Your library is hopping with genealogists, with several researchers asking for materials to review as well as scans and copies. You're happy because your organization is reaching people who care about history and your collection. On the other hand, you have a stack of research requests, piles of folders that need to be refiled and not enough time to get everything done. How do you help your customers without overburdening your work load? Find out from someone who's been there, at our 2017 Annual Meeting and Conference, April 26-27, at Chase on the Lake in Walker, MN. Jennifer Rian, reference librarian at Gale Family Library, offers some tips in an aptly named session: Help! I'm Drowning in Genealogists: Tips & Tricks to Effectively Assist Researchers Without Losing Your Mind Genealogists can be the most enthusiastic and dedicated users of local history collections, conversely they can also be some of your most demanding researchers. Learn tips & tricks for assessing information needs, leveraging pre-existing resources, developing your own reference tools, and managing workflow all so you don't lose your mind. Formal presentation will conclude with an opportunity for participants to share their own institutional approaches for working with genealogists. The Minnesota Alliance of Local History Museums (MALHM) is an professional organization dedicated to "Peers Helping Peers." Learn from your colleagues in the field, who will share their expertise at the conference. Register now!
Registration is now open for the MALHM Conference, set for April 26-27 in Walker, MN. Register through our new online store. Attendees may also pay with a registration form and check by mail. With either method, attendees can indicate dietary needs, such as vegetarian and gluten free. Registration deadline is April 10. Chase on the Lake will offer a discount to MALHM attendees who book by phone by April 4. For more information, see our Annual Conference page. If you have additional questions, please contact MALHM Coordinator Marci Matson or Conference Chair Jill Wohnoutka. Look for a full conference schedule soon!
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The next big thing in social media might not be Snapchat or Google Hangouts or some app that you haven't heard of yet. It might just be the old familiar Facebook, a platform that most local history organizations already use -- but not to its fullest potential. For example, have you tried Facebook Live yet? Here are a couple of Facebook Live events from historic Glensheen mansion in Duluth, featuring Director Dan Hartman and Marketing Manager Jane Pederson. The one above is from inside the historic home; the one below was filmed outdoors, featuring Dan snowboarding down a hill to promote a new combo package with Spirit Mountain. Take note of the comments, shares and number of views on both. (Check out Glensheen's Facebook page for more examples - and if you want to find out if Dan manages to stay upright on his snowboard adventure.) Explore the power of the new tools of Facebook, at our 2017 Annual Meeting and Conference when Dan presents a session on the topic:
The New Facebook: Your New Newsletter, Your Best Educational Platform and Your Best Way to Bring In New Visitors Learn some some strategies to adapt to the new era of Social Media. Even though some of us are bored with it, Facebook is still the number 1 social platform that all of our audiences engage in. Whether we like to admit it or not, it has become our newsletter to many of our loyal fans. Also, with the creation of Facebook Live it has become easily one of the best educational tools in our arsenal, especially for reaching into the classroom. Of course, it also has become the number 1 marketing platform for reaching visitors in almost all geographic and demographic areas. During the presentation Dan will advise strategies that are mostly free and things that can be adapted immediately if desired. Also, during the presentation Dan will go live on Facebook to have the audience interact and watch first hand how it is not as scary as folks think. The Minnesota Alliance of Local History Museums (MALHM) is an professional organization dedicated to "Peers Helping Peers." Learn from your colleagues in the field, who will share their expertise at the conference. With this session, you'll see why Glensheen's social media helped it win "Attraction of the Year" at the 2017 Explore Minnesota Tourism Conference held earlier this month in St. Paul. Register now! Registration is now open for the MALHM Conference, set for April 26-27 in Walker, MN. Register through our new online store. Attendees may also pay with a registration form and check by mail. With either method, attendees can indicate dietary needs, such as vegetarian and gluten free. Registration deadline is April 10. Chase on the Lake will offer a discount to MALHM attendees who book by phone by April 4. For more information, see our Annual Conference page. If you have additional questions, please contact MALHM Coordinator Marci Matson or Conference Chair Jill Wohnoutka. Look for a full conference schedule soon! Registration is now open for the Minnesota Alliance of Local History's 2017 Annual Meeting and Conference! The conference, which will be held at Chase on the Lake on April 26-27, has more offerings for attendees than ever before with sessions for both experienced and emerging professionals, a half-day pre-conference event and a variety of pricing options. Three tracks mean something for everyone As usual, both days will offer two tracks of sessions on a variety of local history topics, such as collections management, marketing, education, funding and more. However, a