Conference Highlights

Pre-Conference Workshop (CANCELLED)

In archives and society one of the large generational themes is that archivists and manuscript curators feel “trapped in a cycle of poverty.” Many are actively involved in important advocacy, outreach and program development activities in support of their directors and supervisors; nevertheless, the chronic refrain of archivists is that they lack program resources to carry out their mission to preserve and make available their records. Archivists face pressure and enlarged expectations to go beyond the basics (from processing and client services to the digitization of archival assets). Many will argue that fundraising is work they can’t do, or it is work that they are not allowed to do for a variety of reasons. Or, others are interested in fundraising but they don’t know where to start.

Drawing on a successful Oberlin College Archives fundraising campaign conducted during 2005-07, the workshop leader will discuss three critical stages of professional advocacy: building up relationships over the years with individuals and organizations; winning internal approvals to run a campaign and obtaining the support of the Development Office; and convincing potential donors to make financial gifts to a targeted campaign for a new endowment or a special project. Also discussed will be methodological approaches to identify potential donors for special support, to sustain momentum over the course of a multi-year campaign, and to make fundraising a part of normal activities.

The workshop will have an interactive component (namely, to give participants an opportunity to discuss the hurdles they face to fund-raise at their respective institutions). Fundraising and development planning are critical elements in the work of an archivist. This important work is a programmatic challenge especially during the current economic climate.

Join staff from the Ohio Historical Society to learn tips for writing successful grants and discover possible funding sources. This half-day workshop will begin with a session on how to write compelling grants. Participants will hear more about grants from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, National Endowment for Humanities, Institute for Museum and Library Services and other sources. The workshop wraps-up with an open forum to answer your grant-writing questions.

Tours

1) Introduction to the Archives/Library. Louise Jones, Manager of the Research Services Department, will give participants an introduction to the Ohio Historical Society's Reading Room. Participants will learn about the resources available in the Reading Room, the Research Services operations of the Society, and new approaches to providing access. Limit: 20 participants.

2) OHS Digitization Tour. Join Angela O'Neal, Manager of the Preservation and Access Services Department, for a behind-the-scenes tour of the Society's digitization operations. Participants will learn about the digitization operations of the Society, including a tour of the new Betterlight large-format camera. Limit: 15 participants.

*Sign up will be available the day of the conference.

Plenary Session

Title: What we are learning from Google & Flickr about digitization and partnership

Presentation Description: Cultural heritage organizations preserve materials about our past so we can access them in the future. This work is done for the public good. Now institutions that have profit motives are partnering with archives, museums and libraries to make digitized materials more widely available. What benefits are being realized from these efforts? What concerns are being raised? What are we learning about for-profit and not-for-profit partnerships? This presentation will explore these and other questions that are being raised.

Speaker: Jill Hurst-Wahl is president of Hurst Associates, Ltd. and a Professor of Practice in Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies. Jill has worked on digitization planning projects with several library consortia, as well as private (in-house) projects. She helps clients think about and make critical decisions about all aspects of a digitization program including project planning, project management, vendor selection, intellectual property concerns and material access. As an outgrowth of her work in digitization, Jill writes on the topic in her blog, Digitization 101, which strives to keep people up-to-date on changes in the digitization landscape.