It’s that time of year again! We are teaming up with the Orange Show for the annual Old, Weird Houston event on March 30th. This event features an archives bazaar, a day-long schedule of speakers and panels, along with food trucks and vendors.
We would like the archives bazaar to represent all of the diverse repositories and collections around the city, so we encourage y’all to sign up to be an exhibitor. You can bring anything from your repository that is interesting or relevant to the history of Houston, as well as any printed materials or swag items from your institution/organization. The main goal is to get folks interested in archives and to become familiar with local area repositories. Each exhibitor will get a “booth” provided by the Orange Show to showcase their materials.
More details about exhibiting and signing up can be found here.
Save the date! Saturday, March 30, 2024, 10am-6pm. Old, Weird Houston at the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art. 2334 Gulf Terminal Drive. Houston, TX 77023.
The deadline to sign up is March 15, 2024. Please share this with anyone who might be interested in participating!
We also will need some volunteers to help with the event. You can sign up to volunteer here.
You can read more details about the event on the Orange Show’s website, and check out some videos of the speakers who participated at last year’s event.
The annual Old, Weird Houston at The Orange Show is on March 30th. The event flyer is available to download.
Download.
Print.
Post around town.
Tell everyone about the event.
This event features an archives bazaar, a day-long schedule of speakers and panels, along with food trucks and vendors. Find all links and details at here on the AHA! website or at on The Orange Show website.
We are busy filling out the year with events, professional development opportunities, repository tours, and get-togethers all over the Houston and Southeast TX area. We’ve already had 2 events this year and planning many more. Hope to see y’all soon!
Sign-up to exhibit your repository at the annual Old, Weird Houston at The Orange Show on March 30th. The deadline is March 15th. Please share this with anyone who might be interested in participating at the event!
We would like the archives bazaar to represent all of the diverse repositories and collections around the city, so we encourage y’all to sign up to be an exhibitor. You can bring anything from your repository that is interesting or relevant to the history of Houston, as well as any printed materials or swag items from your institution/organization. The main goal is to get folks interested in archives and to become familiar with local area repositories. Each exhibitor will get a “booth” provided by the Orange Show to showcase their materials. More details about exhibiting and signing up is included in the sign-up form.
This event features an archives bazaar, a day-long schedule of speakers and panels, along with food trucks and vendors.
You can read more details about the event on the Orange Show’s website, and check out some videos of the speakers who participated at last year’s event.
Please join us for a PowerPoint Party on Saturday 2/24 at 2 PM! This will be a hybrid event hosted in person and online via Zoom.
Yes, you read that right, a PowerPoint Party! Come learn about local repositories, projects, and other interesting archives-related concepts from our AHA! members. We encourage people to participate by presenting a short 1-3 slide presentation on any archive-related topic. Tell us about the repository you work at, an interesting collection you recently browsed, any projects you may have worked on, some interesting news or tea you may have heard, or anything else that you’d like to share. Presenting a PowerPoint is not required, and you are more than welcome to come and just observe 🙂
Presenting is such an important professional skill, but also something that many people prefer to avoid. Whether it’s anxiety or frustrations with technology, we hope that this event will provide a low-stakes and friendly environment for AHA! members to practice this skill in a fun way. As more conferences are hosted in a hybrid format, this is an opportunity to practice either/both skill sets.
Online participants can join us on Zoom.
In-person participants can join us at 2375 Bolsover, Houston, TX 77005
Be mindful of parking signage, especially in front of the house. Free parking on Dunstan, East of Greenbrier; Paid Parking in garage near Morningside and Rice Blvd near Coppa Osteria
Map showing Free parking on Dunstan, East of Greenbrier; Paid Parking in garage near Morningside and Rice Blvd near Coppa Osteria
in-person: 2375 Bolsover, Houston, TX, 77005. Virtual: zoom ID: 880 0818 7968 passcode: 874871. | Short 1-3 slide presentations on any archive-related topic. | Practice your in-person and/or virtual presentation skills or support your local archivists as an observer. | In-person and virtual presentations will be viewable to all participants. (Cody is grilling a little bit!)
Have you ever been plugging the Archivists of the Houston Area (AHA!) to a new hire or graduate student and thought, “Man, I wish I had something tangible to give you with all the information you need to join the Premier Archivist Organization of Southeast Texas?” Well, look no further! AHA! now has postcards and flyers available for download.
We also have 250 postcards printed in vibrant color for area repositories to have on hand for anyone interested in becoming an AHA! member, like staff, interns, volunteers, and researchers.
Archivists of the Houston Area! (AHA!) is the premiere archivists organization of Southeast Texas.
Our Mission
AHA! exists to increase contact and communication between archivists and those working with records, to provide opportunities for professional development, and to promote archival repositories and activities in the greater Houston, Texas area.
What does membership do for you? It’s an opportunity to…
Get involved and collaborate with 100s of other archivists in the area.
Attend meetings and events throughout the year, virtually and in-person.
Share experiences and skills.
