Register Now: SOA/OLHA 2020 Joint Meeting (Virtual)

Join the Society of Ohio Archivists and the Ohio Local History Association for our joint fall meeting: History is Happening Now, October 1-3, 2020.

Melanie Adams, Keynote speaker for OLHA/SOA 2020

This is OLHA’s annual meeting with the addition of a SOA track on Thursday & Friday, serving as SOA’s fall conference. Come for SOA’s sessions or come for the entire conference! This year, registration covers the full conference including the keynote, “The Urgency of Now: Taking Risks to Serve Your Community” with Melanie Adams, Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Register online through September 25 or download a form to print and mail. Fees: Member (SOA/OLHA) $40; Nonmember $50; Student/Unemployed/Furloughed $20.

All sessions will be virtual and held using the Zoom meeting and webinar platform. See the Annual Meeting page for schedule and more!

Questions? Contact the Committee Cochairs Rachael Bussert and William Modrow.

Last Updated on December 6, 2022 by janet_carleton

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.

Last Updated on September 23, 2020 by janet_carleton

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

A 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 →

Last Updated on August 11, 2020 by janet_carleton

SOA Council Minutes Available

The Society of Ohio Archivists most recent leadership meeting minutes, from July 7, 2020, can be found on the Council Meeting Minutes page.

Interested in SOA over time? Also on that page are minutes dating all the way back to 1997. Minutes also include reports from the treasurer and committees.

Last Updated on July 22, 2020 by janet_carleton

New SOA Committee Cochairs named, summer 2020

Adam Wanter, president of the Society of Ohio Archivists, is pleased to announce new committee cochair appointments. Cochair terms are for two years, with possibility of one renewal. Terms run from June to July.

See the Committees page for information on all of SOA’s committees. Interested in committee work? Contact that committee’s chairs–info on that page.

Advocacy and Outreach
Jenifer Baker, Warren County Records Center & Archives replaces Melissa Dalton, Greene County Records Center and Archives, who was elected to Council. Jenifer joins Cochair Natalie Fritz, Clark County Historical Society.

Educational Programming
Rachael Bussert, Dayton Metro Library, replaces Stephanie Bricking, Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, who completed her term. Rachael joins Cochair William Modrow, Miami University.

Marketing and Communications
Amanda Rindler, Ohio History Connection, joins Cochair Janet Carleton, Ohio University.

Last Updated on July 30, 2020 by janet_carleton

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

The 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.

Last Updated on August 5, 2020 by janet_carleton

SOA Merit Award Winner: Licking County Records & Archives

The Society of Ohio Archivists Merit Award is awarded to individuals or organizations that have by excellence in deeds, actions, or initiatives improved the state of archives in Ohio over the past year.

Licking County Records & Archives entrance. Photo courtesy Licking County Records & Archives

This year the Awards Committee chose two recipients for the 2020 award. The winners were Cate Putirskis and the Licking County Records and Archives Department. In this post we feature Licking County Records & Archives.

In 2018, Licking County Records and Archives was tasked with removing more than 100 years of records stored in the Licking County Courthouse attic. After three days of work, staff had removed hundreds of boxes and more than 300 bound volumes, including historical books from the County Clerk of Courts, Treasurer, and Auditor. All of the books were either contaminated with mold, covered in bird and bat feces, or deteriorating from poor storage conditions. Continue reading →

Last Updated on May 18, 2021 by janet_carleton

SOA Merit Award Winner: Cate Putirskis

Cate Putirskis portrait. Photo courtesy The Ohio State University.

This year the Awards Committee chose two recipients for the 2020 award.The winners were Cate Putirskis and the Licking County Records and Archives Department. In this post we feature Cate.

Cate Putirskis is honored for her exemplary contributions to archival practices and the profession. She has developed and shared innovative approaches to technical services for archival collections as manager of Archival Description and Access at The Ohio State University Libraries. Cate employs agile methodology and project tracking software to manage a busy team of permanent, contractual, and student employees. This novel approach to archival processing has led to significant gains. Continue reading →

Last Updated on May 18, 2021 by janet_carleton

SOA 2020 Annual Meeting Recordings & Slides Available

The Society of Ohio Archivists’ Annual Meeting: Archiving 100 Years of Change was held online via Zoom on Tuesday June 16 & Wednesday June 17. Over the course of two days, we enjoyed informative and engaging sessions on digitizing community collections, digital preservation, preserving oral histories, learning from challenges in the archives, and more.

View the recordings, including the plenary by Kimberly Hamlin on “Finding Sex, Race, and Suffrage in the Archives: What I Found When I Looked for Helen Hamilton Gardener in the Library of Congress’s Manuscript Collections” on the meeting’s playlist on YouTube at https://bit.ly/soaam20-videos.

Slides can be found on the Annual Meeting Schedule.

Sponsors: Hollinger Metal Edge conference sponsor | Ohio Humanities, plenary sponsor.

Thank you to all the presenters, sponsors, and Educational Programming Committee members for making it all possible!

Last Updated on June 23, 2020 by janet_carleton