Conferences and Continuing Education

Sharpen your skills by attending training.

The following list is gathered by the Local History Services team. Please send updates as needed.

Sections
Workshops/Courses
On-Demand Workshops
Continuing Education Resources
Conferences/Meetings
Awards

Workshops/Courses

Online

TrendsWatching: To Live or Die in AI
November 5 @ 1 pm (CT) - Online: American Alliance of Museums - Elizabeth Merritt, AAM’s vice president for strategic foresight and founding director of the Center for the Future of Museums, will explore AI’s potential benefits and risks and how museum professionals can make values-informed decisions about its use. The webinar includes live closed captioning, with a recording and transcript available afterward to members. Cost: Free members; $40 nonmembers. Learn more »

Handling and Maintenance of Historic House Collections
November 10, 13, 16, and 20 @ 12 pm (CT) - Online: Foundation for Advancement in Conservation (FAIC) - Explore strategies for preserving movable collections on display and in storage at historic house museums. This four-part webinar series covers architectural preservation, assessing and mitigating risks, balancing interpretation with collections care, and emerging challenges and opportunities for historic house museums. Registration includes all four sessions and access to recordings; attendance at every session is not required. Cost: Free. Learn more »

Event Planners Incubator
November 10 @ 1 pm (CT) - Online: Minnesota Council of Nonprofits - Connect with fellow nonprofit event planners to share ideas, troubleshoot challenges, and find inspiration in this lightly facilitated gathering. Co-led by Jen Manthey, Development and Communications Manager at Our Saviour’s Community Services, and Pele Le, Program Manager at the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, this session is designed for staff actively planning nonprofit events or programs. Cost: Free. Learn more »

Assessing the Financial Health of Your Nonprofit Organization
November 10 @ 9 am (CT) - Online: Propel Nonprofits - Join trainers Sarah Bauer Jackson and Beth Mammenga for a two-hour workshop exploring 10 indicators of nonprofit financial health. Learn to analyze financial trends, plan cash flow and reserves, strengthen board oversight, and align financial decisions with long-term sustainability. Includes practical tools, examples, and templates for nonprofit leaders, finance staff, and board members. Cost: $70. Learn more »

The University and the Museum: Objects, Questions, and the Space Between
November 13 @ 3 pm (CT) - Online: Museum Edition, hosted by Zakros InterArts - Sarah Chicone and Lori Beth Finkelstein will explore how university museums use objects, teaching tools, and curatorial practice to invite better questions rather than definitive answers. The conversation will examine the distinctive role of university museums as spaces for inquiry. Cost: Free. Learn more »

AI Governance, Ethics and Expectations
November 13 @ 12 pm (CT) - Online: Open Copyright Education Advisory Network (OCEAN) - Join Adam Purvis, Senior AI Solutions Architect at the National Gallery of Art, and Rosalyn Metz, Chief Technology Officer at Emory Libraries and Museum, for a discussion of AI policies, ethics, and intellectual property in collections stewardship, management, and access. Explore expectations for libraries, archives, and museums engaging with AI, intentionally or otherwise. Learn more »

HOPE Crew Coffee Conversations: Historic Masonry
November 17 @ 2 pm (CT) - Online: National Trust for Historic Preservation - Join the Hands-On Preservation Experience (HOPE) Crew for a conversation about historic masonry with independent expert craftsman David Gibney and Washington National Cathedral stone carver and mason Brianna Castelli. Explore Gibney’s work at the Threatt Filling Station on Route 66, Castelli’s experience caring for the cathedral, and how preservation trades are taught and evolving. Open to all; no technical background is required. Cost: Free. Learn more »

Basics of Archives Management – Virtual Workshop
November 18 @ 1 pm (CT) - Online: American Association for State and Local History - Join Bradley J. Wiles, Head of Special Collections and Archives at Northern Illinois University’s Founders Memorial Library, for a three-hour introduction to managing documents, photographs, and digital materials. Designed for staff and volunteers with little or no archival experience, the workshop emphasizes practical policies and procedures for small organizations with limited budgets and staff time. Includes presentations, discussion, and Q&A; the workshop will not be recorded. Cost: $100 members; $150 nonmembers. STEPS participants receive a 10% discount with the promo code available in the online STEPS Community. Learn more »

8 Essentials of Great Email Marketing in 2026
October 29 @ 3:30 to 5 pm (CT) - Online: Nonprofit Connect, promoted by the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits - Jessica Best, owner of BetterAve, will share practical strategies for effective email design, copywriting, and data-driven marketing. Learn how to avoid common content mistakes and apply current email trends, with examples from recognizable organizations. Cost: $20 with promo code NCN2026. Learn more »

