Category Archives: Advocacy and Outreach

Join us for Coffee Chat on January 13, 2026

Grab a hot beverage and join us for the third Society of Ohio Archivists (SOA) Coffee Chat on Tuesday, January 13, 2026, from 10-11am on Zoom! These casual gatherings are an opportunity for SOA members to network, share challenges and successes in their work, and bounce ideas off colleagues outside of the Annual Conference.

This, our third Coffee Chat will be chance to check in with members. Possible discussion topics include teaching with primary resources and navigating archives and institutional structure, especially for solo archivists. This is your chance to shape a benefit of SOA membership! We hope to see you there. Please register to join the conversation. If you are unable to attend but would like to help shape what these meetings look like, please complete the survey.

Questions? Contact Darrell Blevins Jr. and Jim DaMico, SOA Council Members.

Native American Heritage Month 2025

Contributed by Sarah Aisenbrey, Sisters of the Precious Blood Archivist, and member of the SOA Advocacy and Outreach Committee.

I respectfully acknowledge the original stewards of the land on which I sit. I am on the traditional lands of the Adena Culture, Hopewell Culture, Kaskaskia People, Myaamia People, Shawandasse Tula (Shawanwaki/Shawnee) People, and ^^(Osage) People.

Many of us learn of the Indigenous people in the United States as if they came “before.” Their history is just that… history. Native American Heritage Month, celebrated every November, aims to change this view.

The following blog introduces a timeline of Native American Heritage Month, a tribute to an Indigenous Sister of the Precious Blood, and a project that aims to provide archival transparency to survivors of Catholic-operated Native Boarding Schools in the United States, pre-1978. Continue reading →

Born in Ohio: Preserving the Stories of Local Businesses

by Natalie Fritz, Archivist & Outreach Director, Clark County Historical Society at the Heritage Center.

Each October, the Society of Ohio Archivists celebrates American Archives Month by highlighting the important work of preserving and sharing Ohio’s history. Every year, the SOA Advocacy and Outreach Committee selects a theme and invites archives across the state to submit up to three images per institution that best represent the theme. After SOA members vote on their favorites, the top ten images are used to create the year’s Archives Month poster, which was recently revealed during a virtual unveiling event in September.

This year’s theme, “Ohio Born Companies,” celebrates the countless businesses that got their start here in the Buckeye State. From family-owned shops to manufacturing giants, Ohio has long been a place where innovation and hard work converge. Archives across the state, both large and small, play a vital role in documenting those businesses and the communities that shaped them.

Collecting the Story of Local Industry

A photograph of book shelves with three rows of books. Most books have brown spines.

Springfield City Directories, 1852–2020. An invaluable resource to trace the evolution of local businesses & their locations.

In our archives at the Clark County Historical Society at the Heritage Center in Springfield, Ohio, one of the most used resources is our collection of Springfield City Directories, dating from 1852 through 2020. These volumes are indispensable for tracing the history of a business, helping researchers determine when a company first appeared, where it was located, and how it evolved over time.

We use them regularly to identify local companies pictured in historic photographs and to connect visual materials to their broader stories.

Continue reading →

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.

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.

Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden Celebrating 150th Anniversary

by Collette McDonough, Advocacy and Outreach Committee member.

This year, the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden are celebrating their 150^th anniversary. Since June is National Zoo and Aquarium Month, it seems the perfect time to shine a light on the history of this amazing zoo in our state. They were created in 1873, but the zoo itself did not open until September 1875. It started with only a handful of animals including, two grizzly bears, three deer, six raccoons, two elk, a buffalo, a tiger, an elephant, eight monkeys plus a few other animals. In this 150-year period, the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden has risen to be one of the top-rated zoos in the country.

Historical poster promoting the Cincinnati Zoological Garden. A lion with a large mane is featured in the center with small images of various animals around it.

Cincinnati Zoological Garden poster. Courtesy of the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden.

