Category Archives: Advocacy and Outreach

Celebrate Archives Month by Honoring the Accomplishments of an Ohio Archival Institution

The Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board Achievement Award recognizes significant
accomplishments in preserving and improving access to historical records, in any format, by
an Ohio archival institution.

All Ohio institutions responsible for archival records that provide public access to at least a
portion of their collections are eligible. Eligible accomplishments include recent special
projects or on-going programs that:

build significant collections
implement successful preservation strategies
enhance access to archives
develop effective digitization programs

Preference will be given to projects or programs that can be adapted for use by other
institutions.

Because the award recognizes institutional achievements, individuals are not eligible.
Departments employing members of OHRAB are not eligible, but other departments in their
institutions are eligible.

Nominating letters should be no longer than two pages, 12-pt, single spaced, describing the
institution’s program/project along with its goals, accomplishments, and significance. Each
must include the nominee’s institutional name along with a contact person’s name, mailing
and email addresses, and phone number.

Send nominations via email or U.S. mail to:

Pari Swift
Senior Records Manager
Ohio Attorney General’s Office
30 East Broad Street, 23rd Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
[email protected]

Nominations must be received by October 7, 2016.
Self-nominations are encouraged.

Questions? Contact Pari Swift at [email protected] or 614-466-1356

“I Found It in the Archives” 2016 Voting Begins Today, August 15th

The 2016 state-wide “I Found it in the Archives” contest features winning essays from three institutions: Oberlin College Archives/Oberlin Heritage Center, Greene County Archives, and the Clark County Historical Society.

If viewing the contest on a mobile device, please scroll down to the bottom of the page to place your vote.

Voting begins August 15, 2016 and ends August 31, 2016.

The “I Found it in the Archives” state winner will be featured during the SOA fall meeting, held in partnership with the Ohio Local History Alliance October 7, 2016 in Dublin, Ohio. Keep a lookout for more information about SOA’s fall meeting on the SOA website.

“I Found It in the Archives” 2016 Voting Begins August 15th

Read the 2016 “I Found it in the Archives” state finalist essays on the “I Found it in the Archives” Contest Entries page and vote for your favorite in the side navigation of any page on the SOA website. If viewing the contest on a mobile device, please scroll down to the bottom of the page to place your vote. Voting begins August 15, 2016 and ends August 31, 2016.

Ohio Statehood Day: March 1, 2016

Join fellow history lovers at the Ohio Statehouse to commemorate Ohio’s birthday – and to advocate for Ohio History.

In commemoration of Ohio’s founding, we and our partners invite you to join a broad coalition of history advocates for our annual Statehood Day event. The state’s birthday serves as an appropriate time each year for history advocates to come together to help showcase the importance of Ohio’s history and how history, historic preservation and the organizations that help provide access to Ohio’s rich history benefit the Buckeye State. Statehood Day is a celebration of Ohio and its history, as well as a legislative advocacy event! Register today.

{Please note that additonal security measures have been implemented for your safety at the Ohio Statehouse and the Riffe State Office Tower. Be prepared to have your ID and to go through metal detectors.}

Agenda

9:30–10 a.m. Coffee and registration

10–10:30 a.m. Briefings on Statehood Day legislative priorities

10:30 a.m.–Noon Meet with state legislators (scheduled on your own)

Find your state representative here.

Find your state senator here.

Noon–1:30 p.m. Lunch program

Presentation of Ohio History Leadership Award to State Rep. Kirk Schuring (R-Canton)
Keynote Speaker: Marion F. Werkheiser,
Founding Partner Cultural Heritage Partners
History Fund grant awards

1:30 p.m.– later Additional legislative meetings as necessary.

Optional Statehouse tour available

Registration is now open. Click here to register.

“I Found It In the Archives” 2015 Ohio State-wide Competition Results

Aaron Buckles is the winner of the I Found it in the Archives contest for his essay which received 39% of the total 109 votes. Aaron will be a guest at the Ohio Local History Alliance/Society of Ohio Archivists Fall Meeting on October 2, 2015 and will share more background about his essay in the “I Found it in the Archives” session following Friday’s luncheon.

Thanks to the three contestants who shared personal stories about the discoveries they made using historical records found in archival collections at the Clark County Historical Society, the Greene County Archives and the Ohio History Connection. Thank you to everyone who voted for their favorite entry and shared this opportunity with family and friends.

“I Found It in the Archives” 2015 Voting Begins August 17th

The 2015 state-wide “I Found it in the Archives” contest features winning essays from three institutions: Clark County Historical Society, Greene County Archives, and the Ohio History Connection. Read the 2015 “I Found it in the Archives” state finalist essays on the “I Found it in the Archives” Contest Entries page and vote for your favorite in the side navigation of any page on the SOA website. If viewing the contest on a mobile device, please scroll down to the bottom of the page to place your vote. Voting begins August 17, 2015 and ends August 30, 2015.

The “I Found it in the Archives” state winner will be featured during the SOA fall meeting, held in partnership with the Ohio Local History Alliance, on October 2, 2015. Keep a lookout for more information about SOA’s fall meeting on the SOA website.