How to Have More Productive Conversations with Donors
October 29 @ 12 pm (CT) - Online: Productive Fundraising - Chad Barger, ACFRE, ACNP, will share practical, immediately usable tips for improving conversations with donors and strengthening donor interactions. Cost: Free. Learn more »

The Four Illusions of AI: What Museums Need to Understand
October 30 @ 3 pm (CT) - Online: Museum Edition - Nik Honeysett will explore four “illusions” of artificial intelligence—access, discoverability, certainty, and understanding—and examine what happens when museum content is interpreted by systems beyond institutional control. Cost: Free. Learn more »

Core Issues Briefing Series, Fall 2026
October 7 to November 4 @ 2 to 3 pm (CT) - Online: American Association for State and Local History - A five-part webinar series on urgent issues facing history organizations, including engaging younger generations, understanding the U.S. history sector and workforce, doing history in polarized times, and disaster preparedness. The series draws on AASLH research and partner expertise from Made By Us. Cost: $25 members/$45 nonmembers per webinar or $100 members/$205 nonmembers for a webinar bundle of all five. Learn more »

October 7: Engaging Younger Generations at History Organizations
October 14: Understanding the U.S. History Sector
October 21: Doing History in Polarized Times
October 28: Disaster Preparedness for History Organizations and Sites
November 4: Understanding the U.S. History Workforce

Genealogy for Library, Archives and Museum Services
November 2 to December 13 - Online: University of Wisconsin–Madison iSchool - This six-week, instructor-led course is designed for library, archives, local history, and museum staff with little or no previous genealogy experience. Participants will build confidence in assisting patrons with family history research while developing practical knowledge of genealogical resources and services. Cost: $275. Learn more »

Wet Salvage for Home and Community Collections
November 2 @ 11 am (CT) - Online: Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts, in partnership with the University of Delaware - Join Associate Photograph Conservator Ivey Barker, Senior Book Conservator Eliza Gilligan, and Preservation Specialist Katie Lowe for practical guidance on salvaging home and community collections after a water emergency. Presentations, video demonstrations, and discussion will cover books, coated paper such as magazines, and 20th-century photographic materials. Cost: Free. Learn more »

Who Gets to Tell the Story at Historic Sites?
November 6 @ 4 pm (CT) - Online: Museum Edition - Omar Eaton-Martínez will explore who has the authority to tell difficult histories at historic sites and what is lost when complex narratives are replaced by a single, comfortable story. The session will examine interpretation and institutional independence amid political pressure. Cost: Free. Learn more »

The Indigenous Collections Care (ICC) Guide: Transform Stewardship at Your Institution
November 9 @ 2 pm (CT) - Online: Connecting to Collections Care - Join Laura Bryant of Gilcrease Museum, Laura Elliff Cruz of the School for Advanced Research’s Indian Arts Research Center, and Marla Taylor of the Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology for an introduction to the Indigenous Collections Care Guide. Learn how the guide was developed and explore case studies that center Indigenous knowledge and community needs in culturally appropriate collections stewardship. Cost: Free. Learn more »

Leveraging Historic Tax Credits to Achieve Local Economic Development Goals
November 10 @ 12 pm (CT) - Online: Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office - Join Brigid Tuck of the University of Minnesota Extension’s Economic Impact Analysis program and Catherine Sandlund of the Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office for an overview of Minnesota’s historic rehabilitation tax credit program. Explore case studies of underutilized historic properties transformed into housing and learn how communities can leverage historic tax credits to address local needs. Cost: Free. Learn more »

Online Demand Courses

American Association for State and Local History - Arcus Leadership Program Courses
Specifically designed for emerging and mid-level professionals and volunteers, these self-paced courses help participants understand the most critical topics in the history field and incorporate that understanding into their work. Start these courses any time.

Museum Collections Documentation and Data Cleaning
Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI) and the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN) - Provides essential museum documentation information for museum staff with all levels of knowledge. It begins with an introductory overview and ends with specific documentation issues. Learners can take the modules in order or choose a module or two that fits their needs. Cost: Free. Learn more »

Preservation Housekeeping for Heritage Sites and Small Museums
Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI) and the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN) - Covers guidelines, best practices and resources for the regular upkeep of historic interiors and exteriors as well as the contents of historic buildings. This one- to two-hour self-paced course has been designed for those who work or volunteer in small museums or heritage sites and who have little to no training in conservation. Learn more »

Explore Minnesota Tourism Conference Breakout Session Recordings
View conference recordings from the February 26-27 Explore Minnesota Tourism Conference Rochester.

