Twin Cities Archives Round Table

“Handle with Care”
2023 Minnesota Archives Symposium

Minnesota Historical Society’s Minnesota History Center (MNHS), November 6, 2023.

All events in the second floor Education Wing at the MNHS unless otherwise noted. Program subject to change.

8:30am Coffee and Tea Break
Sponsored by the Minnesota Historical Society.

9:00am Welcome, friends and colleagues!

9:15am Special Guest Speaker: Alvina Brueggeman on the Topic of Self Care

Alvina has a Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology, with a post-baccalaureate certificate in Complementary Therapies and Integrative Healing Practices. She has participated in a variety of yoga/meditation practices and has taught yoga/meditation in numerous settings. Most recently, Alvina has taught meditation to teens/pre-teens in the Juvenile Justice Center and Common Ground Meditation Center, as well as to adults in a non-profit yoga studio. Alvina has led stress reduction sessions in college settings and served one year as president of the University of Minnesota Mindfulness Club while attending graduate school. Her passion for teaching extends to college students whom she teaches as an adjunct lecturer in Holistic Health Studies and Psychology. Alvina is currently a quality improvement consultant at M Health Fairview. She explores justice work through an employee resource group focusing on leadership opportunities for BIPOC employees at M Health Fairview. 

Guest speaker sponsored by Saving Tape.

10:00am Introducing the Minnesota Alliance for Heritage Response 

Grant Wilson, Stearns History Museum Library & Archives

The Minnesota Alliance for Heritage Response MN-AHR is a newly formed network of museums, archives, libraries, performing arts organizations, historic preservation groups, and emergency responders dedicated to preparing for and responding to disasters affecting collections and historic properties across the state. The organization held its first event, Minnesota Heritage Response Training, in September 2022 with the support of the Foundation for Advancement in Conservation and the National Endowment for the Humanities. In 2023, its Board of Directors was selected and the organization formally approved its charter and by-laws. The presentation will elaborate on the organization’s future plans and the ways in which MN-AHR intends to provide resources to help cultural institution professionals prepare for a variety of disasters. 

10:30am It’s a Safety Dance! – GLAM Security Surveys, Planning, and Implementation

Crystal Boyd, Golden Valley Historical Society

Safeguarding collections is mission-critical to archives and museums. Let’s explore three phases for improving security: surveys, planning, and implementation. We’ll also compare notes about funding sources, discuss writing a Request for Proposals (RFP) to find a security contractor, and examine local case studies.

11:00am Archiving Sacred Spaces: Building the George Floyd Global Memorial

Jeanelle Austin, Executive Director of George Floyd Global Memorial
Heather Carroll, Archiving Sacred Spaces Fellow at George Floyd Global Memorial

On May 25, 2020, George Floyd was lynched by the Minneapolis Police Department. In response to this atrocity, neighbors near the intersection of 38th Street E and Chicago Ave S–where he took his last breath–cared for each other and the emerging memorial as a protest to racial injustice. This work of memorial caretaking created an ethic for collections care that is people-centered and formed the George Floyd Global Memorial. This institution is more than a home for memorial offerings and public stories—it exists to challenge and scrutinize an industry that marginalizes black voices from archiving their lived experiences. This presentation will invite listeners to consider how archiving a sacred space like the memorial at George Floyd Square creates opportunities for reimagining collections care as community care.

12:00pm Lunch
Sponsored by members of the Twin Cities Archives Round Table (TCART) and St. Catherine University’s MLIS program.

12:00pm-3:00pm Choose your own adventure! Activities include:

– Meet the MNHS Union!
Curious about the MNHS Union? Union members will be having lunch in the Heffelfinger Lounge on the first floor (across the hall from the ticket desk). Swing by, and ask them some questions!

– Visit the Our Home: Native Minnesota and Reframing Our Stories exhibits on the third floor!

– Take a tour of the MNHS Book and Paper Conservation Lab! (Prior registration required.)

–  Have a chat with Saving Tape!
Thor Anderson at Saving Tape Media Conversion will be available in the Education Suite lobby to answer all your digitization questions. 