Receive alerts to events, meetings, professional opportunities, and job announcements through our email list.
Thanks to everyone who joined us for our Summer Meeting, August 10, 2023 at 12pm. A huge THANK YOU to Adrian Melissinos and Amanda Focke for your poster presentations! It was our first poster session of what I hope will be many more.
Adrian Melissinos is an adjunct faculty member at TWU related to nursing history and a Post-Doctoral Fellow on a research grant examining simulation in nursing education. She has been a member of numerous boards including the Cizik School of Nursing Advisory Board and the Friends of Women’s Studies at the University of Houston. She is vice-president of the Friends of the Texas Medical Center Library and has served as chairman for the Texas Medical Center Women’s History Project. She pursues her interest in research with an emphasis on nursing history. Experiences of an end-user of archives utilizing both in-person and digital access of materials.
Amanda Focke, Head of Special Collections for Rice University’s Fondren Library “Impossible Archives – ethical access to very sensitive records of the paranormal” the challenges of providing broad access to collections with personally identifying information of experiencers of alien abduction. While the topic is specific, the archival challenges could apply broadly.
Video of the meeting is available online for a limited time.
We ran a little past 1pm, so if you missed the Business Meeting portion, you can catch up by watching the video online (start at 28:46)
Amanda Focke, Head of Special Collections for Rice University’s Fondren Library presents during the Summer Meeting of Archivists of the Houston Area (AHA!), August 10, 2023.
“Impossible Archives – ethical access to very sensitive records of the paranormal”
the challenges of providing broad access to collections with personally identifying information of experiencers of alien abduction. While the topic is specific, the archival challenges could apply broadly.Alana Inman, AHA! Secretary and Manager at the Sam Houston Regional Library & Research Center, Texas State Library and Archives Commission, talks about the the plans for the AHA! Holiday Meeting in Liberty, TX this December.
Back by popular demand! Our “Old, Weird Houston” stickers have been re-issued in a special glitter edition. These went quickly at our event at The Orange Show back in April!
Get yours by donating $3 dollars or more.
Stickers are 3in x 3in, are durable and weather resistant with a glittering look but none of the mess of actual glitter! These will look good on your laptop or even car bumper.
Donate through our Square store. Once your donation has been received, the Treasurer will contact you by Email for your shipping information.
Come all you local weirdos, geeks, and history nerds and join us on Saturday, April 1st from 10:00am – 4:00am as Archivists of the Houston Area partners withThe Orange Show Center for Visionary Art, for Old, Weird, Houston! Archival repositories and private collectors from around the greater Houston and Southeast Texas region have scoured their collections and will be bringing their weirdest, funkiest, rarest, and in some cases ugliest items in an all-day grown-up show and tell!
Exclusive sticker for “Old, Weird Houston” for the Archivists of the Houston Area (AHA!). houstonarchivists.org. Designed by Laura Ramirez
There will be vendors with Houston swag, food, and drinks as well as panel discussions and presentations on topics such as hardboiled newspaper columnist Sig Byrd; the rise and fall of counterculture rag Space City News; the rescue and conservation of the Hyde Park Miniature Museum; the original story behind the Art Car Parade; and the Orange Show’s history and its upcoming exciting restoration project. Stay after the talks for a performance from legendary Houston punk band Mydolls.
Besides being the welcome wagon at the event, AHA! will be hosting an Ask the Archivist booth where the public can get advice on their own preservation and archiving needs. We will also have a booth that will feature some cool event swag, including an exclusive sticker commemorating the event. You can also find copies of the AHA! Repository Directory (and pay your membership dues? Only $11 for a year). If you feel like manning any of these booths,we are still looking for volunteers! You can let us know by filling outthis form.
Gulf Terminal Drive is one street past Munger off the southbound Gulf Freeway feeder approaching Telephone Road. Plenty of parking available in the lot behind HQ dock.
When
Saturday, April 1st, 2023 10:00am – 4:00pm
Program Schedule
10 a
Event Begins
10:15 am:
Welcome & Sig Byrd by Robert Kimberley
11:30 am:
Space City News by Thorne Dreyer
12:30 noon:
The History of the Art Car Parade
1:30 pm:
Hyde Park Miniature Museum by Pete Gershon
2:30 pm:
Orange Show history and conservation panel
4:00 pm:
Performance by Mydolls at Orange Show monument
Social media graphic for “Old, Weird Houston” presented by the Orange Show & AHA! Ten archives from the Houston & Southeast Texas region with their weirdest stuff! Show & Tell. Ask an Archivist. Music & Talks. Swag, Food & Drinks. When: April 1, 2023, 10am-4pm. Where: 2334 Gulf Terminal Dr. Houston, TX 77023.Social media graphic for “Old, Weird Houston” presented by the Orange Show with the Archivists of the Houston Area. Saturday, April 1st 10am – 4pm at Orange Show World HQ 2334 Gulf Terminal Dr. Houston, TX 77023. A Local history fair showcasing oddball ephemera from collections both public and private.