Digital Stewardship Training Courses for Tribal Libraries, Archives, Museums, and Small Public Libraries
OCLC's WebJunction, in partnership with Washington State University's Center for Digital Scholarship and Curation, is creating a series of 10 free online courses for staff at tribal archives, libraries, museums (TALMs), and small public libraries on digital stewardship and community-centered curation of cultural collections. Learn more »

Finding New Sources of Funding in Challenging Times:
National Preservation Institute - This 45-minute on-demand course will help you think beyond traditional sources of financial support to fund cultural resource projects. Learn how to evaluate a cultural resource project for its value in serving broader community needs. Review traditional funding types versus alternative sources that can be redirected to meet project goals. Cost: Free. Learn more »

Document Conservation - Northeast Document Conservation Center has many webinar training programs on paper, books, and similar items and topics. Learn more »

Nonprofit Education - Propel Nonprofits and the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits feature local training.

Online continuing education

Technical Leaflets
The American Association for State and Local History (AALSH) offers hundreds of Technical Leaflets. These How-to guides are for those seeking information on management and administration, interpretation, research practices, preservation techniques, or any other subject related to public history practice. There’s probably a Technical Leaflet that will help. Free for AASLH members. AALSH also provides select technical Leaflets as free resources to nonmembers. Learn more »

MALHM Lending Library
Minnesota Alliance of Local History Museums maintains a lending library service to provide access to titles that help organizations meet or exceed best practices and standards. Available titles can be viewed through an online portal, Libib.com. Patrons may only checkout or place holds on titles after creating a free account. The account will provide MALHM with basic patron information to track lent items and usage of the lending library. Learn more »

Museum Learning Hub Free Recorded Webinars: Managing Website Projects

These sessions help small museums handle website updates, redesigns, and digital platforms using step-by-step guidance, even with a small staff or volunteer team.

Intro Session: Get Inspired! - Hear from museum professionals who manage flexible, affordable website projects with volunteers, staff, and community partners during periods of change.
Technical Workshop 1: Plan for Success - Learn step-by-step methods, guides, and checklists for setting goals, planning project phases, and building a website team, even with limited staff.
Technical Workshop 2: Setting Content Priorities - Learn how to organize website content, identify gaps, use tracking tools, and develop affordable ways to share stories online.
Technical Workshop 3: Managing the Project - Participants learn how to manage technical resources, avoid common website project problems, plan a successful launch, and maintain a website after it goes live.

Museum Learning Hub Free Recorded Webinars: Managing Digitization Projects
These free recorded webinars from Museum Learning Hub guide museum staff through planning, carrying out, and sustaining digitization projects, from defining goals and managing budgets to metadata, imaging standards, workflows, and long-term digital preservation.

Intro Session: Get Inspired! - Learn from museum staff who planned and completed digitization projects that made their collections available online, including their goals, budgets, partnerships, and technology choices.
Technical Workshop 1: Digitization: Strategy and Purpose - Explore how to define your project’s purpose, audience, and access goals, and learn how metadata helps people find and use digital collections.
Technical Workshop 2: How to Build a Digitization Project - Learn how to plan a digitization project, set priorities and goals, decide whether to work in-house or with a vendor, and prepare for long-term needs.
Technical Workshop 3: Imaging Standards and Logistics in Digitization Projects - Learn how to choose equipment, set up workspaces, apply imaging standards, conduct quality checks, preserve files, and expand your digitization work over time.

Interpreting African American History and Culture Resource Kit
The American Association for State and Local History's free "Interpreting African American History and Culture Resource Kit" is made up of AASLH conference sessions, webinars, History News, technical leaflets, and books that address topics such as working with descendant communities, celebrating Juneteenth, interpreting slavery for a variety of audiences, and the impact of the Black Lives Matter movement on museum practice. Check it out »

Free Collections Care webinars
Connecting to Collections Online Community offers a series of free, online courses about the preservation of archival and historical collections. Check their website for dates and upcoming programming.

Planning for Changes in the Archives: 12 steps for undertaking collection relocation
Recorded Webinar: Midwest Archives Conference - The presenter walks through the 12 steps so you’ll have a framework to follow for your project. This framework helps focus your plans and ensures you consider possible options. These steps have been honed through experience moving archives and special collections materials. Watch video »

Webinar Recording: Oral History at a Distance: Conducting Remote Interviews
Oral History Association - This timely webinar addresses the dynamics of conducting remote oral history interviews. It begins with an analysis of the pros and cons of conducting distance oral history interviews, then addresses aspects of interviewing in a distance environment, breaking down the interviewer and narrator experience in these exchanges, and offer direction on best approaches for interviewing at a distance. This session will cover best practices for recording archival-quality oral history interviews, then discuss in depth the tools and techniques available to enable the user to follow best practices in a remote setting. Listen »

