10/07/2026
Last month, Reference Archivist, Morgan Miller Scarborough, attended the American Association for State and Local History and the National Council on Public History's joint conference in Providence, Rhode Island, supported by our 501(c)3 organization the Friends of the Maryland State Archives! During the conference, Morgan presented her poster on the topic, “Reference Isn’t Dead.”
Morgan discussed her ideas behind the creation of the first-of-its-kind Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference (MARAC) Workshop of the same title, her experience at the Society of American Archivists (SAA ) 2026 Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, the workshop at the Salisbury University Nabb Research Center, as well as ideas for future reference services advocacy in academic and professional spaces. The feedback Morgan received from attendees will be included into the next poster session she will be attending digitally: the MARAC Fall 2026 Virtual Meeting titled “Archives Adapting to a Changing World” between this October 28th and 30th.
The work we do matters a great deal and we must be able to do that work well. It is Morgan’s hope that by bringing this topic to multiple organizational gatherings, “Reference Isn't Dead” can turn into a broader movement and encourage advocacy across our field.
For more information on the workshop co-taught by Morgan Miller Scarborough, Rachel Frazier, and Darby Nisbett Schini, check out our post about it from May. If you have any questions or would like to hear more, please contact the Maryland State Archives.
If you’re wondering about Morgan’s attire, Fridays at AASLH conferences are always T-Shirt Day! Morgan is wearing her shirt from Preservation Hall in New Orleans to tie in her experience at the SAA conference over the summer.
