FORUMS

ArchivesSpace holds forums throughout the year for ArchivesSpace users to connect and learn from one another.  These forums include our Annual and Regional in person member forums, our open Online Forum and our Forum in a Box community developed forums.  The program and agenda for these forums are developed by working groups made up of ArchivesSpace community members.  Whether in-person or online, all of our forums have the same goal: bringing ArchivesSpace users together to learn from one another and share information with the community.  If you are interested in hosting an ArchivesSpace forum or have questions about ArchivesSpace membership, contact Jessica at jessica.crouch@lyrasis.org.

ArchivesSpace Annual Member Forums

The ArchivesSpace Annual Member Forum is held every year in conjunction with the Society of American Archivists Annual Meeting.  This forum is a free opportunity for staff from ArchivesSpace member institutions to meet and share information with each other and the program team about all things ArchivesSpace.  The forum is usually made up of presentations, lightning round sessions, discussions and workshops. Anyone from an ArchivesSpace member institution is welcome to attend.

Upcoming ArchivesSpace Annual Member Forum:

Ninth ArchivesSpace Member Forum - July 26, 2023 at the Washington Hilton (virtual event occurring July 18, 2023)

Previous ArchivesSpace Annual Member Forums:

Eighth ArchivesSpace Member Forum - August 24, 2022 at Sheraton Boston Hotel (virtual events occurring August 30-31, 2022)

Seventh ArchivesSpace Member Forum (Virtual) - August 2-4, 2021

Sixth ArchivesSpace Member Forum (Virtual) - August 3-7, 2020

Fifth ArchivesSpace Member Forum - August 2, 2019, at University of Texas, Austin

Fourth ArchivesSpace Member Forum - August 14, 2018, at the Josephine Butler Parks Center

Third ArchivesSpace Member Forum - July 25, 2017, at Portland State University

Second ArchivesSpace Member Forum - August 2, 2016, at Atlanta University Center

First ArchivesSpace Member Forum - August 22, 2015, at the Cleveland Public Library

ArchivesSpace Virtual Member Forums

As with our in-person forums, our Virtual Member Forum includes a mix of opportunities for ArchivesSpace users to share and learn from each other about many different aspects of ArchivesSpace.  The forum aims to span the many time zones and experience levels of our community over the course of several days with dedicated blocks of content each day. 

To better support our member community and recognize their direct contributions to the development and sustainability of the ArchivesSpace application, the ArchivesSpace Online Forum transitioned to the ArchivesSpace Virtual Member Forum in 2023.  The agendas and recordings for past Online Forums are linked below with previous Virtual Member Forum resources.

Upcoming ArchivesSpace Virtual Member Forums:

Previous ArchivesSpace Virtual Member Forums:

ArchivesSpace Virtual Member Forum 2023 - April 4-5, 2023

Previous ArchivesSpace Online Forums:

Fourth Annual ArchivesSpace Online Forum - March 21-22, 2022

Third Annual ArchivesSpace Online Forum - March 29-31, 2021

Second Annual ArchivesSpace Online Forum - May 18-21, 2020

First Annual ArchivesSpace Online Forum - March 18, 2019

ArchivesSpace Regional Member Forums

ArchivesSpace partners with member institutions to hold several regional member forums every year.   Regional member forums have targeted programming that reflects local users’ interests and activities. Like the annual forum, these events are a free opportunity for staff of ArchivesSpace member institutions to meet and share information with each other and the program team.  Anyone from an ArchivesSpace member institution is welcome to attend. If you are interested in hosting an ArchivesSpace Regional Member Forum, contact Jessica Crouch at jessica.crouch@lyrasis.org. 

Upcoming ArchivesSpace Regional Forums:

Previous ArchivesSpace Regional Forums:

Western Archivists Regional Forum - (Cancelled due to Covid-19) April 22, 2020, at the San Francisco Public Library

Southeastern Regional Forum - November 15, 2019, at University of South Carolina Libraries

Kansas City Regional Forum - November 30, 2018, at Midwest Genealogy Center

SoCal Regional Forum - June 28, 2018, at UC Irvine Libraries

Boston Regional Forum - May 3, 2018, at Tufts University

ArchivesSpace Forum in a Box program

ArchivesSpace is committed to bringing community members together through Annual, Regional and Online forums. With an ArchivesSpace member community of over 400 institutions and a small ArchivesSpace program team, however, we can’t host forums in as many locations as we’d like. Drawing on the power of the community, though, we can work together to cover a lot more ground.

If you are interested in hosting a community-led forum in the next 12-24 months, our Forum in a Box toolkit may be right for you! This toolkit includes ArchivesSpace forum agenda templates and a checklist to help with forum planning.  It also outlines the application process for offering your own ArchivesSpace forum, your responsibilities as host, what the ArchivesSpace team will provide, and how you can receive either in-kind or financial assistance from the team. 

If you are using our forum toolkit and would like to qualify as an “official” ArchivesSpace forum (making you eligible for in-kind or financial assistance from the ArchivesSpace program team), you must:

  1. Complete the application prior to organizing and hosting the forum.
  2. Make the forum open to ArchivesSpace members outside of the host organization.
  3. Fulfill all responsibilities included in the toolkit document titled “Responsibilities of the Host Institution.” 
  4. Provide the ArchivesSpace program team with the results of the post-forum assessment.

If you have questions about the Forum in a Box application process, contact Jessica Crouch at jessica.crouch@lyrasis.org. We look forward to working with you to provide ArchivesSpace community members in your region with a chance to engage with one another, discuss issues of local interest and highlight ArchivesSpace initiatives. 

Forum in a Box resources include: