AMIA Newsbriefs

Silent film thought to be lost is restored by the Oklahoma Historical Society

For historians “The Daughter of Dawn,” an 80-minute, six-reel silent film shot in July 1920 in the Wichita Mountains of southwest Oklahoma, is history put to motion.

Until Brian Hearn, film curator at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, answered the phone one day about seven years ago. A private investigator in North Carolina said he had received a copy of a silver nitrate film as payment for an investigation, and thought the film was “The Daughter of Dawn.” The investigator was interested in selling it. But since the museum hadn't started collecting films, Hearn decided to contact the Oklahoma Historical Society. Through the actions of many people and organizations, the movie has been restored and rereleased with the first screening held in June at the Center Film Festival in Oklahoma City.

Read more:  http://newsok.com/silent-film-thought-to-be-lost-is-restored-by-the-oklahoma-historical-society/article/3692566#ixzz215wZ5chi

Defence personnel's personal secrets revealed in archive files

A woman who asked for copies of her father’s military records was given a bundle of papers showing he had a sexually transmitted disease and a history of misconduct. The incident, which took place last year, has sparked a campaign to stop the Australian Defence Force from giving its personnel files to the National Archives.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/defence-personnels-personal-secrets-revealed-in-archive-files-20120719-22c8h.html#ixzz215vdifBc

Archives to air France's dark past

They are among France's darkest days: Police dragged more than 13,000 Jews from their homes, confined them in a Paris cycling stadium with little food or water, and then deported them to their deaths in the concentration camp at Auschwitz. But even in France, one of the most brazen collaborations between authorities and the Nazis during World War II is unknown to many in the younger generation. Police are hoping to change that, opening up their archives on France's biggest single deportation of French Jews for the first time to the public on Thursday.

Read the story here: http://articles.philly.com/2012-07-18/news/32731281_1_concentration-camp-french-jews-police-plan
 

Continued Data Explosion and Growing Need for Data Backup and Archiving Drives the Digital Media Storage Market, According to New Report by Global Industry Analysts, Inc.

Against the backdrop, where data literally determines the way of life for companies, it is of little surprise that data storage is now the top investment priority of companies worldwide. As the most important asset for any company is information and data, businesses are now earmarking lucrative budgets for digital information management tools including data storage solutions. Bigger companies with bulk data storage needs represent an attractive customer cluster.

Read the press release at http://www.virtual-strategy.com/2012/07/18/continued-data-explosion-and-growing-need-data-backup-and-archiving-drives-digital-media-#LDMy1sgoVXz8gcIO.99

In Hollywood, keeping Tinseltown's treasures safe forever

Welcome to the Academy Film Archive, the storage arm of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. On your right is a stack of cans containing several reels of the 1962 classic "Lawrence of Arabia." On your left are several cans comprising a copy of "2001: A Space Odyssey."

Read the story here:  http://news.cnet.com/8301-13576_3-57463433-315/in-hollywood-keeping-tinseltowns-treasures-safe-forever/

The Year Ahead in Archival Films

Jeff Lambert, assistant director at the NFPF, singled out the cult favorite 33 Yo-Yo Tricks (1976), being restored for the Harvard Film Archive. Lambert also pointed out That Other Girl, a 1913 comedy starring Pearl White that was long presumed lost. An archivist going through holdings at the University of Southern California found a can labeled “Niver,” and knew enough to guess it referred to film preservationist Kemp Niver. Inside was the only known copy of That Other Girl.

Read the article here:  http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/movies/2012/07/the-year-ahead-in-archival-films/

Social media proving difficult for archivists

Deputy Head of Library and Archives Canada Daniel Caron told a recent gathering of librarians in Ottawa that the task of collecting, preserving and archiving Canadiana on the Internet,
such as tweets, blogs and online publications, is complex and daunting — but that the national memory-keeping institution is working on it.

Read more:

http://www.canada.com/news/history+dilemma+Social+media+proving+difficult+archivists/6930849/story.html#ixzz2106wmiX9

"Orphan" works: informal deal done between MEPs and Council

A photo, a film or a poem that is covered by a copyright, but whose right holder cannot be found, could be made publicly available across the EU, under draft legislation informally
agreed by Parliament and Council representatives on Wednesday. This legislation would allow everyone to access such "orphan works" and take forward the project of making Europe's cultural heritage available online.

 
Read the story here: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/pressroom/content/20120606IPR46383/html/Orphan-works-informal
 

Scanning My Life

My family has churned out a lot of paper—but I'm not alone in my digital dilemma. Baby boomers' lives, unlike their children's, are largely recorded on paper. But what's going to happen as all these boxes pass to a digital generation? Will
our children treasure or toss them, mystified by the contents?
 

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052702303444204577462470094052882.html

Home movie in UGA library may be state's oldest film images

Archivists at the University of Georgia believe they have found the earliest movie footage shot in the state, part of a collection of home movies and other films that belonged to the wealthy owners of a Thomasville plantation.
 
Read the story here: http://onlineathens.com/uga/2012-07-13/home-movie-uga-library-may-be-states-oldest-film-images