new third track on Day One (Wednesday, April 26) will focus on fundamentals, with sessions geared to college students, volunteers and emerging professionals. The third track on Day Two (Thursday, April 27) will provide sessions for experienced executive directors. "We'll have something for everyone, regardless of his or her level of experience in the field," said MALHM Conference Chair Jill Wohnoutka (Kandiyohi County Historical Society). Day One will offer a track with courses like Exhibit Graphic Design 101 and an informal, drop-in session with five museum professionals who can provide one-on-one assistance with individual collections challenges. The Day Two executive directors' track was developed, with assistance of Minnesota Historical Society's Local History Services, based on feedback from the community on social media as well as conversations with colleagues. For example, Sensitive Subjects: I Was Never Trained for This! will cover difficult situations that executive directors face. The schedule is being reviewed now by a Program Committee, recruited by MALHM for the first time this year to brainstorm possible topics and speakers. The final program will be posted soon on our Annual Conference page and emailed to MALHM members. New pricing options MALHM will allow one-day registration this year to encourage participation from volunteers and students as well as paid staff. Cost for both days is $70 for MALHM members and full-time college students and $85 for non-members. Cost for one day (either April 26 or April 27) is $40 for members/students and $55 for non-members. Registration includes breakfast, lunch, snacks and the April 26 evening mixer sponsored by Minnesota Digital Library. "MALHM has always worked to make the conference as affordable as possible to encourage participation from all sizes of organizations," said MALHM President Dustin Heckman. "Our goal is to bring our peers together annually to learn from each other and increase professionalism in the field." MALHM is also offering options to purchase the lunch only on either day for $20, so that family and friends may support Minnesota History Award winners on Day Two or see the keynote speaker on Day One. Pre-conference event at Itasca State Park
Another new offering is a pre-conference half-day session on interpretation at Itasca State Park, made possible with in-kind sponsorship from Bemidji Bus Line. Attendees will learn how the park manages and trains volunteers and temporary summer staff in interpretation skills so that they're accurate as well as engaging. Park naturalists will provide a guided tour and demonstrate training techniques. They will also provide links to free and low-cost interpretation resources. The event will occur on Tuesday, April 25, the day before the conference officially opens. The bus leaves at 1 p.m. from Chase on the Lake and returns around 4 p.m. Cost is $10 for MALHM members and full-time college students or $15 for non-members. Attendees may provide their own transportation, but the price remains the same. New! Credit card registration For the first time this year, conference attendees may pay on-line with a credit card through MALHM's new online store. Attendees may also pay with a registration form and check by mail. With either method, attendees can indicate dietary needs, such as vegetarian and gluten free. Registration deadline is April 10. Chase on the Lake will offer a discount to MALHM attendees who book by phone by April 4. For more information, see our Annual Conference page. If you have additional questions, please contact MALHM Coordinator Marci Matson or Conference Chair Jill Wohnoutka. 2016 Minnesota History Award winners were: Marlys Hirst (Lake of the Woods Historical Society) - Lifetime Achievement; Cathy Osterman, Stephanie Hess, Hayes Scriven (Northfield Historical Society) - Behind the Scenes and Exhibit; Sheila Morris (Waseca County Historical Society) - Exhibit; Jan Warner and the late Art Warner (Morrison County Historical Society) - Lifetime Achievement Award. Even though the year is far from over, it’s not too early to start thinking about nominations for the 2017 annual Minnesota History Awards, for projects completed during 2016.
Nominate projects accomplished in 2016 in the following categories: Behind the Scenes, Collections, Partnerships, Publications, Public Programs, Preservation and Lifetime Achievement. Applications are due Feb. 3, 2017 and winners will be honored at the 2017 MALHM Conference, April 26-27, in Walker, Minnesota. Categories include the Lifetime Achievement Award, created last year for individuals who have demonstrated leadership within their organization, their community, and to Minnesota’s history community in the preservation and promotion of local and state history. Experience should total 25 years in Minnesota. See our Awards page for more information about all categories and definitions, as well as examples of winners from past years to inspire you. Nominations should be complete but concise and use the Lifetime Achievement Awards or Minnesota History Award packets. To fill in the form, use Adobe Acrobat as your default PDF viewer. The Minnesota Alliance of Local History Museums created the awards in 2008 to honor the excellent work performed in Minnesota’s public history community. In addition to highlighting those who have achieved excellence, the program intends to use the example of winners to show the rest of our peers how it can be done, hopefully raising the quality of everyone’s work. Please contact Minnesota History Awards Chair Jill Wohnoutka at 320-235-1881 or by email if you have any questions. |
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