Join us for continuing education opportunities focused on archival preservation.
2025 Workshops
Basics of Archival Supplies
On Friday, September 5th RIHRAB offered a free presentation with Genna Duplisea who will be provided an informative session focused on Basics of Archival Supplies at Warwick Public Library (600 Sandy Lane, Warwick RI). Learn from their professional experience, ask questions, and network with other archivists and librarians from around Rhode Island.
The RI Historical Records Advisory Board offers a speaker series throughout the year with support from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission
2024 Workshops
Indigenizing the Archives
Date: Friday, June 28th, 9:00a.m. – 12:00p.m.
Location: Warwick Public Library, Main Branch
Lorén Spears, Narragansett, Executive Director of Tomaquag Museum shared about the decolonization of archival practices, focused on archival reparative description, access, and telling our stories.
This in-depth look at the work of the Tomaquag Museum toward reparative description in their archival collections was invaluable to our archival community.
Lorén M. Spears, enrolled Narragansett Tribal Nation citizen and Executive Director of Tomaquag Museum, holds a Master’s in Education and received a Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa in 2017, from the University of Rhode Island and Doctor of Education, Honoris Causa from Roger Williams University in 2021. She is an author, artist and shares her cultural knowledge with the public through museum programs. She has contributed to a variety of publications such as Dawnland Voices, An Anthology of Indigenous Writing of New England; Through Our Eyes: An Indigenous View of Mashapaug Pond; From Slaves to Soldiers: The 1st Rhode Island Regiment in the American Revolution; and Repair: Sustainable Design Futures. Spears co-edited a new edition of A Key into the Language of America by Roger Williams; and recently co-authored “As We Have Always Done: Decolonizing the Tomaquag Museum’s Collections Management Policy” published in the Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archive Professionals. Under her leadership Tomaquag Museum received the Institute of Museums and Library Service’s National Medal in 2016 and she has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors.
2023 Workshops
Risk & Reward:
Copyright, Fair Use, and the Modes of Modern Access
Today history, knowledge, and cultural institutions can hardly escape the conundrum of intellectual property, but especially copyright. Copyright law has a potential impact on access, preservation, scholarship, teaching activities, and publication. As our work increasingly encompasses copyright-intensive projects, questions arise about topics such as fair use, digitization, licensing, and, of course, risk. During the height of the pandemic, these long-discussed issues about modern copyright interpretation came to the forefront. Fortunately, there is a careful balance outlined in the copyright law to address these issues. And there are several copyright exceptions that can serve as the beginning of a robust policy that utilizes these exceptions to increase access and maintain the mission of the institutions. Knowledge and application of these exceptions can help mitigate risk for institutions.
Kyle K. Courtney (Harvard University) led an interactive workshop exploring some of these critical copyright exceptions underlying these topics, and other critical aspects of modern access, drawing on case law, anecdotes, and his own research.
Bio: Kyle K. Courtney, is a lawyer and librarian serving as the Director of Copyright and Information Policy for Harvard University. His award-winning “Copyright First Responders” initiative is in its tenth year, and has spread beyond Harvard to reach libraries, archives, museums, and cultural institutions across the U.S. He is a published author and nationally recognized speaker on the topics of copyright, libraries, and the law. His writing on copyright has appeared in Politico, The Hill, Library Journal, American Libraries, and other publications. He co-authored the seminal work “A White Paper on Controlled Digital Lending (CDL).” He has a fellowship at NYU Law’s Engelberg Center on Innovation Law & Policy, is a member of the U.S. Supreme Court Bar, an Advisor to the American Law Institute’s project on the Restatement of Copyright, and co-founder and Board Chair of Library Futures. He holds a J.D. with distinction in Intellectual Property Law and an MSLIS.
This session is made possible through the generous support of NHPRC and the State Board Programming grant program.
Archival Alchemy: From Data to Narrative
Speaker: Michael E. Bell, PhD, State Folklorist (retired)
Join the Historical Records Advisory Board on Friday, October 13th for a presentation from retired State Folklorist, Michael E. Bell, PhD. This hands-on workshop will explore how archival collections and organization impact research, the challenges and solutions he faced while documenting folk traditions in Rhode Island and turning findings into a final product.
This session was made possible with support from NHPRC and the State Board Programming grants and took place on Friday, October 13th, 2023.
View Michael E. Bell’s presentation:
Previous Workshops
In 2021, the education series included workshops on Grant Writing, Accession and Deaccession Techniques, and DIY Conservation.
