MAC Meeting 2011

The Midwest Achives Conference (MAC) annual meeting was held in St. Paul, MN this year from April 27-30, 2011 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. The Crowne Plaza is located in downtown St. Paul right on the Mississippi River. 

"Headwaters of History" was the title of the meeting and the plenary speaker, Dr. Mark Neuzil from the University of St. Thomas, MN spoke on the his book, Views on the Mississippi, which brings together almost one hundred of Henry Peter Bosse's cyanotype photographs of the nineteenth century Mississippi River.  These photos (which were considered "lost") were discovered in various archivies and libraries.



Located on the corner of Kellogg Boulevard and Wabasha Street



View of Mississippi River from hotel room

The opening reception was held at the Wabasha Street Caves - a former mine in the sandstone bluffs and historic former speakeasy and gangster nightclub.   Guests were given a guided tour of the mines.



The facade of the Caves

Along with the awesome local arrangements, the programming was superb too!  I attended the Creating Exhibits with Impact workshop which was taught by two archivists and one exhibit designer from the University of Minnesota.  

Workshop on Thursday AM

Other presentations attended during the week included the following topics:  using Web 2.0 technologies, electronic records workflow, born-digital archives, EAD FACTORy, the principle of 'good enough,' and collaborations with record creators.  There is always something new to learn and it is great listening to other archivists talk about their experiences - whether success or failure - it all helps!

Thanks again to MAC for another great meeting and all the volunteers who made it possible!

Joan