Call for Proposals: MAC/SOA Annual Meeting 2026

The Program Committee for the Midwest Archives Conference (MAC) and Society of Ohio Archivists (SOA) are seeking session proposals for the 2026 joint annual meeting. MAC and SOA will hold a joint 2026 Annual Meeting on May 14-16, 2026, at the Ohio Union, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. Founded in 1870 as the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College, THE Ohio State sits a few miles north of downtown Columbus. A city unto itself with an enrollment of over 65,000, Ohio State is known for its top ranked academic programs in engineering, agriculture, and business, its world class research endeavors, and, of course, football. For more information about the host and the conference, see the meeting website: https://www.midwestarchives.org/2026-annual-meeting 

From 2015 until 2023, Ohio’s tourism slogan was “Find it Here.” As a slogan, it raised the obvious question “find what here?”; but as an archives motto…well, to “Find it Here” is an archivist’s greatest hope for anyone exploring their collections. Join us as we explore the myriad ways in which archivists and memory workers make their collections accessible, discoverable, and usable.

The Program Committee encourages submissions from newer professionals, first-time presenters, and colleagues from non-academic institutions. A MAC or SOA membership is not required. Presenters may submit more than one proposal but may present only one session OR poster. We also encourage those from smaller shops to submit presentations for a focused SOA track. We want to hear from the solo archivists or from those with more limited institutional support! For a list of possible topics and details on the proposal process, please view the MAC/SOA 2026 Call for Proposals website.

To facilitate collaboration among those brainstorming session ideas, the Program Committee encourages use of the MAC Facebook page, SOA Facebook page,  and this spreadsheet for brainstorming session proposal ideas.

The deadline for submitting session proposals for the 2026 MAC / SOA Annual Meeting is October 17, 2025, at 5 pm CST. Use the Call for Proposals form to submit your proposal. There will NOT be an extension to the call, so make sure to get your proposals in by the deadline.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to Program Committee Co-Chairs Hayley Jackson (jackha01@luther.edu) and Adam Wanter (awanter@midpointelibrary.org).