2:30pm Sugar and Spice When Everything Is Not So Nice: Care and Consideration When Working With Emotionally Heavy Records 

Meagan Kellom, Archival Collections Cataloger, Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS)
Joyce Lopez, Digitization Supervisor, MNHS
Perry Schussler, Government Records Archivist, MNHS
Anne Thayer, Reference Librarian, MNHS
Jennifer Wagner, Reference Librarian, MNHS

This panel presentation/discussion is focused on caring for all the people involved with emotionally heavy records in archives: ourselves, each other, researchers, and the subjects of the records.  A panel of MNHS staff–representing different aspects of records’ life and use–will use government records as a case study to share ideas and focus comments.

TCART Business Meeting to follow

The Twin Cities Archives Round Table is pleased to announce the eleventh annual Minnesota Archives Symposium (MAS). MAS is a local educational and networking opportunity for archivists, librarians, records managers, curators, and other information professionals. We seek to broaden opportunities to share knowledge and insights among peers at a local level. The Minnesota Archives Symposium will be held at the Minnesota Historical Society on November 6, 2023, with a hybrid option highly likely.

This year’s topic is Handle with Care. How are we caring for our collections, our community, our colleagues, and ourselves? How might an ethic of care guide our work during difficult or uncertain times?

Registration Information:

Registration is FREE, but we ask that participants register by October 27. Please enter the email you used for your membership. All symposium communication will be sent to this email. Please register via the Symposium Registration Form.

Schedule of Events*

• 8:30am Coffee and Tea Break
• 9:00am Welcome to the Symposium 
• 9:15am Special Guest Speaker: Alvina Brueggemann, PhD
• 10:00am Introducing the Minnesota Alliance for Heritage Response 
• 10:30am It’s a Safety Dance! – GLAM Security Surveys, Planning, and Implementation
• 11:00am Archiving Sacred Spaces: Building the George Floyd Global Memorial
• 12:00pm Lunch Provided from Apple Spice
• 12:00pm-3:00pm Exhibits, Tours, and Meet & Greets
• 2:30pm Afternoon Refuel
• 3:00pm Sugar and Spice When Everything Is Not So Nice: Care and Consideration When Working With Emotionally Heavy Records
• TCART Business Meeting to follow

*Full program listed below.

A note about lunch:

Lunch this year will be boxed lunch options from Apple Spice. Vegan and gluten-free options are available, however, Apple Spice is NOT a nut-free facility. If you would prefer to bring your own lunch, please do. Lunch orders will not be eligible for alterations. Onsite registrations will be accepted, but lunches will not be available for members who register after October 27.

“Handle with Care:” 2023 Minnesota Archives Symposium

Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS), November 6, 2023
All events in the second floor Education Wing at the MNHS unless otherwise noted.

8:30am Coffee and Tea Break
Sponsored by the Minnesota Historical Society.

9:00am Welcome, friends and colleagues!

9:15am Special Guest Speaker: Alvina Brueggeman on the Topic of Self Care

Alvina has a Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology, with a post-baccalaureate certificate in Complementary Therapies and Integrative Healing Practices. She has participated in a variety of yoga/meditation practices and has taught yoga/meditation in numerous settings. Most recently, Alvina has taught meditation to teens/pre-teens in the Juvenile Justice Center and Common Ground Meditation Center, as well as to adults in a non-profit yoga studio. Alvina has led stress reduction sessions in college settings and served one year as president of the University of Minnesota Mindfulness Club while attending graduate school. Her passion for teaching extends to college students whom she teaches as an adjunct lecturer in Holistic Health Studies and Psychology. Alvina is currently a quality improvement consultant at M Health Fairview. She explores justice work through an employee resource group focusing on leadership opportunities for BIPOC employees at M Health Fairview. 

Guest speaker sponsored by Saving Tape.

10:00am Introducing the Minnesota Alliance for Heritage Response 

Grant Wilson, Stearns History Museum Library & Archives

The Minnesota Alliance for Heritage Response MN-AHR is a newly formed network of museums, archives, libraries, performing arts organizations, historic preservation groups, and emergency responders dedicated to preparing for and responding to disasters affecting collections and historic properties across the state. The organization held its first event, Minnesota Heritage Response Training, in September 2022 with the support of the Foundation for Advancement in Conservation and the National Endowment for the Humanities. In 2023, its Board of Directors was selected and the organization formally approved its charter and by-laws. The presentation will elaborate on the organization’s future plans and the ways in which MN-AHR intends to provide resources to help cultural institution professionals prepare for a variety of disasters. 

