Archives’ Hour with the State Historical Records Advisory Board A conversation with Alejandra Dean, Digital Archivist at the Massachusetts Archives, and Evan Knight, Preservation Specialist for the Massachusetts Board of […]

“Get up, Stand up”: Preserving history from the ground up February 19, 2021, 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Advocacy for history starts in our neighborhoods and community centers, when we […]

The first in a quarterly series of Conversations on the Commons: Show and Tell edition! March 5, 2021, 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Commons Show and Tell! Share with us […]

From bake sales to the annual calendar, most historical organizations occasionally sell something to raise funds. Many have also hosted someone’s event, upon occasion. But what does it take to make this a regular part of  your income?  What’s involved in having a shop, merchandising your collections, or running an event or wedding venue? Have you tried it? Where do you have things printed or made? What are some questions you have? Do you stock 200 logo tees or work with print on demand suppliers? How are you doing at creating income?

It’s been one long year of ups and downs since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are still wearing our masks and social distancing while anxiously awaiting vaccines and wondering about a "new normal." After all this time, how are you doing? How is it affecting your organization? Are you open? What are you planning for the summer? What are your challenges in staffing, engaging visitors, and the bottom line? Join us for a peer to peer conversation about COVID-19 and the public and local history field in Massachusetts. This conversation will be moderated by Brianne Zulkiewicz, Visitor Services and Administrative Coordinator at Wistariahurst Museum.

Take it outside! 2021 one is the year of the garden as many cultural institutions try to adjust their programming and exhibitions to provide safe and engaging experiences to their patrons. What outdoor activities are you planning this summer? How are you adjusting your usual programming to COVID-19? What exciting new things are you planning? Walking tours, bike tours, gardens, outdoor exhibits, fire pits...tell us when you're going outside and what you're going to do there. Join colleagues from across the state to share your challenges and successes.

See You Online! Acing the virtual conference April 30, 2021, 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Conferences and meetings are in full virtual swing! Here at the Mass History Alliance, we’re […]

Does it spark joy? Historical organizations’ priorities change, and storage is overflowing. How do we clean up without getting rid of that which the future will find necessary to know and see? Have you held a spring cleaning? Swept with new brooms? Created collecting policies and found ways to make them stick? Done a project to deaccession and donate or sell items that were previously in your collection? What about paying the fees on those endless gigabytes of digital storage? Join us for a conversation with Stacen Goldman, Curator at the Framingham History Center, and Elly Kalfus, oral historian and founder of Organizing with empathy, about the challenges and satisfactions of using the broom.

How is your Summer going? Conversations on the Commons was our response to the pandemic. Like everyone else, we worked on making hay out of our limitations.

Brainstorm Session: Acknowledging Loss and Archiving Experience in the Wake of Catholic Church Closures July 23, 2021, 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. *new time!* Join historian Margo Shea in a […]

We know teachers are stressed and programs are focused on the test.  What are good ways to approach teachers and school programs about creating a local history curriculum? Is it easier to visit the school or have the students visit you? What are fruitful ways in which libraries and historical societies can collaborate and cross-pollinate?

How do local organizations and towns think about Indigenous history and perspective in their own community histories? What are practical ways that we, as members of cultural organizations, can integrate these perspectives into the programs, language, and conversations we have about local history? Join panelists as they discuss the kind of work they do in their art and scholarship and talk about ways to counter Native American erasure and build more nuanced and inclusive narratives about Massachusetts history.