Conferences and Continuing Education

Sharpen your skills by attending training.

The following list is gathered by the Local History Services team. Please send updates as needed.

Sections
Workshops/Courses
On-Demand Workshops
Continuing Education Resources
Conferences/Meetings
Awards

Workshops/Courses

Considering the Revolution
June 5 @ 11 am to 1:30 pm (CT) – Online: National Council on Public History - This conversation will reflect on years of preparation for the U.S. 250th and its lasting legacies, and will look forward to the future and the roles of public history in the present moment. Learn more »

Lake Superior Libraries Symposium 2025
June 6 @ 8 am to 4:15 pm - Cloquet: Join library staff, administrators, trustees, and students from the Upper Midwest and beyond for the 13th annual Lake Superior Libraries Symposium themed “Embrace, Engage, Excel: Libraries & Their Communities.” The day features a keynote by American Library Association President-Elect Sam Helmick, 14 inspiring presentations, a catered taco bar lunch with social networking, and a Thursday evening pre-conference trivia and social event. Location: Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College. Cost: $70. Learn more »

Safe Storage: Making Boxes and Mounts for Collections
Midwest Art Conservation Center - This two-day workshop teaches stable, inert materials and hands-on techniques for creating boxes and mounts that protect collections. Learn to make custom enclosures and supports, and take home box-making tools. All materials provided. Cost: Free for Minnesota residents, $400 for nonresidents. Learn more »

  • June 10 & 11 - Welch: Prairie Island Indian Community
  • June 23 & 24 - Ely: Listening Point Foundation

Interpreting Winter Holidays with Your Community
June 12 @ 2 to 3:15 pm (CT) - Online: American Association for State and Local History - This webinar explores how historic houses and museums can use the holiday season—focusing on Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa—as an opportunity for community engagement, inclusivity, and innovation. Presenters will share case studies of successful programs and exhibits from across the country and offer ideas for adapting them to your local context. Cost: $25 members/$45 nonmembers. Learn more »

Caring for Your Photos
June 16 @ 9:30 am to 4:30 pm - Minneapolis: Midwest Art Conservation Center & Hennepin County Library – Bring your own photographs to this hands-on workshop. Learn about photo preservation, archival storage, digitization, and digital storage options. Includes a lecture, group sharing, and a tour of the library’s Special Collections. Cost: Free for Minnesota residents. Learn more »

Collections Management 200: Stewardship and Public Access
June 16 through August 10 - Online: American Association for State and Local History - Learn best practices for providing public and internal access to collections, developing policies, and meeting STEPS Collection Standards. Ideal for those who have completed Collection Management 100. Location: Online. Cost: $230 members/$330 nonmembers. Learn more »

Fundamentals of Nonprofit Budgeting
June 17 @ 9 am - 12 pm (CT) - Online: Propel Nonprofits - Learn to use budgeting as another tool for you to tell the story of your organization’s plans, priorities, and aspirations.  Propel’s 10-step budgeting process will also highlight ways to engage your board as well as staff across the organization.  Cost: $95. Learn more »

Say What? Demystifying Preservation and Conservation Terms with CCAHA's New Glossary
June 18 @ 11 am to 12 pm (CT) - Online: Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts - Join Preservation Specialist Katie Lowe for a guided tour of CCAHA’s new Preservation Glossary, featuring over 400 jargon-free definitions for conservation and preservation terms. Learn how this tool supports continuing education and career development for cultural heritage stewards. Cost: Free. Learn more »

Say What? Demystifying Preservation and Conservation Terms with CCAHA's New Glossary
June 18 @ 11 am to 12 pm - Online: Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts (CCAHA) - Join Preservation Specialist Katie Lowe for a guided tour of CCAHA’s new Preservation Glossary, featuring over 400 clear, jargon-free definitions related to the conservation and preservation of cultural heritage items. Learn how this resource can benefit stewards of all backgrounds and support your work in preservation. Cost: Free. Learn more »

Cybersecurity and Data Privacy 101 
June 24 @ 12 to 1 pm (CT) - Online: Minnesota Council of Nonprofits - Join this session to learn about the legal risks posed by cybersecurity and the steps you can take to protect private information, intellectual property, and other sensitive data. This session will also discuss how to respond if you learn of a potential security breach. FREE MCN & MCF Partner Event. Learn more »

Strengthening History Communication: Reframing the Value of History and Your Institution
June 25 @ 12 to 3 pm (CT) - Online: American Association for State and Local History - This virtual workshop helps history practitioners improve communication with public audiences, drawing on AASLH’s Reframing History project. Includes research insights, peer discussions, and hands-on messaging exercises. Location: Online. Cost: $100 members/$150 nonmembers. Learn more »

Deaccessioning History Collections
June 26 @ 2 to 3:15 pm (CT) - Online: American Association for State and Local History - Learn how the Valentine Museum refined its collection through a multi-year deaccessioning process. Discover practical strategies for planning, ranking, and communicating about deaccessioning to better serve your mission and community. Location: Online. Cost: $25 members/$45 nonmembers. Learn more »

