SOA Council Meeting Minutes from January 26, 2024

The Society of Ohio Archivists most recent leadership meeting minutes from January 26, 2024, 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 March 13, 2024 by Emily Gainer

Archives Month Poster: Call for Images 2024

For this year’s annual Society of Ohio Archivists’ October Archives Month, the theme will be “O-H-I-Olympics: Competitors from the Buckeye State.” In conjunction with the 2024 summer Olympics, we want to highlight Ohio connections to Olympic competitions.

We are looking for archival images not only related to the summer and winter international Olympic Games, but also those connected to the Paralympic Games and to the Special Olympics. These can be images connected with people who competed in the games, even if they didn’t bring home the gold (or any medal)! We’re also looking for images connected to trainers, coaches, and spectators. If your institution has archival images with an intriguing backstory, please submit them for a chance to be featured in the poster this year.

We are hoping to receive submissions from across the state of Ohio. If interested in participating, please submit your related images to the Advocacy and Outreach Committee at [email protected] by Friday, April 5, 2024.

Institutions or individuals can submit a maximum of three (3) images. Please ensure that the image quality is a minimum of 300 dpi; higher quality is encouraged. With your submission, please include a description of the image that explains its importance AND a brief one sentence caption that can be used on the poster if the image is selected.

SOA members will have the opportunity to vote on their favorite entries between Monday, April 8 and Friday, April 26, 2024. Entrants do NOT need to be members to submit images. If you know of organizations with archival materials that would fit with this year’s theme, please share this information with them!

We look forward to your participation!  View previous Ohio Archives Month posters.

Thank you,
Society of Ohio Archivists Advocacy and Outreach Committee

Last Updated on March 8, 2024 by Emily Gainer

Letter from Advocacy and Outreach Committee: SB-83

Dear SOA members,

I am contacting you on a matter related to our work as Public Historians: history advocacy. As a co-chair of the Advocacy and Outreach Committee, I keep SOA members abreast of relevant issues related to archives in Ohio. I am reaching out to you all today about Ohio Senate Bill 83 (SB-83). This bill targets state higher education institutions. Although it does not explicitly include archives, its implications for US history and government courses are dire. My main concern is to talk with you all about how this bill will impact history, which DOES affect us.

SB-83 is full of contradictions and will limit freedom of speech, which we all would agree is entirely undemocratic. While the bill claims to support intellectual diversity, it becomes clear that the true intent is to control subject matter and how certain topics can be discussed in the classroom. SB-83 attempts to whitewash history and oversimplify the truth. This reduces the lives and experiences of non-white people by making their truths seem too controversial for students to learn about and discuss. Last time I checked, history is full of controversy and is not meant to make us feel warm and fuzzy. Sometimes, history leaves you feeling angry, horrified, or just plain sad – for your own experiences and for others. As a former educator at an Ohio community college, this bill aggravates and concerns me about the education of our college students. What worries me most is that classes could be developed by boards of trustees rather than by educators, limiting the academic freedom of professors at Ohio’s universities.

In November 2023, the American Historical Association (AHA) submitted a letter to the Ohio House Higher Education Committee voicing their concerns over SB-83:

“This bill takes fundamental decisions about the content and structure of a core general education course out of the hands of qualified faculty and departments, forcing educators to prioritize the wishes of the state legislature over the needs and interests of our students. From our vantage point, the course requirement in this legislation will do more to boost the rate of failure in general education courses than to improve the civic and historical awareness of Ohio’s public university students.”

The AHA letter is rather lengthy, but I highly encourage you to take the time to read it.

I hope you will take this knowledge and be compelled to contact your Congressperson to voice your concerns over SB-83. The bill is currently in the Ohio House, so please get in touch with your local house member. Don’t know who to contact? To search for your state representatives, visit https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/members/district-maps.

If you want to do more to make an impact, you can volunteer with the League of Women Voters (LWV) or the Ohio Conference NAACP.

Sincerely,
Collette N. McDonough, CA
Co-chair of the Advocacy and Outreach Committee
Society of Ohio Archivists

Last Updated on March 5, 2024 by Emily Gainer

Call for Applications: 2024 SOA Scholarships

The Society of Ohio Archivists is pleased to announce five scholarships available to students (2 awards), and new archival professionals (2 awards) with three years or less experience in the workplace. The final scholarship category, the Ohio Preservation Council Student/New Professional Scholarship, is available to either students or new professionals.

