-quality file (not archival-quality) on a hard drive.
I'm looking at some analog to digital converters, and software programs for him. He has a Mac, so it should be pretty easy to start, though it will take quite a while to complete. Though this machine/software doesn't say if it's Mac-compatible, it looks decent. The reviews are better than other converters, and I was wondering if anyone had used it, personally. I was also thinking of just going the easy route and buying a more simple piece of equipment.
I'm looking at some analog to digital converters, and software programs for him. He has a Mac, so it should be pretty easy to start, though it will take quite a while to complete. Though this machine/software doesn't say if it's Mac-compatible, it looks decent. The reviews are better than other converters, and I was wondering if anyone had used it, personally. I was also thinking of just going the easy route and buying a more simple piece of equipment.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
I Revise and iPhoto
After a few discussions with archivists, the audio guidelines are complete at the Archives level. Next step-setting up meetings with the people in the library who will support the development of technology needed for this project.
The Archives just bought a new digital camera to take photos of exhibits, presentations, etc., so I spent some time with Library IT (computers are admin only privileges) who tried to get the software loaded on the virtual PC (it was PC-only) on my Mac to try and make things easier for my co-workers who aren't used to Macs.
After trying to get the virtual PC to recognize the camera, trying to get it the software to recognize the camera as an import location, trying to load the photos correctly (and many times of turning the camera on and off), he got it to work. We decided that the process will be much too confusing for anyone to easily learn (if I'm not around to load the photos), and decided iPhoto is a much better option. You plug in the camera, turn it on, iPhoto loads automatically, imports the photos where you want, and then you do whatever you want with them. Maybe these problems are Parallels-related, but if I've learned anything from working with Macs and PCs, it's that Macs do it better, and with fewer headaches!
I'm teaching the staff how to use iPhoto at next week's staff meeting.
The Archives just bought a new digital camera to take photos of exhibits, presentations, etc., so I spent some time with Library IT (computers are admin only privileges) who tried to get the software loaded on the virtual PC (it was PC-only) on my Mac to try and make things easier for my co-workers who aren't used to Macs.
After trying to get the virtual PC to recognize the camera, trying to get it the software to recognize the camera as an import location, trying to load the photos correctly (and many times of turning the camera on and off), he got it to work. We decided that the process will be much too confusing for anyone to easily learn (if I'm not around to load the photos), and decided iPhoto is a much better option. You plug in the camera, turn it on, iPhoto loads automatically, imports the photos where you want, and then you do whatever you want with them. Maybe these problems are Parallels-related, but if I've learned anything from working with Macs and PCs, it's that Macs do it better, and with fewer headaches!
I'm teaching the staff how to use iPhoto at next week's staff meeting.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Getting Dirty in the Archives
After getting my normal amount of requests filled this morning, and planning a meeting tomorrow, I went back to the Triangle (a nook behind the stacks where the audio visual center was placed) to look at some of the audio visual equipment for a project and then I realized something...
Tomorrow I will have interviewed at CUA two years ago. The equipment has been extremely disorganized since my interview. It has not been organized though it has been on my to-do list for almost two years. The OCD in me can't stand to be around it. Ugh.
After a brief freak-out brought on by the disorganization, I took a deep breath, took off my cardigan and scarf, and went to work.
I arranged some of the audio visual collections that were intermixed on the equipment shelves on the new shelving we received a month ago, and then spent several hours organizing the equipment by genre (photographic, audio, moving image), and then by format (slide, microfiche/film, steroview, phonograph, reel to reel, cassette, 8mm/16mm film, videotape recorder/player, Umatic, Beta, and Laserdisc). The VHS is hooked up to the TV because that's something we use frequently. I started to organize the supplies for the equipment, but then I realized I was dirty and sore, so that's another day's work. At least I can now have my student worker write a complete inventory without moving things around, and we will actually know what we have and where it is!
After the supplies are organized, the next step is to get the new A/V Mac up and running, and to start organizing the most-likely-to-be-used equipment on the heavy-duty A/V desk.
Tomorrow I will have interviewed at CUA two years ago. The equipment has been extremely disorganized since my interview. It has not been organized though it has been on my to-do list for almost two years. The OCD in me can't stand to be around it. Ugh.