10:30am It’s a Safety Dance! – GLAM Security Surveys, Planning, and Implementation

Crystal Boyd, Golden Valley Historical Society

Safeguarding collections is mission-critical to archives and museums. Let’s explore three phases for improving security: surveys, planning, and implementation. We’ll also compare notes about funding sources, discuss writing a Request for Proposals (RFP) to find a security contractor, and examine local case studies.

11:00am Archiving Sacred Spaces: Building the George Floyd Global Memorial

Jeanelle Austin, Executive Director of George Floyd Global Memorial
Heather Carroll, Archiving Sacred Spaces Fellow at George Floyd Global Memorial

On May 25, 2020, George Floyd was lynched by the Minneapolis Police Department. In response to this atrocity, neighbors near the intersection of 38th Street E and Chicago Ave S–where he took his last breath–cared for each other and the emerging memorial as a protest to racial injustice. This work of memorial caretaking created an ethic for collections care that is people-centered and formed the George Floyd Global Memorial. This institution is more than a home for memorial offerings and public stories—it exists to challenge and scrutinize an industry that marginalizes black voices from archiving their lived experiences. This presentation will invite listeners to consider how archiving a sacred space like the memorial at George Floyd Square creates opportunities for reimagining collections care as community care.

12:00pm Lunch
Sponsored by members of the Twin Cities Archives Round Table (TCART).

12:00pm-3:00pm Choose your own adventure! Activities include:

– Meet the MNHS Union!
Curious about the MNHS Union? Union members will be having lunch in the Heffelfinger Lounge on the first floor (across the hall from the ticket desk). Swing by, and ask them some questions!

– Visit the Our Home: Native Minnesota and Reframing our Narratives exhibits on the third floor!
Open to all attendees, no advance registration required.

– Take a tour of the MNHS Book and Paper Conservation Lab!
Limited spots, advance registration required. Priority given to outstate TCART members. Sign up via the Symposium Registration Form.

–  Have a chat with Saving Tape!
Thor Anderson at Saving Tape Media Conversion will be available in the Education Suite lobby to answer all your digitization questions. 

2:30pm Afternoon Refuel

Sponsored by St. Catherine University’s MLIS program.

3:00pm Sugar and Spice When Everything Is Not So Nice: Care and Consideration When Working With Emotionally Heavy Records 

Meagan Kellom, Archival Collections Cataloger, Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS)
Joyce Lopez, Digitization Supervisor, MNHS
Perry Schussler, Government Records Archivist, MNHS
Anne Thayer, Reference Librarian, MNHS
Jennifer Wagner, Reference Librarian, MNHS

This panel presentation/discussion is focused on caring for all the people involved with emotionally heavy records in archives: ourselves, each other, researchers, and the subjects of the records.  A panel of MNHS staff–representing different aspects of records’ life and use–will use government records as a case study to share ideas and focus comments.

TCART Business Meeting to follow

The Minnesota Archives Symposium will be held Monday, November 6 at the Minnesota History Center in Saint Paul, MN. Driving and parking instructions can be found here: https://www.mnhs.org/historycenter/visit/directions. (Please note that parking at the History Center is free during the symposium).

The theme of this year’s symposium is “Handle With Care.”

Providing care is core to the archival profession. It is well-recognized that we provide care for the collections entrusted to us as well as to the collection users and community members who activate the materials under our care. Recent archives discourse has investigated how providing care and the act of caregiving impacts our profession more broadly, asking us to think deeply about what concepts such as responsible stewardship, radical empathy, and work-life balance mean to us and our profession.

During the symposium, we will reflect on the concept of care. How are we caring for our collections, our community, our colleagues, and ourselves? How might an ethic of care guide our work during difficult or uncertain times?

The planning committee is seeking proposals that explore the myriad ways care manifests itself in our work. Please send proposals to tcartmn@gmail.com by September 8th. Include a title for your presentation, a brief description of your talk, a list of speaker(s), and the preferred length of your presentation (15 minute presentation, 30 minute presentation, etc.). You do not have to be a member of TCART to submit a proposal.

Is there something you want to say, but you’re not sure how to shape it into a proposal or a presentation? The TCART officers are always happy to brainstorm with you. Just send us an email!