MayDay-Protecting our Archives in Ohio

MayDay is almost here! SAA has designated May 1^st as MayDay, a day for archivists to take personal and professional responsibility for doing something small, but significant to protect their collections in the event of a disaster. Repositories in Ohio are being proactive and preparing for a potential disaster before it occurs.

MayDay Activities Across the State

Denison University will be celebrating MayDay by holding a viewing party for the Connecting to Collections webinar, “After Disasters.” The hosting group is “DERT”, which stands for Disaster and Emergency Recovery Team.

Greene County has invited local firefighters to visit the Greene County Records Center and Archives on May 1st. This visit will give the firefighters an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the facility, the types of records that are in the collection, as well as consider how they could most effectively fight a fire at this location. Greene County is also planning to go through their Disaster Kit and inventory their emergency supplies and make sure that they are prepared for a potential disaster.

The National Museum of the United States Air Force (NMUSAF) recognizes MayDay each year by preparing and distributing two different wallet sized cards. This project is led by the NMUSAF Disaster Response Team (DRT). The wallet sized cards include phone tree cards for DRT members and Disaster Information Cards for all staff that includes names and phone numbers of DRT members to call in the event of an incident.

One of the ideas listed on the SAA website is to make sure that all collections are in boxes and up off of the floor. Bowling Green University and the Akron Summit County Public Library are holding workshops on “Learning to Preserve Valuable Collections Using Basic Enclosures.” Properly constructed enclosures can provide protection from a variety of threats.

Is your repository prepared for a potential disaster? Use this opportunity to do something, no matter how simple, to protect your collections! When is the last time you had a fire drill, updated your staff emergency contact information or inventoried your emergency supply kit? Have you been putting off revising your Disaster Preparedness Plan? The time to complete these projects is before a disaster occurs!!

It’s not too late to get involved! The SOA Advocacy & Outreach Committee would like to encourage all Ohio repositories to participate in MayDay, this Friday, May 1st. Remember, even a simple activity can have a significant impact on the response to a disaster. If you’re not sure what to do, SAA provides a list of potential MayDay activities.

SOA and Congressional History Caucus Effort—Member Help Is Needed

The National Coalition for History (NCH) is trying to help create a Congressional History Caucus in the US House of Representatives. The Society of Ohio Archivists is a member of NCH and the SOA Advocacy group of the Advocacy & Outreach Committee supports the effort.

For more information on this effort, go to the NCH web site www.historycoalition.org and the related “Dear Colleague” letter in the House to see the purpose and goals for the caucus.

NCH’s goal is to have 50 members signed on before Congress breaks for the Memorial Day recess. The SOA Advocacy group would like to see SOA members to invite members of the Ohio delegation to become members of the caucus. We need for SOA members (plus friends and associates too) to contact your representatives—or their staff members—to encourage them to join. Phone calls, e-mails, visits to the district offices are all good. We ask that you make the contacts before the SOA spring conference. For information on House members from Ohio go www.house.gov/representatives/ and to the list for Ohio. Most members have a web site that includes phone numbers for both the DC and district offices. And once you do make the contact please let either Robin Heise ([email protected]) or George Bain ([email protected]) know so we can assess how well we are doing and what we can expect from this. Thanks.

Advocacy & Outreach Committee Participates in Statehood Day

Several members of the SOA Advocacy & Outreach Committee will be participating in Statehood Day on March 4, 2015 in an effort to promote and support the CARMA (County Archivists and Records Managers Association) Legislative Committee’s proposal to amend ORC 149.43. This proposal would lift any access restrictions on records with permanent retention after 100 years from the date the record is finalized and closed.

Statehood Day is a day to celebrate the history of the State of Ohio as well as a day to advocate on legislative issues that may impact archival repositories throughout the state. Committee members will be available and working with the CARMA Legislative Committee to promote their proposal and answer any questions that participants may have. Committee members will also be encouraging participants to bring this issue to their local legislative representative and to explain the importance of this proposed amendment.

Important records such as: Adoptions, Lunacy, County Home Registers, Children’s Home Registers, Witness Dockets, Juvenile Court Cases, and Veteran’s Relief Records are some of the records that would become open to the public if this proposal is adopted. These records are important to researchers as they provide valuable insight into our collective history as a state, as a society, and as families. For more information on the CARMA proposal, please visit the SOA Advocacy & Outreach Committee at Statehood Day.

For more information please visit Ohio History Connection’s page for Statehood day.

Celebrating Archives Month in Ohio

Ohio Senator Joe Eucker (center), who represents Clermont County (Utopia) in the state senate, receives a 2014 Archives Month poster from State Archivist Fred Previts (left) and SOA Archives Month Committee chair George Bain (right) in his Statehouse office in early October.

State Representative Doug Green, who represents Utopia, OH (Clermont County), poses by the historical marker that relates the community’s beginnings. A photo of Utopia from 1940 is featured on the Society of Ohio Archivists’ Archives Month 2014 poster.

For more information about Archives Month in Ohio, see the Archives Month page.