After a brief freak-out brought on by the disorganization, I took a deep breath, took off my cardigan and scarf, and went to work.
I arranged some of the audio visual collections that were intermixed on the equipment shelves on the new shelving we received a month ago, and then spent several hours organizing the equipment by genre (photographic, audio, moving image), and then by format (slide, microfiche/film, steroview, phonograph, reel to reel, cassette, 8mm/16mm film, videotape recorder/player, Umatic, Beta, and Laserdisc). The VHS is hooked up to the TV because that's something we use frequently. I started to organize the supplies for the equipment, but then I realized I was dirty and sore, so that's another day's work. At least I can now have my student worker write a complete inventory without moving things around, and we will actually know what we have and where it is!
After the supplies are organized, the next step is to get the new A/V Mac up and running, and to start organizing the most-likely-to-be-used equipment on the heavy-duty A/V desk.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Just because I'm an A/V techie...
Just because I'm an A/V techie, doesn't mean I'm a computer techie. My cheat sheet (brought to you by xkcd.com comics:
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
The World of A/V Archives
I am an audio visual archivist. During grad school I had the option of taking a beginning course for computer literacy, basic digital preservation, and a course in moving image and sound archives that briefly covered digital formats. I loved a/v formats, but I barely felt prepared to deal with them. I thought, "I'll get on-the-job training from a mentor at my first job to cover the major gaps!"
When I completed grad school in August 2007, I landed a job where I was expected to troubleshoot, and research all of the technological problems, having little idea how to do so. I was lucky that the recession hit when it did and our budget remained the same so the Archives couldn't try to invest in new technology. I wasn't ready to lead.
It's nearly two years later and now that I'm ready to lead, I'm frustrated that I haven't been able to make progress. I still don't feel very prepared to deal with all the formats, digitization, digital preservation, and all that metadata! I haven't found a mentor, and I struggle daily to try and justify what I'm doing (or not doing) to people who don't understand what I'm capable of doing with the resources I have (a problem far too common).
I attend conferences and workshops. I try to learn what I didn't know before so I can quickly learn all the new things, like the only manufacturer of CD-R Golds is in England, and there's only one American distributor (so if those were your preservation copy, good luck getting your hands on them affordably)! At the ARSC Annual Conference this year I learned that being an a/v archivist is different than an a/v engineer, so I don't feel so bad about what I thought were my inadequacies, though that doesn't make excuses for them. I also learned that there is no set program for people who want to be a/v archivists. We come from a variety of backgrounds--librarians, archivists, engineers, musicians, techies--and have a variety of experience and training. Nothing is consistent.
This blog contains knowledge I've picked up that would have been useful two years ago, so hopefully, people who want to do as I do, don't feel like they've been lost as long.
When I completed grad school in August 2007, I landed a job where I was expected to troubleshoot, and research all of the technological problems, having little idea how to do so. I was lucky that the recession hit when it did and our budget remained the same so the Archives couldn't try to invest in new technology. I wasn't ready to lead.
It's nearly two years later and now that I'm ready to lead, I'm frustrated that I haven't been able to make progress. I still don't feel very prepared to deal with all the formats, digitization, digital preservation, and all that metadata! I haven't found a mentor, and I struggle daily to try and justify what I'm doing (or not doing) to people who don't understand what I'm capable of doing with the resources I have (a problem far too common).
I attend conferences and workshops. I try to learn what I didn't know before so I can quickly learn all the new things, like the only manufacturer of CD-R Golds is in England, and there's only one American distributor (so if those were your preservation copy, good luck getting your hands on them affordably)! At the ARSC Annual Conference this year I learned that being an a/v archivist is different than an a/v engineer, so I don't feel so bad about what I thought were my inadequacies, though that doesn't make excuses for them. I also learned that there is no set program for people who want to be a/v archivists. We come from a variety of backgrounds--librarians, archivists, engineers, musicians, techies--and have a variety of experience and training. Nothing is consistent.
This blog contains knowledge I've picked up that would have been useful two years ago, so hopefully, people who want to do as I do, don't feel like they've been lost as long.
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