Webinars & Workshops

The following formats, Occasional Lecture Series and Workshops, are regularly organized and offered by the MARAC Education Committee. Workshops and other educational programming are offered online via Zoom, in person, and the day before in-person conferences.  Other educational proposals are welcome and will be considered – they do not need to fit into the proposed structure. Proposals for new educational offerings are always welcome!

The Education Committee follows the MARAC Privacy and Confidentiality Policy for all communications with instructors and participants.

Upcoming Events

WORKSHOP: Events Made Easy: Developing and Executing Programs (two-day workshop)
When: July 23, 2:00-4:00 pm EDT (5 minute break) and July 24, 2:00-4:00 pm EDT (5 minute break)
Where: Virtual (MARAC Zoom)
Cost: $60.00
Registration Limit: 20

Instructors:
Tess Colwell, Arts Librarian for Research Services at the Robert B. Haas Family Arts Library, Yale University
Alex O’Keefe, Research + Instruction Librarian at the John M. Flaxman Library, School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Workshop Description:
Hosting events is a key part of outreach, but can be overwhelming and challenging depending on available resources – such as time, funding, and partnerships. In this workshop, participants will learn how to use a simple framework to maximize limited resources, serve their community through events, and generate positive attention from stakeholders.

Through a series of hands-on activities, participants will learn to plan an event step-by-step while integrating GLAM best practices. The workflow participants will walk through includes: audience identification, collaboration consideration, budget application, event preparation, day-of-event execution, post-event evaluation, and thorough documentation. Ideally, participants will bring one event idea to the workshop (but will have time to ideate if needed).

Participants will leave the workshop with a plan for their library or collection, a community of peers for future support, tools for advocacy and reporting to administrators, and resources to enact a sustainable events program at their institutions.

This workshop will not be recorded.

Please note: Participants will need a google-compatible account to participate in our virtual worksheets (which are hosted on Google Slides). For software, participants will need a word / spreadsheet processor of choice (i.e. Google Docs, Google Sheets, Microsoft Words, Microsoft Excel, etc.)

About the Instructors: 
Tess Colwell (She/Her) is the Arts Librarian for Research Services at Yale University’s Robert B. Haas Family Arts Library where she serves as the library liaison to the schools of art and architecture, and the history of art department. In this role, she has developed and collaborated on a variety of events and outreach programs including a Photobook Club series, Library Pop-up events, annual Wikipedia edit-a-thons, and a popular Reading Week program. Her research interests include digital humanities, library outreach, design research methodologies, and visual literacy instruction.

Alex O’Keefe (She/Her) is the Research & Instruction Librarian at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s John M. Flaxman Library. As part of this role she focuses on outreach and programming, specifically collaborating with other staff members and student groups to plan events for SAIC’s diverse creative community. Her work focuses on fostering community in the library through collaborations, weaving critical librarianship into initiatives, fighting mis/disinformation, and all things library outreach.

ARCs: 2

Register online by July 21st at https://marac.memberclicks.net/events_made_easy

Questions? Contact Elizabeth Wilkinson at [email protected]

 Webinars

45-90 minutes, lecture-based instruction with 10-30 minutes of Q&A

  • Share your expertise/experience in an Archival Community of Practice Discussion.
  • 45 to 90 min informal discussion and/or presentation with discussion/Q+A (some combination thereof)
  • Typically online via zoom in webinar or informal formats
  • These events are typically recorded unless otherwise requested. (Q+A is never recorded)
  • Any CE points must be sought by the participants individually
  • Can also be in the format of a community of practice conversation

Conference Workshops
3 – 6 hours, instruction may include participation such as hands-on activities, discussion, break-out sessions

  • In person workshops: Half-day: 3 hours (9:00 -12:00 or 1:00 - 4:00) with one (1) fifteen minute break with light refreshments.
    Full-day: 6 hours (9:00 - 4:00) with two (2) fifteen minute breaks with light refreshments and one hour lunch break. Workshops typically take place the day before the conference starts.
  • Workshops (with participation) are not recorded.

Off-Conference Workshops
60 minutes – 6 hours, instruction includes participation such as hands-on activities, discussion, break-out sessions (more than a lecture or webinar)

  • In person and/or virtual. Off-conference events have more flexibility and will be determined by the venue, instructor, and content. Virtual workshops over 3 hours will typically be split into 2 days.
  • Workshops may be recorded; question and answer sections of workshops may be recorded. 

Workshops Pricing & Compensation

The standard cost of attending a workshop is between $50 and $100, depending on the length of the workshop. Instructors for workshops are compensated based on current rates. (Please contact us for details.)

Instructor Expectations

Workshop Instructors are expected to meet the Society of American Archivists' Archival Continuing Education (ACE) Guidelines regarding instructor qualifications, delivery methods for adult learning, and areas of archival knowledge.

Wherever possible, resources will be made available to participants (slides, handouts) and to members via the digital repository (DRUM).  If you cannot make resources available, please explain why. 

Accessibility guidelines - presentation and materials must comply with accepted practice. If you cannot make resources accessible, please explain why.

Workshop Proposals 

Please visit our Previous & Upcoming Workshops page for information on accessing or attending workshops. If you are interested in giving a workshop, please submit a proposal on this Google Form. Other educational proposals are welcome and will be considered – they do not need to fit into the described structure.

 Last revised May 2025