Nominating Committee Seeks Two Members

The Society of Ohio Archivists Nominating Committee is seeking two new members to join the committee.

Responsibilities: Committee members work collaboratively to identify and recruit qualified candidates for SOA leadership positions. Nominations are generally sought in December and January, with elections during the Annual Meeting in the spring, and terms beginning at the end of that Annual Meeting. Committee members are expected to serve for at least one election cycle, and work is conducted through email and virtual meetings.

Who Should Apply: Any SOA member who is not currently serving in an elected position is welcome to apply. This is a great professional service opportunity where you can help support SOA’s continued growth and work.

Applications are due on Friday, October 31, 2025.

Please contact the Nominating Committee Chair, Matt Francis, at [email protected] to volunteer or with any questions.

Last Updated on October 16, 2025 by Emily Gainer

Archives Month Poster 2025 Announcement

Celebrate American Archives Month in Ohio with the 2025 poster

A montage of 5 historical images arranged onto a poster. Includes blue text in the center Ohio Born Companies.

Ohio Archives Month poster 2025: Ohio Born Companies

October is American Archives Month! Each year, SOA creates a poster to recognize and celebrate Archives Month. The theme for 2025 poster is Ohio Born Companies. You can download and share a PDF of the 2025 Archives Month Poster . Thank you again to all those who submitted images for consideration!

Images on the 2025 poster were contributed by Mahoning Valley Historical Society, Columbus Metropolitan Library, J.M. Smucker Co., Wright State University, and The Ohio History Connection.

SOA’s Archives Month activity is managed by the Advocacy and Outreach Committee. Questions? Contact the Committee Cochairs Christine Liebson and Emily Rebmann.

Last Updated on October 7, 2025 by Emily Gainer

Council Meeting Minutes from Aug 19, 2025

The Society of Ohio Archivists most recent leadership meeting minutes from August 19, 2025, can now be found on the Council Meeting Minutes page.

Interested in SOA over time? Also on that page are minutes dating back to 1997. In addition to documenting actions from the leadership meeting, minutes include reports from the treasurer as well as from committees and task forces.

Questions about minutes? Contact SOA Secretary Shelby Beatty.

Last Updated on September 29, 2025 by Emily Gainer

Ohio Archivist Fall 2025 Issue Available

The fall 2025 issue of Ohio Archivist, SOA’s biannual publication, is now available to download as a PDF!

In this issue, you will find a recap of the Spring meeting held at the University of Toledo and online, 2025 award recipients, a feature on interactive displays, an article on archives and mental health, and much more!

Contents:
– Annual Spring Meeting Recap
– President’s Message
– SOA History Day and Scholarship Awards
– Feature: Turning History Items into an Interactive Display by Emily Rinaman
– DEIA: Archives and Mental Health by Michelle Ganz
– Feature: What’s your Why? by Emily Ahlin
– Guest Feature: The Revolutionary War Veterans Graves Project by Michael R. Moran
– News & Notes
– In Memoriam: Robin Heise

See all past Ohio Archivist issues on the publication’s page.

Questions? Contact Ohio Archivist Editor-in-Chief Jessica Heys.

Last Updated on September 19, 2025 by Emily Gainer

Call for Session Proposals: MAC/SOA Joint Annual Meeting, May 2026

The Midwest Archives Conference and the Society of Ohio Archivists will hold a joint 2026 Annual Meeting on May 14-16, 2026, at the Ohio Union, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. For more information about the host and the conference, see the meeting website: https://www.midwestarchives.org/2026-annual-meeting

From 2015 until 2023, Ohio’s tourism slogan was “Find it Here.” As a slogan, it raised the obvious question, “Find what here?”; but as an archives motto…well, to “Find it Here” is an archivist’s greatest hope for anyone exploring their collections. Join us as we explore the myriad ways in which archivists and memory workers make their collections accessible, discoverable, and usable.

