Category Archives: Events

Event: 3rd Annual AHA! Pitch & Polish Party 4/25 at 1:00 pm

Do you have a big presentation coming up? Or are you looking for a chance to sharpen your public speaking skills in a fun, supportive space? Join us for our third annual Pitch & Polish PowerPoint Party on Saturday, April 25th at 1:00 pm!

Bring your slides, your notes, or just yourself. You’ll receive constructive feedback, helpful tips, and encouragement in a fun and welcoming environment. Let’s turn those nerves into confidence! Not preparing for a presentation right now, but still want to join the fun? Take a spin with one of our lighthearted, boilerplate PowerPoint decks! They’re short, completely impromptu, and make great icebreakers.

Click here to RSVP and organize carpooling if needed! Click here for the Zoom link or email us at houstonarchives@gmail.com for the in-person address.

Announcement: Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center: Family History Day

The Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center in Liberty presents a free workshop on Saturday, April 18, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on tracing your family lineage back to the era of the American Revolution in 1776. Guest speakers from the Texas Society DAR and Texas State Library and Archives Commission will discuss the resources they offer to help me and women uncover overlooked patriots. This program is free and open to the public.

Registration required at samhoustoncenter@tsl.texas.gov or 936-336-8821.

For more information visit this link.

Event: Spring Members Meeting

We invite all AHA! members and friends to attend our spring members meeting next Wednesday, April 1, 2026 at 12:00 p.m. CDT. AHA! board members will share updates on ongoing initiatives and upcoming programming. AHA! members will also have the opportunity to vote in a special election for a new AHA! Vice President. Finally, we are excited to welcome Miguell Ceasar, Division Manager of Special Collections at the Houston Public Library, as our guest speaker!

At HPL, Miguell oversees four key collections: the African American History Research Center, Hispanic History Research Center, Houston History Research Center, and Family History Research Center. With 21 years of experience in archives and libraries, he is dedicated to preserving Houston’s diverse histories through a variety of materials, including books, photographs, and oral histories.

A significant aspect of Miguell’s role involves leading digitization efforts to enhance accessibility and preservation. He also ensures the preservation of historic buildings and archival storage, implementing tailored measures for various formats. In addition to his management duties, he regularly presents to stakeholders, including executive leaders and City Council Members, showcasing recent acquisitions and the ongoing needs of the collections. Miguell holds a Bachelor’s in Business Administration, a Master of Community Development from Prairie View A&M University, and a Master of Library Science & Information from Texas Woman’s University.

During our meeting, Miguell will present on his experiences with community-centered archival approaches and the post-custodial model within Houston’s Black community.

We hope you’ll make plans to join us and look forward to seeing you online!

Meeting Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88363665225?pwd=xRw1ZqbbPydMcRNIpQfXu8pKhrOiYa.1
Meeting ID: 883 6366 5225 Passcode: 555475

Announcement: Old Weird Houston Raffle!

Old Weird Houston is only a week away and we are excited to share that we will be having a raffle! Donate $5 or more and get an AHA! Zine plus a FREE raffle entry! Raffle prizes include: a $100 Phoenicia Gift Card, an Astros backpack, a MFAH art book, weird cat cards, Cruiser Coffee, Archival Starter Kit!! Raffle entries will run from 12-3PM and drawings begin 3PM. Cash needed to participate! Additional pictures of the prizes are below!

Professional Development: SSA Virtual Webinar – Centering Sustainability: A New Model for Digital Stewardship 4/1

EVENT DETAILS: 

Title: Centering Sustainability: A New Model for Digital Stewardship

Presenter: Keith Pendergrass, Digital Archivist at Baker Library Special Collections and Archives, Harvard Business School, and co-author of “Toward Environmentally Sustainable Digital Preservation.”

Date: Wednesday, April 1, 2026

Time: 10:00am CST

Duration Length: 60 minutes

Description: Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure is the backbone of all our digital stewardship initiatives. However, negative impacts across the lifecycles of these technology components harm the natural environment, humans, and other species. As we continue to lean into digital developments in archival and library science, thus making greater and more intensive use of ICT infrastructure, our collective contribution to these harms grows. Additionally, the negative impacts of ICT infrastructure are not evenly distributed, disproportionately affecting marginalized, rural, and low-income communities around the world. This presentation will explore how archivists and digital stewards can learn from environmental and ecological justice principles to expand how we define the communities that we serve. By doing so, we can create a new, more sustainable model for digital stewardship that maintains value for our communities through the materials we steward while reducing the harm that our stewardship activities cause.

This program is coordinated by the Society of Southwest Archivists Ad Hoc Committee on Sustainability and sponsored by the Professional Development Committee.

Registrtation: Registration can be done here. If you are an SSA member be sure to log in to get the members’ rate.

