In this month’s edition:

• Environment and AI Literacy Webinar, September 28

• Archives 101 for Accidental Archivists (Columbus, OH), October 3

• Archives and Climate Change Online Course, October 5-November 1

• Fun With Archives Online Workshop, October 20

• Mini Consulting Sessions

• This Month’s Recommendations

Welcome back to the Memory Rising newsletter! I am thrilled to be back in your inboxes after an unintentional hiatus of several months and a restorative summer that involved taking a road trip to New England and visiting New Orleans for my annual archivist conference. For those who are just getting caught up, I recently migrated my business newsletter from Mailchimp to Buttondown, which I have been happily using to run my personal newsletter. 

Although I’ve only been running my business full-time for just over three years, I’m starting to notice some seasonal patterns. There are slow periods and busy periods which roughly seem to match the school year. Although the landscape for running an archival business remains challenging, I feel extraordinarily lucky that my autumn is shaping up to be pretty busy. I hope to cross paths with you through one of the many projects mentioned below!

-Eira 

Environmental Perspectives in AI Literacy Webinar

Join Ithaka S+R for a conversation on Monday September 28 at 3 PM Eastern about how higher education is thinking about AI’s environmental impacts. This webinar will feature four panelists—Beth Filar Williams (User Experience Research Librarian, Oregon State University Libraries), Chris Rabe (Program Lead, Universal Climate, MIT Open Learning, and Education Program Director, MIT Climate Project), Eira Tansey (founder and manager of Memory Rising), and Sarah Tribelhorn (Sciences and Sustainability Librarian, San Diego State University)—to explore how the environmental impacts of AI could feature within AI literacy curricula and the role of higher ed when it comes to AI and sustainability. This webinar is a part of Ithaka S+R’s Incorporating Environmental Perspectives into AI Literacy project (I am currently serving on the advisory board).

Workshop for Ohio’s Local Historians 

Are you an “accidental archivist” responsible for archives and historical records? I will be teaching Archives 101 for Accidental Archivists: What You Need to Know to Preserve and Make Archives Accessible at the Ohio Local History Alliance Annual Meeting in Columbus on Saturday, October 3.

This session provides the essential information you need to steward your organization’s archives. Learn practical, foundational knowledge on how to preserve, organize, and make your local history collections accessible to researchers and the public. More information on the conference and registration information can be found on OLHA’s website. 

Archives and Climate Change Online Course  

Do you work in libraries or archives and care about climate change? I will be teaching a four-week asynchronous course through Library Juice Academy from October 5-November 1. 

During this course, participants will learn about the basic science of climate change, study its public policy implications and climate trends in their local region and institutions, and develop practical strategies for beginning to address climate change within the scope of their work. This is an affordable and flexible course and a great opportunity to learn from me at your own pace! Registration is currently open at LJA’s website.

Fun With Archives Workshop

Are you curious about using archives in your research or creative projects, but not sure how to go about it or make it a practice? Or maybe you’ve started a project using archives and have hit a rut in your research — thinking where is all this leading, and where can I find more?

Join Jess Farrell and myself for FUN WITH ARCHIVES! on Tuesday October 20 from 4:00-5:30 PM Eastern. In this 90-minute session, participants can pitch their ideas or get advice (from both us and fellow participants) on how to move forward on in-progress projects. Learn from each other, find cool archives you can use in your research, meet likeminded researchers, and hear about emerging projects from your research peers.

We offer this workshop at a sliding scale price starting at $5. Registration will close on Sunday October 18. You will receive a calendar invitation and Zoom link within 7 days of registration. Contact Eira Tansey at [email protected] 

Mini Consulting Sessions

Are you thinking about a history, climate change, or archives-related project and not sure about the best way to move forward and make it real? Are you a small organization eager to preserve your history?

Draw on my experience and prior work without the overhead of a long-term engagement! Sign up for a one-hour consulting session. We’ll chat about your idea, problem, or project, and I will share resources with you after the call.

This Month’s Recommendations

🌐 Ten years on: has the Paris climate deal delivered? | DW News - This is a succinct and informative video about the ten year anniversary of the Paris Agreement from Deutsche Welle that I’ve recently added to my climate change teaching materials. 

🎥 The Watermelon Woman - I finally saw Cheryl Dunye’s classic of queer cinema recently and loved it. I don’t think I can ever recall seeing a movie that finds a way to gently skewer both big research libraries and small community archives. 

🏊 Walden Pond - Okay, I have to confess I still haven’t read the book. But this recommendation is for the actual Walden Pond that you can visit and swim in! I went there this summer on my New England road trip with a family member and had a blast. 

Support My Work

The Memory Rising newsletter will always remain free since it is the main way that I advertise my public work and business services. If you would ever like to directly support my work as a fully self-employed archivist, you are welcome to send me a “pay what you wish” amount via PayPal to my business account. Thank you for your support of independent cultural and memory workers!