Webinar Recording: Insurance 101: Practical Considerations for Protecting Institutional Collections and Loans
Connecting to Collections - This webinar recording is appropriate for all levels of experience from beginner to expert as an introduction and review of collections insurance basics and how they are an integral part of collections care. We will examine loss prevention, loss control and how to protect the collection through good housekeeping, landscaping, managing patrons, and during transport of objects. In addition, examples of recent claims and outcomes to illustrate how insurance responds to loss and damage will be presented. Watch the recording »

A Guide to Approaching Audiovisual Digitization
This paper was written through support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The information discussed in the paper is meant to help collection holders prepare their materials and their technology systems for a digitization initiative, as well as give a brief overview of digitization workflows. There is also a discussion of some of the updates made to the BAVC workflow over the last two years. This section may be of interest to those interested in the technical and procedural aspects of digitization workflows. Download paper »

Community Reflection on Black Lives and Archives
Recorded Webinar: Society of American Archivists - Society of American Archivists’ statement on Black Lives and Archives. The vitality of American archives depends on the safety of archives workers and an explicit commitment to social responsibility, justice, and anti-racism in the work that we do and the organizations we work within. As part of this the SAA Council convened a forum of reflection to move toward healing and understanding, of which a recording of this event is now available. Listen »

'Talking About Race' Is a New Online Resource by the National Museum of African American History
Last week, The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) released a new, online portal discussing race, racism, and racial identity. The new web portal, “Talking About Race,” was launched as a way to help everyone, including families and communities, talk about racism and racial identity and the way these forces shape every aspect of society, from the economy and politics to the broader American culture. Learn more »

Online information for exempt organizations
IRS Exempt Organizations has developed an educational website with an online version of their popular workshop for Small and Mid-Sized 501(c)(3) organizations, plus mini-courses on other topics of interest, including information on the redesigned Form 990.

Reflecting on Museum Labor
A course in the Museum Studies program at University of Illinois at Chicago, centered on public engagement, produced a magazine/newspaper-style publication containing useful information about labor rights, history, and museums/places associated with celebrating labor movements and history. It also has interviews with folks in the field and activities like a custom labor-themed cocktail list. Download PDF »

Cultural Institutions at Times of Social Unrest
Recording of Carla Hayden and Lonnie Bunch discussing the future of their institutions and how they remain accessible and relevant during a period of global pandemic coupled with nationwide protests against injustice. Watch webcast »

Preservation 101
Northeast Document Conservation Center offers a set of free online courses in the basics of caring for objects.

Conferences in and around Minnesota

October 8 - 10, 2026
Mankato, MN

October 30 & 31, 2026
Eagan, MN

October 6, 2026
Saint Paul, MN

Awards

Minnesota History Awards
Since 2009, the Minnesota Alliance of Local History Museums has recognized outstanding history work by local organizations at its Annual Meeting. A formal nomination process is conducted and reviewed by a panel of peers to determine award recipients. There are two award programs: the Minnesota History Awards and the Lifetime Achievement Awards. Learn more »

AASLH Leadership in History Awards
American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) bestows the Leadership in History Awards in recognition of excellence in the field of state and local history. Learn more »

Association of Midwest Museums Awards
Each year, the Association of Midwest Museums honors members throughout the Midwest region for leadership, career achievements, and best practices. Learn more »

Distinguished Career Award: honors individuals in mid- to late museum careers whose leadership, vision, and creativity have positively impacted staff and communities, leading to lasting change in their institutions.
Promising Leadership Award: recognizes individuals in the early stages of their museum careers (paid staff, interns, board members, and volunteers) who have demonstrated leadership through projects or service to teams/departments.
Best Practices Award: recognizes innovative projects or community collaborations by museums and cultural organizations that advance best practices or establish new ones to fulfill their missions.
Groundbreakers Award: honors museums or cultural organizations that have challenged conventions, confronted uncomfortable truths about their histories, and engaged in collaborative efforts for change.

Midwestern History Association Awards

Jon Gjerde Prize for best book on Midwestern history
January 15 - (Deadline): The Jon Gjerde Prize is given annually by the Midwestern History Association to the author(s) of the best book on Midwestern history published during the previous calendar year (2024). Learn more »
Dorothy Schwieder Prize for best article on Midwestern history
January 15 - (Deadline): The Dorothy Schwieder Prize is awarded annually for the best article on Midwestern history published during the previous calendar year (2024). All articles on Midwestern history that were published in peer-reviewed journals are eligible for the prize. Learn more »
Alice Smith Prize in Public History
January 15 - (Deadline): The Alice Smith Prize in Public History honors a public history project completed in the previous calendar year (2024) that contributes to broader public reflection and appreciation of the Midwestern past. Projects by individuals, groups, community organizations, businesses, or other organizations or work done in support of such projects may be nominated. Learn more »