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

From RSVPs to ROI: Event Marketing that Builds Buzz, Raises Funds, and Grows Community
August 7 @ 11 am (CT) - Online: Firespring Webinar - This fast-paced session explores how to turn events into storytelling tools, community connectors, and donor-engagement opportunities. It offers practical marketing ideas for building a strong event experience across email, direct mail, websites, and more, while helping align events with organizational brand and long-term support. Cost: Free. Learn more »

Winona Walking Tour: Third Street Part 1
August 8 & 9 @ 10 am - Winona: Winona County Historical Society - Take a guided walking tour of downtown Winona. Tours are about 60 minutes and start and end at the Winona County History Center. Learn about the buildings, events, and people along Third Street. Then, don’t miss Third Street Part 2, offered September 12 and 13. Cost: $6 members; $10 general public. Learn more »

Grants That Win: Strategy, Systems & AI
August 10 @ 1 pm (CT) - Online: GrantStation Webinar - This TargetED session explores how smaller nonprofits can compete more strategically in a crowded grant landscape by improving prospect research, building reusable content banks, and using AI tools to streamline drafting and workflow without losing an authentic voice. It is designed for grant writers, development directors, and executive directors responsible for the full grant cycle. Cost: $39 members; $99 nonmembers. Learn more »

Archival Value
August 10 @ 5 pm (CT) - Online: Backlog Webinar - This webinar explores the informational, evidential, and intrinsic characteristics of archival materials and how those concepts influence what becomes valuable to researchers. Cost: Free. Learn more »

MALHM History Happy Hour - Virtual Edition
August 11 @ 4 pm (CT) - Online: Minnesota Alliance of Local History Museums - Join friends & colleagues for a virtual happy hour as we enjoy the dog days of summer! This informal get-together is free for anyone to attend, but please RSVP for the meeting link. Learn more »

New Tools to Create Dynamic Collections Resources for Your Organization
August 11 @ 11 am to 12 pm (CT) - Online: Center for Conservation of Art and Historic Artifacts - This webinar explores how to transform static spreadsheets into dynamic, maintainable databases using CCAHA resources such as the Preservation Glossary and Vendor Database. It highlights strategies for improving internal workflows and creating more effective, updatable collections care resources. Cost: Free. Learn more »

Event Planners Incubator
August 11 @ 1 to 2 pm (CT) - Online: Minnesota Council of Nonprofits - This lightly facilitated virtual gathering brings together nonprofit event planners to exchange ideas, troubleshoot challenges, and gain inspiration from peers. Cost: Free. Learn more »

Plan Smart, Evaluate Better: A Practical Guide to Evaluation Planning
August 12 @ 12 to 1 pm (CT) - Online: Inform Evaluation & Research - This free webinar offers practical strategies for planning evaluations of educational programs, public events, and exhibits. Participants will learn how to clarify evaluation goals, identify audiences and questions, select realistic methods, and anticipate common challenges, while also receiving a ready-to-use planning template. Cost: Free. Learn more »

Re(Human)izing Recruitment & Onboarding
August 12 @ 1 to 2 pm (CT) - Online: Minnesota Council of Nonprofits - Explore how to attract, interview, and onboard talent through an equity-centered lens. This workshop examines how traditional hiring practices can replicate bias and highlights inclusive job design, accessible onboarding, and culture-add approaches that foster belonging from day one. Cost: $50 members/$70 nonmembers. Learn more »

Preserving the Now: Archiving in Times of Crisis
August 12 @ 11 am to 12 pm (CT) - Online: Connecting to Collections Care - This workshop features Invisible Histories co-founders Josh Burford and Maigen Sullivan discussing how a community-based archive is preserving at-risk LGBTQ history in the U.S. South through community outreach, volunteer engagement, and shared preservation efforts. Participants will gain a clearer understanding of the risks facing marginalized histories today, along with practical strategies for preserving local and vulnerable records. Cost: Free. Learn more »

Learning from Place: Watt Munisotaram Cambodian Temple
August 13 @ 1 to 4 pm - Empire: Minnesota Humanities Center - This Learning from Place experience invites participants to explore Watt Munisotaram, the largest Cambodian Buddhist temple in the United States, as a living cultural and spiritual site. Participants will engage with community members, monks, and the landscape itself. Cost: $35. Learn more »

Matting & Framing: Learn How to Safely Prepare & Display Works on Paper
August 13 @ 1 pm (CT) - Online: Gaylord Archival - Amy Cao, Museum Collections Specialist, provides an overview of mounting, matting, and framing techniques, including recommended materials, supplies, and options suited to a range of budgets and collection needs. Cost: Free. Learn more »

Basics of Fundraising
August 13 @ 12 pm (CT) - Online: American Association for State and Local History - This virtual workshop introduces core fundraising concepts and strategies for history organizations of all sizes, with a focus on small institutions with limited staff and resources. Participants will learn practical approaches to building donor relationships, setting achievable goals, and strengthening individual giving programs through hands-on activities and guided discussions. Cost: $100 members/$150 nonmembers. Learn more »

I Was Told There Would Be No Math! STEM in History Museums
August 18 @ 12 to 1 pm (CT) - Online: Virginia Association of Museums - This virtual workshop explores how science can enrich historical interpretation, deepen visitor engagement, and create more dynamic educational experiences in history museums. Presenters will share practical strategies and real-world examples showing how STEM connections can illuminate historical narratives and support richer, more inclusive learning across audiences. Cost: Free. Learn more »

Menopause at Work: Tools for Self-Advocacy and Leadership Support
August 18 @ 12 to 1:30 pm (CT) - Online: Minnesota Council of Nonprofits - This interactive webinar explores how menopause can affect employees, teams, and organizational culture, drawing on HR expertise and lived experience to separate myths from facts and examine the hormonal journey. Participants will gain practical self-advocacy tools, while HR professionals and supervisors will learn why meaningful support is a strategic leadership priority. Cost: $25 with promo code on website. Learn more »

Building an Effective Executive Director + Board Chair Partnership
August 19 @ 9 am to 12 pm (CT) - Online: Propel Nonprofits - This workshop helps executive directors and board chairs strengthen their partnership by clarifying roles, building trust, and aligning on shared leadership practices to support organizational success. It is designed for pairs attending together and includes practical guidance for improving communication and reducing board-staff stress. Cost: $95. Learn more »

Age is Not a Limitation: What Happened When We Took Older Adults Seriously as Creators
August 24 @ 9 to 10 am (CT) - Online: Ohio Museums Association - This session examines the Akron Art Museum’s Creative Aging Institute as a model for integrating older adults into core audience development and programming. Presented by Merry Pertoski, it explores how positioning adults 55+ as active creators fosters social connection, lifelong learning, and community engagement while challenging age-related stereotypes. Participants will gain insights into building inclusive, sustainable programs that support healthy aging and meaningful participation. Cost: $15 members; $20 nonmembers. Learn more »

Designing History Walking Tours
August 27 @ 12 pm (CT) - Online: American Association for State and Local History - Aja Bain, AASLH’s Director of Professional Development and Publications and an experienced Nashville tour guide, shares practical guidance on creating engaging and memorable historic walking tours. This session covers essential elements, interpretive strategies, and adaptable approaches for sites of any size, location, or budget. Cost: $100 members; $150 nonmembers. Learn more »

Is Social Media Still Worth It?
August 27 @ 11 am (CT) - Online: Southeastern Museums Conference - Join museum professionals from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, the National Gallery of Art, and the Southern University at New Orleans Museum of Art for an honest conversation about the changing role of social media in museum work. Panelists will discuss storytelling, thoughtful AI use, platform choice, and ways to measure success beyond likes, while offering fresh perspectives for making limited time and resources go further. Cost: Free members; $15 nonmembers. 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

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 »

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

2025 North Star Genealogy Conference: Charting Your Ancestral Course
October 24-25 @ 9 am to 6 pm - Eagan: Minnesota Genealogical Society at Eagan Community Center - Join this two-day event featuring acclaimed genealogists David E. Rencher, Chief Genealogical Officer for FamilySearch, and J. H. “Jay” Fonkert, former MGS president. Gain insights on ancestral research and connect with fellow genealogists. Cost and registration details available on the Minnesota Genealogical Society website. Learn more »

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 »