2024 Annual Meeting:
Des Moines, Iowa, May 2-4, 2024

Welcome to Des Moines, Iowa, host of the MAC 2024 Annual Meeting at the Des Moines Marriott Downtown. The capital and most populous city in Iowa, Des Moines takes its name from the Des Moines River, which likely was adapted from the early French name, Rivière des Moines, meaning "River of the Monks". 

The conference theme this year is “Sowing Seeds of Change,“ a nod to Iowa’s historic role in agriculture. It also acknowledges that archival work is evolving and changing, requiring archivists to adapt and implement new approaches to the work. Conference sessions and workshops will explore this theme, and help attendees look at their work in a new light.

For the most up-to-date conference information, please visit Sched (some tours and workshops still TBD).

MAC 2024 Program PDF

This page will be updated with the most up-to-date conference information as it becomes available.

Present at the 2024 MAC Annual Meeting!

Pop-Up Sessions: 

The 2024 Program Committee invites pop-up session proposals on all aspects of archival practice and research, as well as from related fields.  All pop-up sessions will be scheduled for Friday, May 3, 2024 from 9:45am to 10:30am in Des Moines, Iowa. Presenters must confirm they will be in attendance during this date and time.  Touching on the conference theme, “Sowing Seeds of Change,” we encourage you to consider areas of growth, cultivation, and restoration in our profession that have recently “popped up.” Proposal submissions from students, new professionals, and first-time presenters are highly encouraged.  MAC members will be able to vote for up to three 45-minute sessions that they would most like to see at the annual meeting in Des Moines! Online voting will open in February and presenters will be notified of the voting results by the end of February.   

To submit a proposal, please fill out the MAC 2024 Pop-Up Session Submission Form. DEADLINE EXTENDED to Monday, February 12, 2024. For complete details, visit the Call for Pop-Up Session Proposals page.

Poster Presentations: 

The 2024 Program Committee invites poster proposal submissions on all aspects of archival practice and research, as well as on topics from allied and related fields, that loosely correlate to the conference theme “Sowing Seeds of Change.” All poster presentations will be scheduled for Friday, May 3, 2024 in Des Moines, Iowa, and at least one author must be available to present. The Program Committee seeks a diverse slate of presenters representing a variety of personal and institutional backgrounds, perspectives, and voices. We seek to foster a culture of inclusion in the MAC program and encourage submissions from anyone who is interested in presenting, including students, new professionals, first-time presenters, and those from allied professions. MAC membership is not required to present. 

To submit a proposal, please fill out the MAC 2024 Poster Proposals Submission Form. DEADLINE EXTENDED to Monday, February 12, 2024. For complete details, visit the Call for Poster Proposals page.

Session Proposals: Call for Session Proposals has Closed.

Plenary Session

This year’s plenary “Unlocking Midwestern Agricultural History through Archival Investigation” features speakers from two Iowa organizations dedicated to preserving  the farming practices of earlier times, by relying upon historical records and legacy plant seeds. In this moderated session, audience members will hear about the programs’ missions and the challenges they face. 

Jaime Nicolet Rutan:

Jaime Nicolet Rutan (she/her) is the Curator of Collections, Archives, and Exhibits at Living History Farms in Urbandale, Iowa. A native Iowan, Jaime holds a bachelor’s degree in art history from the University of Iowa and a master’s degree in fine and decorative art from Sotheby’s Institute of Art.

Sara Straate:

Sara Straate (she/her) is the seed historian at Seed Savers Exchange in Decorah, Iowa, a non-profit organization that maintains and distributes a collection of over 20,000 varieties of heritage garden seeds and apples. Seed Savers Exchange promotes the importance of preserving biodiversity through seed stewardship and provides programming and other opportunities that engage gardeners, farmers, seed savers, and breeders with the collection.

Workshops and Special Events

CLI for GLAM: A Command Line Workshop for Absolute Beginners

This workshop is an introduction to the command line interface and its library and archives-specific uses for complete beginners, using the GitBash terminal application. Participants will gain familiarity with the nature of terminal applications, learn the syntax of the command line, build basic navigation and file manipulation skills, and get experience calling and using programs within the terminal. The enrollment for this workshop will be capped at 15 participants.

Instructor:  A.L. Carson, Processing Archivist at Iowa State University

Emotional Intelligence and Transformational Leadership for Successful Archives Programs

This workshop will offer guidance and helpful tips to archives workers at all levels who are interested in bringing about positive change in the workplace and inspiring others to work together towards common goals. The workshop will introduce concepts and traits of emotional intelligence and transformational leadership and how they can be applied in the workplace. Tips for time management, change management, and avoiding scope creep and overload will be shared, along with best practices in persuasive communication and strategic approaches to obtaining resources and increasing the value of the archives for administrators, donors, and related stakeholders. Attendees will discuss case studies and examples of archives leadership challenges in a supportive setting, and leave the workshop with ideas and tools for making their archives program more valued.

Instructor: Sammie L. Morris, Professor and Head of Archives & Special Collections at Purdue University

Hotel Information 

Des Moines Marriott Downtown 
700 Grand Ave,
Des Moines, Iowa, United States, 50309

MAC Conference room reservation link: