mac2025minneapolis

Records management is integral to the documentary record of any public institution, organization, or private company - which is to say that these workflows and schedules are nothing short of complicated. After the Larry Nassar and USA Gymnastics scandal at Michigan State University (MSU), it was decided to separate the Records Management program from the University Archives and Historical Collections and transition programmatic oversight to the Office of Audit, Risk, and Compliance. University records management had been aligned since the University Archives opened in 1969. Throughout the six-year transition, the Acting Records Manager was not allowed to create new retention schedules, and maintained the status quo. When the global pandemic befell all of us, it led to hiring freezes, departing administrators, slow bureaucracy, and failed searches. The MSU RM program sat stagnant before a new University Records Manager was hired in 2024. Untangling 55 years worth of permanent, archival materials from retention-based accessions has been a challenge.

This panel will discuss the more than six-year process to untangle hundreds, if not thousands of records. Specifically, participants will discuss the challenges of two archival management software migrations on data integrity, realigning the roles and responsibilities of two different units and the associated staff and faculty, updating university-wide and departmental policies and procedures, and rebuilding the university’s record retention schedules to align with federal and state requirements, but also to ensure records with permanent or historical value were identified and preserved. Thoughtful, transparent transition processes can empower and support these decisions.

Due to budget cuts, layoffs, or other kinds of institutional restructuring, it’s not uncommon for archivists to take over positions that have been vacant for several years. These extended transitions often lead to gaps in institutional knowledge, which in turn exacerbate the usual learning curve of a new position. Many work hours can be lost recreating procedures, getting up to speed on the organizational system, or just figuring out where these stacks of miscellaneous documents came from.

Though the hurdles these archivists face can overlap with those faced by archivists tasked with establishing a new archives at an institution, there are also distinct differences. An archivist entering a long empty role may also have to contend with an established (and perhaps out-of-date) cataloging system, half-finished projects, and commitments that their predecessors made that are no longer feasible. Before they can begin “Serving It Up”, they first need to make sure that we know where all the tools to do the job are.

How can these archivists make sure that they are continuing the work of their predecessors and not reinventing the wheel? And, once they have established themselves in their new roles, how can they minimize the damage of further delays in hiring? The speakers will share their experiences stepping into revived roles, and facilitate discussion on these questions and more.

In 2005, Greene and Meissner's article “More Product, Less Process” (MPLP) revolutionized archival practices by advocating for minimal arrangement and description to increase access and reduce staff labor. As MPLP reaches its 20th anniversary, this session examines its evolution and current relevance. How has our understanding of MPLP changed? Do minimal processing techniques align with digitization and reparative description efforts, or do they conflict with these initiatives? Is MPLP helping us make collections available to researchers more quickly? Are our backlogs smaller?

Each panelist will share perspectives on how MPLP is implemented at their repository before joining a discussion moderated by the session chair. Panelists hail from a variety of institution types ranging from museum to public library to academic settings. Discussion will touch on several relevant topics, including managing born-digital records; practical workflows for minimal accessioning and cataloging; iterative processing; the current relationship between MPLP and environmental preservation conditions; promoting inclusivity and accessibility through arrangement and description; archival advocacy; the slow archives movement; and evolving archival theory.

Through this roundtable, speakers will foster a dialogue about the legacy of MPLP and its impact on archival practice. This session will be valuable to any archival professional who has felt the inherent tension between doing fast work and doing quality work.

This panel presents case studies of collections used in unexpected ways through public programming. Presenters will share strategies and lessons about collaborating with stakeholders and advocating to supervisors on behalf of a bold idea. With focuses on outreach, instruction, and donor relations, you will be inspired to transform that daring idea you’ve long held into reality.

Sara DeCaro will discuss collaborating with city and county governments in Baldwin City, Kansas to create a historic preservation conference on Baker University's campus. In addition to organizing the event with community stakeholders, she used the Baker archives for outreach and promotional materials, walking tours, and research on local preservation projects. Matthew Strandmark will explore his collaboration with University of Kentucky faculty to enhance the Campus Archaeology Project. This initiative turns students' work with archival documents into an engaging exploration of campus history and strategic archaeological digs. Strandmark will demonstrate how this partnership redefines archives and invigorates academic programs. Gavin Strassel will present on his unique collaboration with the UAW to produce and star in a popular series of videos for social media about the labor union's archives. He will discuss how emphasizing donor relations and outreach can help bring archives to the public in exciting ways. Matt Gorzalski will discuss Brazilian guitarist Franco Galvão's study of Vadico Gogliano, who composed Choro music for dance pioneer Katherine Dunham. Collaborating with faculty and students, he performed scores from the Dunham papers at Southern Illinois University's International Guitar Festival.

This session focuses on the ingredients used by the University Archives at Minnesota State University, Mankato to make a successful Research Apprentice Program Hotdish. In 2024, the University Archives at Minnesota State University, Mankato participated in the Undergraduate Research Center’s Research Apprenticeship Program (RAP). The RAP provides students new to research with opportunities to collaborate with faculty and staff on mentored research, scholarly, and creative projects. Daardi Mixon, University Archivist will discuss the development and implementation of the RAP program within the archives and how library and university strategic plans were incorporated into the outcomes with a focus on high-impact learning practices and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion goals. Heidi Southworth, Digital Initiatives Librarian will discuss the Minnesota Digital Library Wikimedia project and how it was used as a foundation for the RAP. Jamison Vierstraete, junior undergraduate student will share his experiences in the RAP and how it helped advance his research and collaboration skills. A good recipe is one you want to make again. The presenters will also share how they’ve adjusted the RAP recipe and implemented it again this year.

Primary documents about food and drink are evocative sources that are relevant to nearly all historical disciplines. Despite this, the history of food and drink is often relegated to specific research on culinary trends or household experience. Inspired by this year’s “Serving It up!” theme, librarians and archivists from the University of Minnesota are joining to examine cookbooks and food in the archives to argue for the cross-disciplinary value of these texts. Together, we will discuss the materials we hold, how cookbooks can be used in historical research and pedagogy, and what they can teach us about the past, from gender and health, to incarceration, exploration, and cultural identity. We will examine recipes from the mundane to the bizarre - and perhaps even recreate a few! Collections represented will include the Doris S. Kirschner Cookbook Collection, the Wangensteen Historical Library of Biology and Medicine, the Social Welfare History Archives, the Upper Midwest Jewish Archives, the James Ford Bell Library, the Kautz Family YMCA Archives, and the Children’s Literature Research Collections.