Category Archives: Conferences / Meetings

Call for Nominations for the 2026 Merit Award

The SOA Membership & Awards Committee seeks nominations for the 2026 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 and MAC Joint Annual Meeting, which will be held on May 14-16, 2026, at the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.

A fillable PDF Merit Award nomination form is available to download. The Merit Award rubric is available for your reference. Deadline to apply is March 13, 2026.

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 emailed to Membership & Awards Committee co-chairs Stephanie Shreffler and Julia Teran.

Call for Nominations to SOA Leadership 2026

The SOA Nominating Committee announces a call for nominations for:

Vice President/President-Elect,
Treasurer,
Member of Council, and
JEDAI Committee Co-chair.

Self-nominations and peer nominations are welcomed and encouraged. We also encourage nominations from new professionals and/or individuals seeking to get involved in a professional organization for the first time. All positions are for two-year terms of office, except for the VP/President/Past President cycle, which is one-year in each position (a total commitment of three years).

If elected, you must be a current SOA member in good standing by the beginning of your term and willing and able to attend monthly council meetings and business activities (virtually or in person).

The election will be held during the SOA Annual Business Meeting, which will occur during the SOA Annual Meeting on May 14-16, 2026. Prior to the election, candidates will be required to respond to a question printed in the Ohio Archivist.

More details about responsibilities and terms can be found in the SOA Constitution and Bylaws.

Please send nominations or questions to the Nominating Committee Chair Matt Francis by Friday, February 26, 2026.

Annual Meeting: Call for Poster Presentations 2026

The Midwest Archives Conference and the Society of Ohio Archivists will hold a joint 2026 Annual Meeting on May 14-16, 2026 at the Ohio Union on The Ohio State University’s campus in Columbus, Ohio.

Founded in 1870 as the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College, The Ohio State University sits a few miles north of downtown Columbus. A city unto itself with an enrollment of more than 65,000, Ohio State is known for its top ranked academic programs in engineering, agriculture, and business, its world class research endeavors. For more information about the host and the conference, see the meeting website.

The 2026 Program Committee invites poster proposal submissions on all aspects of archival practice and research, as well as on topics from allied and related fields. The Program Committee seeks a diverse slate of presenters, representing a variety of personal and institutional backgrounds, perspectives, and voices. We seek to foster a culture of inclusion in the MAC-SOA program and encourage submissions from students, new professionals, first-time presenters, and those from allied professions. Membership in MAC and/or SOA is not required to present. Poster presentations will be onsite only, and at least one author must be present.

Proposals are due by 11:59p CST February 8, 2026. There will be no deadline extension.

The Program Committee invites poster proposals touching on the theme “Find it Here.”

Potential areas of focus include:

Distinct approaches to collecting, reference, and instruction
Overcoming challenges to making collections accessible and discoverable
Successful community archiving projects and partnerships
Utilizing facilities in unique ways to highlight and provide access to collections

For more ideas, see the earlier conference Call for Session Proposals here. Continue reading →

Meet-up at MAC/SOA Annual Meeting 2026

Save the date! May 14 for an SOA meet-up at the annual meeting

The Midwest Archives Conference and the Society of Ohio Archivists will hold a joint 2026 Annual Meeting on May 14-16, 2026, at the Ohio Union, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.

During the meeting, SOA will host a meet-up on Thursday, May 14, 2026, from 11:30a to 12:30p in the Third Floor Lounge. Meet and greet your fellow SOA members before the conference starts. See who’s in town or meet new friends before heading off to lunch, on your own or with a group.

Questions? Contact the Educational Programming Committee cochairs Sara Mouch and Adam Wanter.

Call for Session Proposals: MAC/SOA Joint Annual Meeting, May 2026

The Midwest Archives Conference and the Society of Ohio Archivists will hold a joint 2026 Annual Meeting on May 14-16, 2026, at the Ohio Union, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. For more information about the host and the conference, see the meeting website: https://www.midwestarchives.org/2026-annual-meeting

From 2015 until 2023, Ohio’s tourism slogan was “Find it Here.” As a slogan, it raised the obvious question, “Find what here?”; but as an archives motto…well, to “Find it Here” is an archivist’s greatest hope for anyone exploring their collections. Join us as we explore the myriad ways in which archivists and memory workers make their collections accessible, discoverable, and usable.