Policies for Managing Collections
Starting June 30 @ Online - Museum Study - Join instructor John Simmons for a four-week online course critically examining the purposes and functions of collections management policies. Learn to write and evaluate policies for your institution, addressing new challenges like climate change, digital preservation, decolonization, and sustainability. Participants receive a discount on the third edition of Things Great and Small: Collection Management Policies. Cost: $400. Learn more »

American Revolutions in the Digital Age Webinar Series, Session 3: Slavery, Freedom, and Resistance
July 9 @ 2 to 3 pm (CT) – Online: CUNY - In this session, panelists will discuss how digital humanities expands our understanding of freedom in the revolutionary period. How do digital archives and mapping shape our ability to tell stories of place-making and freedom-seeking? Learn more »

 

Online Demand Courses

American Association for State and Local History - Arcus Leadership Program Courses
Specifically designed for emerging and mid-level professionals and volunteers, these self-paced courses help participants understand the most critical topics in the history field and incorporate that understanding into their work. Start these courses any time.

Museum Collections Documentation and Data Cleaning
Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI) and the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN) - Provides essential museum documentation information for museum staff with all levels of knowledge. It begins with an introductory overview and ends with specific documentation issues. Learners can take the modules in order or choose a module or two that fits their needs. Cost: Free. Learn more »

Preservation Housekeeping for Heritage Sites and Small Museums
Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI) and the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN) - Covers guidelines, best practices and resources for the regular upkeep of historic interiors and exteriors as well as the contents of historic buildings. This one- to two-hour self-paced course has been designed for those who work or volunteer in small museums or heritage sites and who have little to no training in conservation. Learn more »

Explore Minnesota Tourism Conference Breakout Session Recordings
View conference recordings from the February 26-27 Explore Minnesota Tourism Conference Rochester.

Digital Stewardship Training Courses for Tribal Libraries, Archives, Museums, and Small Public Libraries
OCLC's WebJunction, in partnership with Washington State University's Center for Digital Scholarship and Curation, is creating a series of 10 free online courses for staff at tribal archives, libraries, museums (TALMs), and small public libraries on digital stewardship and community-centered curation of cultural collections. Learn more »

Finding New Sources of Funding in Challenging Times:
National Preservation Institute - This 45-minute on-demand course will help you think beyond traditional sources of financial support to fund cultural resource projects. Learn how to evaluate a cultural resource project for its value in serving broader community needs. Review traditional funding types versus alternative sources that can be redirected to meet project goals. Cost: Free. Learn more »

Document Conservation - Northeast Document Conservation Center has many webinar training programs on paper, books, and similar items and topics. Learn more »

Nonprofit Education - Propel Nonprofits and the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits feature local training.

 

Online continuing education

Interpreting African American History and Culture Resource Kit
The American Association for State and Local History's free "Interpreting African American History and Culture Resource Kit" is made up of AASLH conference sessions, webinars, History News, technical leaflets, and books that address topics such as working with descendant communities, celebrating Juneteenth, interpreting slavery for a variety of audiences, and the impact of the Black Lives Matter movement on museum practice. Check it out »

Free Collections Care webinars
Connecting to Collections Online Community offers a series of free, online courses about the preservation of archival and historical collections. Check their website for dates and upcoming programming.

Planning for Changes in the Archives: 12 steps for undertaking collection relocation
Recorded Webinar: Midwest Archives Conference - The presenter walks through the 12 steps so you’ll have a framework to follow for your project. This framework helps focus your plans and ensures you consider possible options. These steps have been honed through experience moving archives and special collections materials. Watch video »

Webinar Recording: Oral History at a Distance: Conducting Remote Interviews
Oral History Association - This timely webinar addresses the dynamics of conducting remote oral history interviews. It begins with an analysis of the pros and cons of conducting distance oral history interviews, then addresses aspects of interviewing in a distance environment, breaking down the interviewer and narrator experience in these exchanges, and offer direction on best approaches for interviewing at a distance. This session will cover best practices for recording archival-quality oral history interviews, then discuss in depth the tools and techniques available to enable the user to follow best practices in a remote setting. Listen »

Webinar Recording: Insurance 101: Practical Considerations for Protecting Institutional Collections and Loans
Connecting to Collections - This webinar recording is appropriate for all levels of experience from beginner to expert as an introduction and review of collections insurance basics and how they are an integral part of collections care. We will examine loss prevention, loss control and how to protect the collection through good housekeeping, landscaping, managing patrons, and during transport of objects. In addition, examples of recent claims and outcomes to illustrate how insurance responds to loss and damage will be presented. Watch the recording »

A Guide to Approaching Audiovisual Digitization
This paper was written through support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The information discussed in the paper is meant to help collection holders prepare their materials and their technology systems for a digitization initiative, as well as give a brief overview of digitization workflows. There is also a discussion of some of the updates made to the BAVC workflow over the last two years. This section may be of interest to those interested in the technical and procedural aspects of digitization workflows. Download paper »