The awards will be presented at the SOA Annual Meeting business meeting which will be held on Friday, May 17, 2024 at Capital University in Bexley, Ohio. Applications are due by March 18, 2024.

The scholarship consists of registration to the SOA annual meeting (including lunch), a one-year SOA membership, and a $100 travel stipend. Awardees are required to submit a photograph and write about their experience for publication in the Ohio Archivist newsletter.

How to Apply: Applications should include the following information:

  • Applicant’s name, mailing address, and email address.
  • Students should list their school’s name and academic program;
  • New professionals should list their employer and number of years working within the field;
  • Description about how the meeting will benefit the applicant professionally;
  • Brief description of the applicant’s scholarship and contribution to archives. This will be taken into consideration along with the applicant’s number of years in the field or academic study;
  • Statement of the applicant’s need for financial support to attend the conference;
  • Details: Scholarship page.

Applications and inquiries can be sent via email to Membership & Awards Committee co-chairs Jennifer Long Morehart and Helen CongerDue March 18, 2024. Download the Scholarship announcement PDF.

Last Updated on February 22, 2024 by Emily Gainer

Call for Nominations: 2024 SOA Merit Award

The SOA Membership & Awards Committee seeks nominations for the 2024 Society of Ohio Archivists Merit Award.

The award is given to individuals or organizations that have by excellence in deeds, actions, or initiatives improved the state of archives in Ohio over the past year. The award will be announced at the SOA Annual Meeting, which will be held on Friday, May 17, 2024 at Capital University in Bexley, Ohio.

Applications are due by March 18, 2024.

Nominations should include the following information:

  • Name of nominee;
  • Nominee’s employer or institution;
  • Nominee’s mailing address, phone number, and email address;
  • Brief reason for nomination;
  • The nominator’s contact information so that the awards committee may contact you for additional information.

See the list of past awardees on the Merit Award page.

Applications and inquiries can be sent via email to Membership & Awards Committee co-chairs Jennifer Long Morehart and Helen Conger.

Download the 2024 flyer.

Last Updated on February 22, 2024 by Emily Gainer

SOA Council Minutes from November 2023 and January 2024

The Society of Ohio Archivists most recent leadership meeting minutes from November 3, 2023, and January 5, 2024, 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 February 22, 2024 by Emily Gainer

Internship Opportunity: Oberlin College Archives Summer 2024

Sharing an internship opportunity:

2024 Weidenthal Undergraduate Summer Intern at the Oberlin College Archives.

Internship Description: The Oberlin College Archives invites applicants for the position of Weidenthal Undergraduate Summer Intern for 2024. The internship provides an opportunity for an undergraduate student at any institution to learn about arrangement and description of collections, digitization, exhibit installation and outreach activities, reference, records management, and other responsibilities of archivists in an academic setting. Continue reading

Last Updated on February 22, 2024 by Emily Gainer

Ohio Archivist News & Notes Spring 2024

Ohio Archivist Call for News and Notes

It’s that time again – the Ohio Archivist editor is collecting submissions of News and Notes for the Spring 2024 issue of the Society of Ohio Archivists’ newsletter. You do not have to be a member of SOA to submit your news – all Ohio archives, records, and special collections news is welcome! Continue reading

Last Updated on February 22, 2024 by Emily Gainer

SOA Membership Renewal 2024

Renew Your Society of Ohio Archivists Membership!

Dear SOA members,

Thank you for supporting the Society of Ohio Archivists during the past year. Your dedication enables SOA to provide community, networking opportunities, professional development, funding, and advocacy efforts for archivists and aspiring archivists. Highlights from the past year include: Continue reading

Last Updated on February 22, 2024 by Emily Gainer

Call for Proposals 2024. Archives for All: Enhancing Accessibility and Inclusivity

Society of Ohio Archivists Annual Meeting, May 2024

The Society of Ohio Archivists is planning a hybrid Annual Meeting on Thursday (virtual only) and Friday (hybrid), May 16-17, 2024. The in-person portion of the conference (Friday, May 17) will be held at Capital University in Bexley, Ohio. Continue reading

Last Updated on February 22, 2024 by Emily Gainer