5th Annual Minnesota Archives Symposium

Archives in Conversation

Monday, November 14th at Elmer L. Andersen Library, University of Minnesota

Archivists today have a lot to talk about. From finding funding for our increasingly complex projects, to the challenges of born-digital records, to bringing our collections to new audiences, conversations about important issues are happening at every level of our profession, across different types of repositories and institutions. This year at the Minnesota Archives Symposium we will forego a singular theme, and instead focus on conversations. We will host panels around several topics of interest to our profession, encouraging panelists from different institutions to talk about their struggles and solutions surrounding similar issues. Learn from the experiences of your colleagues, and join the conversation!

Registration for this event is FREE.

Schedule of Events:

10:00am – 10:30am: Optional Tour of Archives & Special Collections (max. 20 people)
10:30am – 11:00am: Registration and coffee, mingle with vendors
11:00am – 11:10am: Welcome to Symposium
11:10am – 11:30am: TCART Business meeting
11:30am – 12:30pm: Session One: Engagement
12:30pm – 1:30pm: Lunch (provided), mingle with vendors
1:00pm – 1:30pm: Optional Tour of Archives & Special Collections (max. 20 people)
1:30pm – 2:30pm: Session Two: Young Professionals
2:30pm – 3:30pm: Session Three: Lone Arrangers
3:30pm – 3:45pm: Break
3:45pm – 4:15pm: Session Four: Born-Digital Materials
4:15pm – 4:45pm: Session Five: Grants
5:00pm: Optional Happy Hour at nearby bar

The symposium will take place on Monday, November 14th at Elmer L. Andersen Library at the University of Minnesota. Directions and information on where to park can be found here.

Registration Information:
Registration is FREE, but we ask that participants complete the registration form by Monday, November 7th. Onsite registrations will be accepted.

Questions?:
Please contact TCART at tcartmn@gmail.com  or for questions and information, contact Kate Dietrick at diet0134@umn.edu.

Minnesota Archives Symposium Full Schedule

•  10:00am – 10:30am: Optional Tour of Archives & Special Collections Caverns (max. 20 people)
• 10:30am – 11:00am: Registration and coffee, mingle with vendors

• 11:00am – 11:10am: Welcome to Symposium

• 11:10am – 11:30am: TCART Business meeting

• 11:30am – 12:30pm: Session One: Engagement

Outreach is a critical function of every archives. While our collections are full of fascinating materials, they often need archives staff and community advocates to interpret them in ways that connect them with potential researchers and informants. Panelists in this session will discuss a variety of outreach approaches, including using local communities for zine collecting, crowdsourcing identification of photographs, promoting newly digitized materials, and working with a donor’s family to preserve and promote his artistic legacy.

Speakers:

Violet Fox, College of St. Benedict/St. John’s University

Ted Hathaway, Hennepin County Library

Audra Hilse, Anoka County Historical Society

Karen Obermeyer-Kolb, University of Minnesota

Sarah Carlson, University of Minnesota

• 12:30pm – 1:30pm: Lunch (provided), mingle with vendors

• 1:00pm – 1:30pm: Optional Tour of Archives & Special Collections Caverns (max. 20 people)

• 1:30pm – 2:30pm: Session Two: Young Professionals

How do you find success as a new archivist? Six archivists will speak on their experiences establishing an archival career, from volunteering all the way up to establishing full-time employment. With positions from non-profits to academia to corporate archives, speakers will reflect on how they got to where they are today (including  hurdles they faced along the way.) In addition, panelists will discuss how established professionals can mentor and supervise new graduates and employees to success.

Speakers:

Lisa Calahan, University of Minnesota

Kate McManus, Minnesota Public Radio

Jennifer Shaw, University of Minnesota

Stewart Van Cleve, Winona State University

Jessica Faucher, General Mills, Inc. Archives

Carissa Hansen, Hennepin County Library, Special Collections

• 2:30pm – 3:30pm: Session Three: Lone Arrangers

This panel will discuss advocacy and engagement within and beyond our different institutions, and how to foster connections when you are a lone arranger with a lot on your plate.

Speakers: Ann Kenne is the Head of Special Collections & University Archivist at the University of St. Thomas, and has been a lone arranger for most of her career of 20+ years.  She will be talking about fostering connections both within your organization and with others outside of your organization.

Audra Hilse is Archivist at the Anoka County Historical Society. She will be discussing having an Acquisitions Committee composed of Board members, and how she is able to get buy-in, engagement, and support from them.

Shana Aue is the Special Collections & Archives Librarian at the University of Wisconsin-Superior. In addition to being a lone arranger, she is also a reference librarian and library liaison to academic departments. She will be talking about advocating for the archives and for time spent on archives work when you have other library responsibilities.

• 3:30pm – 3:45pm: Break

• 3:45pm – 4:15pm: Session Four: Born-Digital Materials

The challenges of born digital records are well-known to most archivists; for years professional literature, workshops, and trainings have informed us of the complexities and issues around these materials.  But what happens when theory meets reality?  How do real institutions transform high-level guidelines into practical procedures? Lara Friedman-Shedlov and Sarah Barsness will give an overview of how their institutions, the Archives and Special Collections Department at the University of Minnesota Libraries and the Minnesota Historical Society, have been accessioning, ingesting, and storing born digital material for access by researchers, including some of the struggles, the solutions, and lessons learned.

Speakers:

Lara Friedman-Shedlov, University of Minnesota

Sarah Barsness, Minnesota Historical Society

• 4:15pm – 4:45pm: Session Five: Grants

Grant preparation and writing has become a major component of many archivists as funding for projects have become scarce.  Grants provide an excellent opportunity to fund small and large archival projects.  Erik Moore as served as a grant reviewer for both NEH and NHPRC grants, and has submitted grants to fund archival processing and digitization efforts at the University of Minnesota.  Melinda works on general grants’ administration and the Legacy Program, and brings her knowledge of the Minnesota Historical Cultural Heritage Grants and the Minnesota Historical Society’s Heritage Partnership Program. The panel will share their experiences reviewing, writing, and discuss grant opportunities available to archives.

Speakers:

Erik Moore, University of Minnesota

Melinda Hutchinson, Minnesota Historical Society

• 5:00pm: Optional Happy Hour at nearby bar