Community Reflection on Black Lives and Archives
Recorded Webinar: Society of American Archivists - Society of American Archivists’ statement on Black Lives and Archives. The vitality of American archives depends on the safety of archives workers and an explicit commitment to social responsibility, justice, and anti-racism in the work that we do and the organizations we work within. As part of this the SAA Council convened a forum of reflection to move toward healing and understanding, of which a recording of this event is now available. Listen »

'Talking About Race' Is a New Online Resource by the National Museum of African American History
Last week, The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) released a new, online portal discussing race, racism, and racial identity. The new web portal, “Talking About Race,” was launched as a way to help everyone, including families and communities, talk about racism and racial identity and the way these forces shape every aspect of society, from the economy and politics to the broader American culture. Learn more »

Online information for exempt organizations
IRS Exempt Organizations has developed an educational website with an online version of their popular workshop for Small and Mid-Sized 501(c)(3) organizations, plus mini-courses on other topics of interest, including information on the redesigned Form 990.

Reflecting on Museum Labor
A course in the Museum Studies program at University of Illinois at Chicago, centered on public engagement, produced a magazine/newspaper-style publication containing useful information about labor rights, history, and museums/places associated with celebrating labor movements and history. It also has interviews with folks in the field and activities like a custom labor-themed cocktail list. Download PDF »

Cultural Institutions at Times of Social Unrest
Recording of Carla Hayden and Lonnie Bunch discussing the future of their institutions and how they remain accessible and relevant during a period of global pandemic coupled with nationwide protests against injustice. Watch webcast »

Preservation 101
Northeast Document Conservation Center offers a set of free online courses in the basics of caring for objects.

 

Conferences

53rd Annual Meeting of the American Institute for Conservation
May 27 - 31 - Minneapolis: Held both online and onsite at the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis, this event will bring together over 1,000 professionals dedicated to preserving cultural heritage. This conference emphasizes the importance of collaboration with artists, Elders, Knowledge Keepers, and source communities to deepen understanding and improve preservation practices through shared stories and innovative techniques. Learn more »

Minnesota Main Streets Conference
June 4-6 - Duluth: This conference focuses on the Main Street 4 Point Approach™-Organization, Design, Promotion, and Economic Vitality-to support historic downtown and commercial district revitalization. This event welcomes city officials, business owners, volunteers, and community members to engage in sessions, networking, and awards celebrating outstanding local Main Street achievements. Learn more »

Stylized photo of New Ulm's commercial Main street2025 Preserve MN - Statewide Preservation Conference
September 10 to 12 - New Ulm: Organized by the Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office, this conference is the annual statewide gathering focused on historic preservation. It brings together professionals, advocates, and community members to discuss topics such as protecting historic sites, preservation planning, heritage tourism, and sustainability. Participants engage in workshops, presentations, and networking opportunities to share knowledge and strategies for preserving Minnesota's cultural heritage. The event serves as a platform for collaboration between individuals and organizations working to protect the state's historic resources. The 2025 conference will be held in New Ulm and will feature sessions aligned with Minnesota’s Statewide Preservation Plan 2022-2032. Learn more »

Regional and National Conferences

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Awards

Minnesota History Awards
Since 2009, the Minnesota Alliance of Local History Museums has recognized outstanding history work by local organizations at its Annual Meeting. A formal nomination process is conducted and reviewed by a panel of peers to determine award recipients. There are two award programs: the Minnesota History Awards and the Lifetime Achievement Awards. Learn more »

AASLH Leadership in History Awards
American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) bestows the Leadership in History Awards in recognition of excellence in the field of state and local history. Learn more »

Association of Midwest Museums Awards
Each year, the Association of Midwest Museums honors members throughout the Midwest region for leadership, career achievements, and best practices. Learn more »

  • Distinguished Career Award: honors individuals in mid- to late museum careers whose leadership, vision, and creativity have positively impacted staff and communities, leading to lasting change in their institutions.
  • Promising Leadership Award: recognizes individuals in the early stages of their museum careers (paid staff, interns, board members, and volunteers) who have demonstrated leadership through projects or service to teams/departments.
  • Best Practices Award: recognizes innovative projects or community collaborations by museums and cultural organizations that advance best practices or establish new ones to fulfill their missions.
  • Groundbreakers Award: honors museums or cultural organizations that have challenged conventions, confronted uncomfortable truths about their histories, and engaged in collaborative efforts for change. 

Midwestern History Association Awards

  • Jon Gjerde Prize for best book on Midwestern history
    January 15 - (Deadline): The Jon Gjerde Prize is given annually by the Midwestern History Association to the author(s) of the best book on Midwestern history published during the previous calendar year (2024). Learn more »
  • Dorothy Schwieder Prize for best article on Midwestern history
    January 15 - (Deadline): The Dorothy Schwieder Prize is awarded annually for the best article on Midwestern history published during the previous calendar year (2024). All articles on Midwestern history that were published in peer-reviewed journals are eligible for the prize. Learn more »
  • Alice Smith Prize in Public History
    January 15 - (Deadline): The Alice Smith Prize in Public History honors a public history project completed in the previous calendar year (2024) that contributes to broader public reflection and appreciation of the Midwestern past. Projects by individuals, groups, community organizations, businesses, or other organizations or work done in support of such projects may be nominated. Learn more »