Call for Session Proposals

The Program Committee encourages submissions from newer professionals, first-time presenters, and colleagues from non-academic institutions. A MAC or SOA membership is not required. Presenters may submit more than one proposal, but may present only one session OR poster. We also encourage those from smaller shops to submit presentations for a focused SOA track. We want to hear from the solo archivists or from those with more limited institutional support! Continue reading →

Save the Date: SOA & MAC Joint Annual Meeting 2026

Save the Date: May 14-16, 2026

The Society of Ohio Archivists and Midwest Archives Conference will hold a joint meeting on May 14–16, 2026, on the campus of The Ohio State University. Conference workshops, sessions, and meetings will be held in the Ohio Union. Hotel accommodations and the reception will be held at the University’s hotel, the Blackwell Inn.

The MAC 2026 annual meeting website is live and will continue to be updated as more details become available. Already available is the hotel booking information. The Blackwell Inn does not charge a deposit at the time of booking, so please consider booking a room now.

The Program Committee will be issuing a call for proposals soon. Check back for additional details!

Questions? Contact the Educational Programming Committee cochairs Sara Mouch and Adam Wanter.

Recordings & Speaker Slides from 2025 Annual Meeting Available

The 2025 Society of Ohio Archivists Annual Meeting was held on Thursday (virtual only) and Friday (hybrid), May 15-16 with the theme of Show Me the Money: Sustaining Archives and Archival Programs

Recordings for 6 session presentations, including the keynote speaker Patricia Hswe, are now available on the SOA YouTube channel.

See the Annual Meeting page for more details and links to the speaker slides.

If you have any questions, please contact the EPC co-chairs Sara Mouch or Michelle Sweetser.

Council Meeting Minutes from April 25 and May 16, 2025

The Society of Ohio Archivists most recent leadership meeting minutes from April 25, 2025, and the Annual Business meeting minutes from May 16, 2025, 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.

SOA Election Results 2025

During the recent Annual Meeting at the University of Toledo, new council members were elected.

SOA would like to welcome the following new leaders:

Jennifer Long Morehart, Bowling Green State University, President (2025-2026)
Kristen Newby, Columbus Metropolitan Library, Vice President/President-Elect (2025-2026)
Shelby Beatty, Sinclair Community College, re-elected Secretary (2025-2027)
Darrell Blevins Jr., recent Public History graduate, Wright State University, Council Member (2025-2027)
Michelle Ganz, Dominican Sisters of Peace, Justice, Equity, Diversity, Accessibility, and Inclusion (JEDAI) Committee Co-Chair with voting rights (2025-2027)
Hannah Kemp-Severence, University of Akron Archives and Special Collections, Justice, Equity, Diversity, Accessibility, and Inclusion (JEDAI) Committee Co-Chair with voting rights (2025-2026)

A big thanks to the Nominating Committee. Also, thank you to everyone who participated!

Officer Transitions:

Jennifer Long Morehart, Bowling Green State University, transitions from Vice President to President. Thanks to Jennifer for her commitment to SOA.
Matt Francis, Ohio Northern University, transitions from President to Past-President. Thanks to Matt for his continued leadership.
Melissa Dalton, Preserve It, LLC, completed her term as Past-President. Thanks to Melissa for her work on Council.
Kristen Newby completed her term as Council Member. Thanks to Kristen for her continued service to SOA as she moves to Vice President/President-Elect.

For more information see the Officer and Council Member roster, Committees & Task Forces page, and the Nominating Committee page.

Annual Meeting 2025 Registration Now Open

Registration is now open for the 2025 Annual Meeting: Show Me the Money: Sustaining Archives and Archival Programs, May 15-16! Register online or mail-in in this form (PDF).

This May, the Society of Ohio Archivists Annual Meeting will be traveling to Toledo, Ohio! Join us on Thursday, May 15 (virtual), and on Friday, May 16 (hybrid) at the University of Toledo. Day one (Thursday) is comprised of all virtual sessions, available to all registrants. Day two (Friday) is a full day of in-person sessions with one session in each time block live streamed for virtual attendees.

Keynotes: We are excited to announce Patricia Hswe as our morning keynote speaker. Patricia Hswe is the program director for Public Knowledge at The Mellon Foundation. As the Foundation’s program area that supports libraries and archives, Public Knowledge makes grants that strive to increase equitable access to—and activation of—recorded knowledge that helps to build an informed, heterogeneous, and civically engaged society. Patricia is currently a member of the board of trustees for the Metropolitan New York Library Council and sits in the advisory team for LibraryPAC. Continue reading →