The Cincinnati Zoo was first known as the Cincinnati Zoological Garden and was founded by German immigrants that longed for the beauty of the gardens in their homeland. The main person behind the creation of the zoo was Andrew Erkenbrecher, whose family moved to the Cincinnati area in the 1830s. He then went on to become a wealthy merchant. Mr. Erkenbrecher and other well-off German families wanted to have a zoological park like they had in Germany that would be like the zoos of Berlin and Cologne.

Continue reading →

Ohio Archives Month Poster 2025 – Voting Open

Help select the images used for the 2025 Ohio Archives Month Poster!

This year, the annual Society of Ohio Archivists’ October Archives Month poster theme will highlight Ohio-born companies.

The submitted images from around the state include internationally, nationally, and locally known companies that were born in Ohio. Thank you to all our submitters for sharing these pieces of history! We had great submissions this year from many wonderful Ohio institutions.

Now YOU can help us narrow down the field for the final poster! Please look through the images and their descriptions and vote for up to 10 images. The top 10 images to receive the most votes will be sent on to the designer for consideration in the final poster design.

Use the Google form to vote between April 22 and May 6, 2025. Please only vote once.

On behalf of the SOA Advocacy and Outreach Committee, we thank you for participating!

Questions? Contact the Advocacy & Outreach Committee cochairs Sarah Aisenbrey and Jim McKinnon.

Women’s History Month – Celebrating Catholic Sisters

The Sisters of the Precious Blood in Dayton, Ohio, have always been women on a mission. Like other congregations of women religious in the United States, the Sisters of the Precious Blood have been integral members of the societies where they lived, worked, and prayed. They were often some of the first university-educated women in the country. They educated immigrants in the 1840s in the wilds of Northern Ohio – and they were immigrants themselves, coming mainly from Germany and Switzerland, leaving their homes for parts unknown, not knowing if they would ever see their families again. They were and continue to be teachers and educators, nurses and doctors, chaplains, housekeepers, weavers, painters, poets, advocates for justice and ecology, administrators, and so much more.

Because there are too many photos and stories to include in one blog post, I grouped the Sisters’ ministries into four photos from their archives. Each photo represents an aspect of the Sisters’ ministry over time: prayer, teaching, healthcare, and domestic arts.

In this photo, Sister Rosemary Laux prays in the Salem Heights Chapel in Dayton, Ohio, in 1994.

sister reading
The adoration of the Blessed Sacrament was the catalyst for Mother Maria Anna Brunner to begin the Congregation of the Sisters of the Precious Blood, and prayer has been central to their lives. Throughout their history, the Sisters have continued this tradition with nocturnal and perpetual adoration, writing prayer services, working as pastoral ministers and sacristans, and praying for thousands of requests from people worldwide. Continue reading →

Archives Month Poster: Call for Images 2025

For this year’s annual Society of Ohio Archivists’ October Archives Month, the theme will be “Ohio-Born Companies.” Ohio has a rich history of entrepreneurship, industry, and ingenuity, which we want to highlight through this poster.

We are looking for archival images related to Ohio-born companies that have impacted locally, statewide, or nationally; they can relate to corporations, small businesses, or other Ohio-based businesses. Some examples include construction workers building the company’s headquarters, workers working in an office or other environment, showcases of products made by the company, etc. 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 you are interested in participating, please submit your related images to Nina Herzog at [email protected] by Monday, April 7, 2025.

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 can vote on their favorite entries between Monday, April 21, and Friday, May 4, 2025. Entrants do NOT need to be members to submit images. If you know of organizations with archival materials that fit this year’s theme, please share this information with them!

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

Questions? Contact the Advocacy & Outreach Committee cochairs Sarah Aisenbrey and Jim McKinnon.

Have Your Voice Heard! Attend Ohio Statehood Day on March 5

-contributed by Sarah Aisenbrey, SOA Advocacy & Outreach Committee co-chair.

On March 5, Ohio history, archaeology, and historic preservation professionals will gather alongside legislators and stakeholders at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus to advocate for Ohio’s history and celebrate its birthday. This year, Statehood Day’s theme is “From Canals to Computers: Connecting Ohio to the World,” reflecting the 200th anniversary of the Ohio & Erie Canal. Continue reading →