Category Archives: Advocacy and Outreach

Virtual Meet-Up for Ohio Archivists, Aug 13, 2020

The SOA Advocacy and Outreach Committee is hosting a virtual informal Meet-Up on Thursday, August 13 at 3pm via Zoom. This is an opportunity for Ohio archivists to get together to chat about the COVID-19 survey archives results, reopening, policies and procedures, and more!

Join us to chat with fellow archivists!

Meeting Info:
Topic: Society of Ohio Archivists Virtual “Meet Up”
Time: Aug 13, 2020 03:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Register here for the for Zoom Meeting, registration open through meeting time.

We hope you can join!

Questions? Contact the Advocacy and Outreach Committee Cochairs Natalie Fritz and Jenifer Baker.

Survey Results! Reopening Procedures & Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic in Ohio

COVID-19 Re-Opening Survey Summary thumbnailA few weeks ago, the Society of Ohio Archivists Advocacy & Outreach Committee sent out a survey to Ohio archival repositories to gather information regarding reopening dates, effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on staffing, and new procedures and policies implemented in response to COVID-19.

We are now ready to share the Ohio Archives Repository COVID-19 Re-Opening Survey Summary (PDF), a visual representation of the results. If nothing else, we hope that this survey provides a general overview of how archives were affected for posterity. We hope that some might find reassurance in seeing others responding similarly and/or get ideas and guidance.

Discuss it at a virtual meet-up on Thursday August 13, 3pm.

Continue reading →

Survey: Reopening Procedures & Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic in Ohio

COVID-19 graphic from the CDCThe SOA Advocacy and Outreach committee is conducting a survey of Ohio archival repositories to gather information about reopening procedures and effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Access the survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WWJPWZF

Deadline to complete the survey is Friday, July 24. We hope to share the results within 2 weeks following the close of the survey.

Note: While repository name is asked, it is used only to filter duplicate responses and will not be associated with any reported results.

Thank you for your participation!

Questions? Contact the Advocacy and Outreach Committee cochairs Natalie Fritz and Jenifer Baker.

SOA Virtual Meet-Up – Thursday, June 18, 3pm via Zoom

Earlier this year, the Society of Ohio Archivists Advocacy & Outreach Committee discussed setting up informal meet-ups around the state to allow archival colleagues to get together informally. COVID-19 disrupted those in-person plans for 2020, but we wanted to try a virtual option on Thursday, June 18 (the day following SOA’s virtual two-day Annual Meeting June 16-17).

Register here to join the meet-up! (Registration will be open right up to meeting time.)

We hope this virtual get together will provide attendees a chance to “see” each other and chat, commiserate, and share, however briefly. So join us to say hello and share a bit about the strangeness of these past few months, and plans for moving forward in our institutions. All are welcome!

Thank you, SOA Advocacy and Outreach Committee

SOA Council Statement on Racial Inequality and Black Lives Matter

June 3, 2020—We, at the Society of Ohio Archivists, are profoundly saddened and outraged by the numerous, unjustified deaths of Black men and women in our country.  We grieve the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless more who have died because of police brutality fueled by hate. We grieve the brutal lynching of Ahmaud Arbery at the hands of vigilante white men, including a former police officer. We condemn the use of violence, vigilantism, and the weaponization of supremacy, and we denounce police violence against Black people.

As archivists, we know this problem is deeply rooted in the history and founding of our nation. It is also rooted in our institutions, including archives. We are committed to recognizing and breaking down systems of white supremacy within our own archives. For decades, the historical narrative has largely left out the stories of Black people in our country. Part of our work as archivists includes creating a space where we can collaborate and dialogue with those whose stories have been marginalized, ignored, and silenced. Our efforts and missions include learning from the past to prepare for the future. We can only do that if we include all voices. Continue reading →

Extended to June 5! Call for Image Submissions: 2020 Ohio Archives Month Poster

Let Ohio Women Vote poster. Courtesy of Ohio History Connection

Let Ohio Women Vote poster. Courtesy of Ohio History Connection

With all libraries, archives, and museums closed in compliance with the Governor’s orders to help stop the spread of COVID-19, the deadline for submitting images for this year’s Ohio Archives Month poster will be extended from the original deadline. We realize that with the craziness of the past weeks, it’s likely been the furthest from anyone’s minds, but we hope that we may still be able to keep with the longstanding Archives Month poster tradition.

The new submission deadline is Friday, June 5.

The 2020 theme for the annual Society of Ohio Archivists’ Archives Month poster is the centennial commemoration of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which guaranteed and protected women’s constitutional right to vote.  Continue reading →

Ohio Archives Month 2019 Poster Contest Winners

Ohio Archives Month 2019 Poster

Ohio Archives Month 2019 Poster

This year’s theme for the Ohio Archives Month poster was Small Steps, Giant Leaps: Ohio’s Role in Space Exploration, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing on July 20, 1969. We invited repositories and institutions across Ohio to submit photographs, documents, or other graphical materials that demonstrated a connection to the theme to be featured on the SOA Archives Month poster. (Download the poster.)

The SOA Advocacy and Outreach Committee received submissions from fifteen institutions, for a total of 38 photographs and documents! The submissions were compiled, and eleven images were selected as winners through online voting.

The winning images provided great material for the designers, however not all of the winners could be featured on the poster. As such, the Committee would like to highlight each winning image and institution.

Scroll down to see the winning images from Bowling Green State University Music Library and Bill Schurk Sound Archives; National Museum of the United States Air Force; Ohio State University, Ohio Congressional Archives; Shelby County Historical Society; University of Akron, University Libraries, Archival Services; and Wright State University Libraries Special Collections and Archives.

We also would like to thank the following institutions for their submissions and participation: Clark County Heritage Center; Case Western Reserve University; Mound Discovery Center; Ohio History Connection; Sandusky Library,; Smuckers Corporate Archives; University of Cincinnati; University of Dayton; and Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor Archives/Library.

We hope everyone takes the opportunity this Archives Month to promote their institution and collections, as well as their fellow Ohio repositories (check them out in this year’s Ohio Archives Passport)! Be sure to check the SOA website and Twitter account regularly for updates on the various Archives Month activities throughout the state!

2019 Winning Images

Album cover: Apollo 11: We have landed on the moon “The sounds of the 1969 NASA lunar expedition with Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin Aldrin.” Capitol Records, 1969

Apollo 11: We have landed on the moon “The sounds of the 1969 NASA lunar expedition with Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin Aldrin.” Capitol Records, 1969. Bowling Green State University Music Library and Bill Schurk Sound Archives

Continue reading →

Ohio Archives Passport 2019 is here!

The purpose of this passport (PDF) is to let people know about the wonderful archival resources all around Ohio, give them a chance to visit, explore, and learn more and participate in activities that help them to connect with their past, local history, and their community.

In 2017 SOA began compiling information about Ohio archival repositories to put together a statewide passport broken down by region. Each year we collected updates and new entries and the 2019 passport included information for more than 90 sites across the state!

Questions? Contact Natalie Fritz, cochair Advocacy & Outreach Committee