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 →

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.

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: 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.

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 →

Mark your calendars! The Society of Ohio Archivists is planning another hybrid Annual Meeting on Thursday (virtual only) and Friday (hybrid), May 15-16, 2025. The in-person portion of the conference (Friday, May 16) will be held at the University of Toledo in Toledo, Ohio.

The theme for 2025 is Show Me the Money: Sustaining Archives and Archival Programs. A call for proposals will be posted next week. Follow the conversation online at #soaam25.

We hope to see you all in May,
Sara Mouch and Michelle Sweetser, Co-Chairs, Society of Ohio Archivists Educational Programming Committee

The 2024 Society of Ohio Archivists Annual Meeting was held on Thursday (virtual only) and Friday (hybrid), May 16-17 with the theme of Archives for All: Enhancing Accessibility and Inclusivity.

Recordings for 9 session presentations, including the keynote speaker Dr. Lydia Tang, are now available on the SOA YouTube channel.

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

Questions? Please contact Sara Mouch or Michelle Sweetser, Co-Chairs, Society of Ohio Archivists Educational Programming Committee.