Call for Session Proposals

The Program Committee encourages submissions from newer professionals, first-time presenters, and colleagues from non-academic institutions. A MAC or SOA membership is not required. Presenters may submit more than one proposal, but may present only one session OR poster. We also encourage those from smaller shops to submit presentations for a focused SOA track. We want to hear from the solo archivists or from those with more limited institutional support! Continue reading →

Last Updated on October 16, 2025 by Emily Gainer

Save the Date: SOA & MAC Joint Annual Meeting 2026

Save the Date: May 14-16, 2026

The Society of Ohio Archivists and Midwest Archives Conference will hold a joint meeting on May 14–16, 2026, on the campus of The Ohio State University. Conference workshops, sessions, and meetings will be held in the Ohio Union. Hotel accommodations and the reception will be held at the University’s hotel, the Blackwell Inn.

The MAC 2026 annual meeting website is live and will continue to be updated as more details become available. Already available is the hotel booking information. The Blackwell Inn does not charge a deposit at the time of booking, so please consider booking a room now.

The Program Committee will be issuing a call for proposals soon. Check back for additional details!

Questions? Contact the Educational Programming Committee cochairs Sara Mouch and Adam Wanter.

Last Updated on September 11, 2025 by Emily Gainer

Open Call for Volunteers: SOA Mentorship Task Force

During the Spring 2025 SOA Annual Meeting, members voiced interest in an SOA mentorship program during the final Crucial Conversations session. In response, SOA Leadership requests volunteers to serve on the SOA Mentorship Task Force.

SOA Mentorship Task Force charge:

Survey SOA membership to understand mentorship needs, preferences, and interests
Develop recommendations for SOA member mentorship options
Assist SOA Leadership in implementing mentorship options into SOA member opportunities

Time commitment: approximately 2 years

If you are interested in serving on the SOA Mentorship Task Force, please contact SOA President Jennifer Long Morehart at [email protected] with the following information by Monday, September 22, 2025:

Name
Contact information
Brief description of how you can help the Mentorship Task Force accomplish its charge (e.g. perspective, experience, network, position, etc.)

Questions? Feel free to contact Jennifer Long Morehart at [email protected].

Last Updated on September 8, 2025 by Emily Gainer

Archives Month Poster Unveiling on Sept 25

The SOA Advocacy & Outreach Committee invites you to attend its annual poster unveiling event on September 25 at 3:30pm EST to kick-off our celebration of Archives Month this October.

There is no fee to attend, but registration is required. Please complete the Registration Google Form by Tuesday, September 23rd to secure your spot for the festivities. Zoom information to join the event will be provided via email upon registration.

This year’s poster theme is “Ohio-born companies” and, as always, will feature images submitted and selected by SOA members.

The event will feature speakers Pam Speis of Mahoning Historical Society and Grace Ethier of Wright State University. There will also be some fun trivia questions to test your knowledge of Ohio companies past and present.

Concluding the event, there will be a drawing for a $100 “Pizza Party” gift card awarded to a submitter whose photo was voted into the top 10 for the poster.

Posted on behalf of the Advocacy & Outreach Committee by Christine Liebson & Emily Rebmann, cochairs, with special thanks to committee member, Collette McDonough for leading the organization of this event. Looking forward to seeing you there!

Questions? Contact the Advocacy & Outreach Committee cochairs Christine Liebson and Emily Rebmann.

Last Updated on August 29, 2025 by Emily Gainer

Council Meeting Minutes from July 2, 2025

The Society of Ohio Archivists most recent leadership meeting minutes from July 2, 2025, can now be found on the Council Meeting Minutes page.

Questions about minutes? Contact SOA Secretary Shelby Beatty.

Last Updated on August 22, 2025 by Emily Gainer

Recordings & Speaker Slides from 2025 Annual Meeting Available

The 2025 Society of Ohio Archivists Annual Meeting was held on Thursday (virtual only) and Friday (hybrid), May 15-16 with the theme of Show Me the Money: Sustaining Archives and Archival Programs

Recordings for 6 session presentations, including the keynote speaker Patricia Hswe, are now available on the SOA YouTube channel.

See the Annual Meeting page for more details and links to the speaker slides.

If you have any questions, please contact the EPC co-chairs Sara Mouch or Michelle Sweetser.

Last Updated on August 14, 2025 by Amber Bales