As a continuation of SOA’s “Crucial Conversations” series, this presentation focuses on community archives projects in LGBTQ+ communities across Ohio for the SOA track. To raise awareness about community archives and LGBTQ+ collections in Ohio, the session will be moderated by a Justice, Equity, Diversity, Accessibility, and Inclusion (JEDAI) committee member, with questions focusing on issues in community archives and the importance of preserving history of underrepresented groups. The panel will feature representatives from the Akron LGBTQ+ Archives and the Ohio Lesbian Archives to talk about how they built their community archives, how they function, and how they receive support. Representatives from the University of Toledo will speak about the LGBTQ+ collections they hold, how connections were made with the donors, and what work is being done (digitization, etc.) to bring awareness of these collection resources to the broader public. Time will be allotted at the end of the presentations for questions and suggestions from the audience. Along with chronicling LGBTQ+ archival collections in Ohio, this presentation will view the issue of community archiving from several different standpoints, allowing you the opportunity to learn not only about the process of starting and maintaining a community archive, but also the on-going struggles of such programs and what forms of support are needed for their success.
Speakers Hannah Kemp-Severence, University of Akron (Session Chair) Sara Mouch, University of Toledo Nancy Yerian, Ohio Lesbian Archives Dr. Hillary Nunn, Akron LGBTQ+ Archive
Artificial Intelligence is rapidly transforming archival work—from description and discovery to access and outreach. This interactive roundtable brings together archivists from diverse institutions to share how they are experimenting with AI tools in their daily practice, especially in settings with limited technical support. Each speaker will offer a brief presentation on their institution’s use of AI, followed by a facilitated discussion with the audience about the opportunities, challenges, and ethical considerations that come with integrating AI into archival workflows.
Larissa Krayer (University of Nebraska Medical Center) will discuss using generative AI to generate alt text and metadata for accessibility. Estée O’Connor (Racine Dominican Archive) will share how AI transcription tools have revolutionized oral history workflows for a solo archivist managing a large and complex repository. Meghan Courtney (Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan) will reflect on student use of chatbots in archival discovery and the implications for archival pedagogy. Pete Brink (Creighton University Libraries) will explore AI-assisted description of handwritten correspondence and the development of a university history chatbot, framed within Jesuit ethical inquiry.
Following the main discussion, you will be invited to participate in small, moderated breakout groups to share your own experiences, questions, and concerns in a more focused setting. These collaborative conversations will be structured around key themes—such as ethics, accessibility, and resource limitations—to foster a practical dialogue on implementation. The session aims to encourage you, regardless of your institution's size or resources, to responsibly and creatively engage with AI and leave with actionable strategies for your own settings.
Speakers Larissa Krayer, University of Nebraska Medical Center (Session Chair) Pete Brink, Creighton University Meghan Courtney, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan Estée O’Connor, Racine Dominican Archive
As funding becomes increasingly competitive and unpredictable, archives and institutions are finding ways to build sustainable financial foundations for long-term sustainability. This session will bring together archivists and institutional representatives who have launched or are currently undertaking fundraising, "friendraising," and/or capital campaigns to endow their archives. Panelists will share practical approaches for engaging donors, building compelling cases for support with donors and administration, and cultivating lasting relationships that secure the future of their collections.
The session will feature a range of archival institutions from large public research universities to small cultural heritage organizations, each navigating distinct challenges and opportunities in fundraising. Some operate within well-established university advancement structures, while others work independently or without ownership of their physical spaces, requiring inventive solutions to sustain operations and build donor confidence. Together, they reflect the variety of archival contexts across the region and the adaptability required to secure lasting support.
Building endowments and cultivating donor-based funding models are becoming vital to preserving collections and ensuring continued access to archives. Participants will gain practical ideas and inspiration to enhance and sustain fundraising initiatives within their own organizations.
Speakers Kristina Warner, Norwegian American Historical Association (Session Chair) Neal Harmeyer, Purdue University Dina Kellams, Indiana University Alexis Braun Marks, Eastern Michigan University Pete Rhoda, Indiana University
The definition of "student" has evolved dramatically and our instruction must evolve as well. While in-person instructional sessions and primary source workshops are still essential, they serve only those students who can physically access our materials. This session explores how the Browne Popular Culture Library (BPCL) has expanded its archival instructional model to reach distance learners, online faculty, and local high school students.
The BPCL has developed a multi-pronged approach to instruction that supplements, rather than replaces, traditional information literacy and primary source literacy instruction. For a recent online course teaching Black Popular Culture, we have worked with faculty to enhance their reading assignments from our collections and have made digitized materials accessible in ethical ways that match their course learning outcomes each week. This includes developing guidelines for classroom use and dissemination of copyrighted materials.
Additionally, BPCL has participated in providing "reverse field trips" for multiple popular culture social studies classes at a nearby high school. We teach comics history, share rare artifacts, and discuss the unique art styles and cultural significance of sequential art. Some of these students have later visited us in the BPCL as BGSU students, demonstrating alignment not only with their social studies common core initiatives, but also BGSU's recruitment and enrollment efforts.
This expanded instructional model addresses three critical goals: equity of access, pedagogical flexibility, and community engagement. By meeting students where they are geographically, technologically, and developmentally, we ensure that more individuals can benefit from special collections instruction than the traditional student. This session will present our case studies, discuss logistical and pedagogical challenges, and offer adaptable strategies for archives and special collections seeking to broaden their instructional reach across institutional contexts.
Speakers Stefanie Hunker, Bowling Green State University Sasha Kim, Bowling Green State University
