Please excuse the cross-postings. . .  



Get ready for the next Midwest Archives Conference meeting, as MAC returns to Chicago!  The meeting dates are April 28-30, 2005.  For the complete program, registration information, details on workshops, tours, and special events, and a wealth of information on travel and Chicago tourism information, please visit MAC's website at www.midwestarchives.org.

 

The meeting will have something for everyone!  The Program Committee has produced a splendid program full of diverse sessions and workshops. Start your pre-conference experience with the SAA workshop on electronic records or the MAC workshop on accessioning. And to make continuing archival education even more accessible, additional workshops-on disasters in the digital age and handling old photographs-will be offered on Friday and Saturday morning, respectively. From discussions of changes in the field over the past 30 years, to tips from recently-hired archivists, there is a session for everyone, no matter how long you've been in the profession or what type of archives you work in. Wide-ranging session topics include processing large collections, understanding religious resources, documenting African-American music, dealing with news collections, coping with anniversaries, and gaining support from your institutions-as well as reports on a variety of cooperative projects, and more! 

 

Our keynote speaker will be Chicago-based mystery writer Sara Paretsky.  Paretsky's works include a series of novels about a Chicago detective named V.I. Warshawski. In Blacklist, the eleventh and most recent novel (2003), the intrepid investigator conducts research at several local repositories (mentioned by name with pseudonymous archivists), uncovering historical clues that will help her solve the case. Paretsky has also been outspoken about the Patriot Act and its impact on libraries.

 

The Local Arrangements Committee has arranged tours to the National Archives and Records Administration-Great Lakes Region and the Special Collections Research Center at the University of Chicago Library; Millennium Park and the Chicago Cultural Center; Prairie Avenue Historic District's Clarke and Glessner Houses and Graphic Conservation Company; Archives of Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County; and Graceland Cemetery. Tour space is limited, so be sure to reserve your spot.

 

Thursday night join your colleagues for the MAC reception at the Archdiocese of Chicago's Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Archives and Records Center. Check out the Chicago night life Friday and sign up for the restaurant tours or the pub crawl. Don't miss the debut of the Members' Meeting on Friday afternoon, where we'll honor MAC Award recipients, hold the Annual Business Meeting, and raffle off some incredible prizes.

 

As always, the registration fees for the MAC meeting are an incomparable bargain!  Advance registration (before March 31) is $50 for members, $60 for nonmembers, and $35 for students. Registration after March 31 and on-site is $60 for members, $70 for nonmembers, and $45 for students. The conference hotel is the Wyndham Chicago, only steps away from the shopper's paradise that is the Magnificent Mile. Rates for single and double rooms are $154, a good deal for this classy neighborhood. Room rates are guaranteed through March 22, so don't delay! Travel discounts are available on Amtrak and Continental Airport Express shuttle.