Author Archives: Emily Gainer

Merit Award Recipients 2023

The Society of Ohio Archivists Membership & Awards Committee is pleased to announce two Merit Award recipients. The awards were presented at the Annual Meeting on May 12, 2023.

Photograph of three people holding plaques. These are the SOA Merit Award winners.

2023 Merit Award recipients: Warren County Records Center & Archives, accepted by Jennifer Haney Conover and Jenifer Baker, and Adam Wanter

Adam Wanter is honored for his outstanding service and dedication to ensuring that the Society of Ohio Archivists thrives. For the past several years, Adam has gone above and beyond to lead SOA through challenging times. Elected as Vice-President/President Elect in 2019, Adam stepped up to serve as president for an additional year when the current president
resigned. In his first year, Adam shepherded SOA through a transition in its leadership structure. In 2020, he directed SOA’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and to the murder of George Floyd. Under his watch, SOA pivoted to an online conference, increased its free offerings to members, began its hardship program, and oversaw the creation of the Social Justice Black Lives Matter Task Force. After finishing his extended term as president and time as past-president, Adam co-chaired the Educational Programming Committee which planned the 2023 Annual Meeting. For his efforts to lead and improve SOA, it is fitting that the Society of Ohio Archivists presents Adam Wanter with the 2023 SOA Merit Award.

The Warren County Records Center & Archives is honored for its work to make vital records such as birth, death, Commissioners’ Journals, and Common Pleas Court indexes available to the public during the COVID-19 pandemic. Working from home, staff cropped, transcribed, and added metadata to these records, ultimately making well over 30,000 records accessible. Once back in the office, staff added metadata and images to the first twenty-four Commissioners’ Journals, which are key records to understanding the history of Warren County. They also finished a multi-year project to place all the Old Common Pleas Estate Packets online, a collection which included over 90,000 searchable images and is frequently requested by researchers. For its efforts to make important county records more accessible to researchers, it is fitting that the Society of Ohio Archivists presents the Warren County Records Center & Archives with the 2023 SOA Merit Award.

Congratulations to the 2023 Merit Award recipients! Visit the Merit Award page for more information and past award winners.

SOA Council Minutes for April 2023 Available

The Society of Ohio Archivists’ most recent leadership meeting minutes, from April 25, 2023, 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.

Ohio Archives Month Archival Spotlights: Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center Archives

View of Mitchell-Nelson Library, location of the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center Archives

View of Mitchell-Nelson Library, formerly the Pratt and Research Foundation Library, location of the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center Archives. Cincinnati Children’s.

Archival Spotlights: Post #3

The Society of Ohio Archivists Advocacy and Outreach Committee wanted to celebrate Archives Month in a new way, so we featured three archives in a series of posts we are calling Archival Spotlights. Since the Archives Month poster’s theme was “Ohio’s Healthcare Workers: The True Heart of it All,” we felt it a good idea to feature archives that focus on healthcare or have interesting collections related to healthcare.

About the Cincinnati Children’s Archives and its Collections

By A&O Committee member Erin Wilson, Ohio University Libraries

The Cincinnati Children’s Archives are a unique community resource, preserving the history of local patient care, institutional research, and developments in pediatric medicine. With collections dating back to the hospital’s founding in 1883, the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC) Archives document nearly 140 years of healthcare in the Queen City.

Color image of the 1st page of the Articles of incorporation of The hospital of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Southern Ohio, 1883

Articles of incorporation of the Hospital of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Southern Ohio, 1883. Cincinnati Children’s.

The Center’s first facility, the “Hospital of the Protestant Episcopal Church” was a rented home in Cincinnati’s Walnut Hills neighborhood with a capacity of fourteen beds. The hospital was cooperatively governed by a Board of Trustees and a Board of Lady Managers until 1921. The first annual report from 1884 concludes with a historically significant statement by the Board of Lady Managers affirming their commitment to patient admission and care regardless of faith, race, or ethnicity, “all being welcomed and treated alike…” Continue reading →

SOA Election Results 2022

Amy Rohmiller, President

For the third year in a row, the Society of Ohio Archivists held its normally scheduled election online. Results were announced at the Annual Meeting on May 20.

SOA would like to welcome the following new leaders:

Melissa Dalton, Vice President/President Elect

Amy Rohmiller, University of Dayton, President (2022-2023)
Melissa Dalton, Greene County Records Center & Archives, Vice President/President-Elect (2022-2023)
Brittany Hayes, The University of Akron, Treasurer (2022-2024)
Sule Holder, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum – Library & Archives, Council (2022-2024)

A big thank you to Rachael Bussert and Matt Francis for running, and the Nominating Committee. Also, thank you to everyone who participated!

Sule Holder, Council

Brittany Hayes, SOA Treasurer

For more on the new officers and Council member, see the Candidate Statements beginning on page 5 in the Ohio Archivist, spring 2022. Continue reading →