“Yes, you, can! DIY Conservation Treatments” with Donia Conn – Watch on YouTube!
Donia Conn, Assistant Professor of Practice, Simmons University
Donia Conn is Assistant Professor of Practice for the Simmons University School of Library and Information Science as well as independent preservation and collection care consultant for small and mid-sized cultural heritage institutions with over 20 years of experience. Ms. Conn is also a private book and paper conservator and a Professional Associate of the American Institute for Conservation (AIC). She earned her BA in Mathematics from St. Olaf College and her MLIS with Advanced Certificate in Conservation from the University of Texas-Austin. Previously, Donia has worked for the Northeast Document Conservation Center, Northwestern University, and Syracuse University.
Program: Small institutions face many challenges right now and many may feel they have lost control over just about everything. This workshop won’t help with daily life, it will give you control over the care of your collections in a more proactive, practical, and ultimately satisfying way. There are many things you can learn to do for yourself and in this session, you will learn to make protective sleeves for the storage and access of photographs small and large, modify pamphlet binders to store a variety of objects, make simple wrappers for books, and make simple cradles for displaying books while on exhibit. With a few tools and easy-to-get materials, there is a lot you can take control. Yes, you, can!
Program date: Live session occurred October 1, 2021, 9:00AM
“Managing Complex Collections” with Dana Signe K. Munroe – Watch on YouTube
Dana Signe K. Munroe, Registrar, Rhode Island Historical Society
As Registrar of the 199-year-old Rhode Island Historical Society, Dana Signe K. Munroe manages the institution’s collections tracking and processing. Be it a manuscript, book, or tin cup, she makes sure it gets the correct identification and treatment. This includes the important work of accessioning and deaccessioning collection materials. Additionally, she serves as the database administrator for the R.I.H.S. collections management and cataloging database, MINISIS, and as the technical lead for the ricovidarchive.org project. Dana Signe has over 20 years of diverse experience in libraries and museums in Southeast New England. She is skilled in reference services, cataloging of all types of materials, graphic and visual collection access, museum curation, and exhibit design.
Program Description: What is this old paper manuscript, or twisty piece of metal, and why do we have it in the historical collection? A similar question can be heard in collection storage areas of every size institution. This workshop will help you build a foundation of resources about the manuscript or piece of metal that will help answer that question. We will cover accessioning best practices and what is actually practical and achievable in the real world; deaccession and disposal best practices and related laws and paperwork; accession file creation and maintenance with introduction to inventorying and object numbering.
Program date: Live session was June 25, 2021
Grant Writing Basics: Watch on YouTube
“Thank you so much, Beth! This is has been extremely useful, especially for someone as new to grant-writing as I am.”
Wren. J., Workshop Attendee
Beth Plummer-Ricci, Grants Manager, Providence Public Library
“I’m a dynamic grant professional with a decade of nonprofit development experience, particularly in the realm of youth and adult education and workforce development. I served as Grants Manager for Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island for five years before joining Providence Public Library (PPL) in 2015. As Grants Manager at PPL, I have been instrumental in the development and continued growth of the myriad new programming and services we have unveiled since 2014–catalyzed by our THINK AGAIN strategic plan, which strove to transform the Library’s traditional offerings to better meet the needs of our 21st century community. Since 2015, I have played a lead role not only in researching, cultivating, securing, and sustaining more than $6.3 million in new and increased grant funding from diverse federal, state, corporate, and family foundation sources, but in working collaboratively with staff throughout the organization to support in-depth program development; develop program budgets, evaluation systems, tracking and reporting systems, and other related tasks essential to maximizing PPL’s organization-wide grant capacity and competitiveness; and to generally help turn our staff’s brilliant ideas for new and expanded community programming into reality, with the funding necessary to make these ideas a success. I have also played a key role in fundraising for PPL’s $26 million THINK AGAIN renovation–the largest library renovation in RI’s history–and have personally supported and cultivated $3 million in grant funding for this project alone.”
Program: This workshop will provide a comprehensive overview on all things related to grantseeking. Beyond just the technical aspects of developing proposals and budgets, it will cover the full range of activities, considerations, and capacity building measures needed to achieve a consistently high level of success in winning grants, managing grants, building relationships with grantors, and creating programming that is fundable and sustainable overall. Whether you’re a complete novice or have previous experience with grants, this workshop will help you skill-up and enhance your approach to grantseeking.
Program date: April 16, 2021, 9:00a.m.-12:00p.m.
RI Historical Records Advisory Board 