Note: Zoom link will be provided via email one day before the event. For questions or if you encounter any registration difficulties, please contact pdc@southwestarchivists.org.

 

Event: UH Center for Public History- Fleshing the Archive a talk by Dr. Maria Cotera 2/25 at 2pm

Join UH’s Center for Public History for Fleshing the Archive: An Intimate Genealogy of Chicana Knowledge Praxis a talk by Dr. Maria Cotera (UT, Austin) on preserving Chicana feminist knowledge of the 1970s and memory work.

Where: Student Center South, Space City Room- 4555 University Drive, Houston, Texas 77204

You can register for the event here

 

 

Announcement: Old Weird Houston 2026 Musical Headliner

It is officially one month until AHA! gets weird at #OldWeirdHouston! We’re excited to share that Houston’s own Rock Romano will be our headlining musical act! Rock Romano is a multi-hyphenate artist, guitarist, bassist, record producer, and audio engineer. As owner of Red Shack Recording Studio in the Heights, Rock has helped cultivate the Houston music scene for nearly 40 years.

Join us at The Orange Show for Visionary Art Headquarters, 2334 Gulf Terminal, on Saturday, March 21, from 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM. The afternoon will feature engaging lectures, live music, food, and a steady flow of history-hungry visitors from across the city.

There is still time to sign up to be a volunteer, vendor, or sponsor! Fill out our participation form to let us know how you want to help. See you there!

 

Announcement: SAA Workshop- Project Management: Fundamental and Advanced

The Texas Historical Records Advisory Board (THRAB) invites applications for free registration to attend the two-day, in-person workshop Project Management: Fundamental and Advanced from the Society of American Archivists (SAA) on April 13-14. This workshop will be held at the Lorenzo de Zavala State Archives and Library Building in Austin from 9:00a.m. – 5:00p.m. each day. THRAB will provide free registration for the course only. Travel, meals, parking, and lodging are the responsibility of the participants. Please note this workshop was previously announced with March dates and has been rescheduled. Anyone who has already applied will be kept on the list. No need to reapply.

Form to apply: https://forms.office.com/r/9NfbkaRryg

Deadline to apply: March 13, 2026

Professional Opportunity: 2026 BitCurator Forum

The BitCurator Consortium (BCC) invites proposals for the 2026 BitCurator Forum to be held virtually on June 17th, 2026.

The 2026 conference theme, Hitting Reset, reflects the challenges and changes of the past several years and the importance of pausing to reflect on our practices before moving forward. This theme invites us to reassess how we work, what we prioritize, and how we adapt in a rapidly evolving professional landscape. Hitting Reset also encourages us to respond intentionally to new opportunities, expanding responsibilities, and changing environments. Within the context of digital archives tools and practices, how are you “hitting reset” in areas including, but not limited to, the following:

  • Human-centered practices
  •  Budgeting and resource allocation
  • Organizational responsibilities and obligations
  • Digital forensics and data recovery or rescue
  • Sustainability of digital preservation practices in an AI-driven world

We welcome proposals that explore reflection, reinvention, and practical approaches to moving forward with intention.

This year’s call is for 5 or 10 minute “lightning talks.” Lightning talks are a great format for case studies, digital archives “success stories” or “tales of woe,” research updates, practices and procedures, and short demos or how-tos. Options include:

  • One presenter for 5 minutes
  • Up to two presenters for 10 minutes

The Forum Committee welcomes participation from organizations and individuals working outside of academic and special collections libraries and archives, members from BIPOC communities, students, and new professionals. For more information, see the Call for Proposals page on our website.

Submission deadline: Sunday, March 8th, 2026

The BitCurator Forum is open to all. You do not need to be a BCC member or BitCurator user to submit a proposal and/or attend the event.

Event: Athena Press Tour and Lunch 2/28 at 11 AM

We are pleased to invite you to attend a special tour of Rice University to explore the Woodson Research Center’s new “Athena Press” on Saturday, February 28th at 11 AM, followed by a post-tour lunch. Join us for hands-on experiences with typesetting, printmaking, and bookbinding; you’ll see some prints and books that have been made on the press, and how they were inspired by items in the Woodson Research Center’s rare book collections. You’ll have the opportunity to try your hand at pulling your own print from a movable-type lock-up on Rice’s tabletop letterpress setups. See attachment for more info on the Athena Press and check out @athena.press.htx on Instagram! 

This tour is RSVPonly, capacity 15; please bring a valid ID for entry into the library.

Location: Fondren Library  6100 South Main Street, Houston, TX 77005 – Gather at visitor entrance

Parking: Founder’s Court $1 each 10 min., $13 daily maximum for each exit (please see attachment for more parking ingo and walking path to the library’s visitor entrance)

Lunch: Istanbul Grill & Deli 5613 Morningside Dr, Houston, TX 77005