Digitizing Your Collection on a Budget (25 Sep 2026)

Fri, 25 Sep 2026 14:00:00 GMT

What's wrong with just scanning or photographing the item as is? All cameras and scanners are the same, aren't they? Why should I follow guidelines? Does the distinction between photographing an item in your collection and digitizing materials at an archival standard confuse you? Do you only have a basic flatbed office scanner? Then join MAM for a day of learning about digitization at the Osher Map Library - one of Maine’s leading sources of high-quality digital images!

Federal Agencies Digital Guidelines Initiatives (FADGI) is a set of federal guidelines for best practices intended for government agencies, as well as museums, libraries, archives, and historical societies, for digitizing materials that meets consistent imaging/scanning metrics, accessibility and long-term storage for both digitized and born digital materials.

This workshop is designed for smaller institutions with little to no resources to help achieve a high quality of digitization with a basic flat-bed scanner. We will go over the basic steps, cost effective color charts, and software that can help achieve minimal FADGI compliance. Explanation of the development of FADGI guidelines and the FADGI scale will also be provided.

This is not a one-size-fits-all solution but by adopting FADGI guidelines not only will this help ensure qualified consistency for your images but create incentives for potential grants to further investments in better digitization projects and potential equipment.

Additionally, participants will get to tour the Osher Map Library and see their world class imaging facilities.

Lunch and discounted on-campus parking will be provided.

MAM members receive a discount on registration for this event. Not a member yet? Join here.

2026 Annual Conference (02 Oct 2026)

Fri, 02 Oct 2026 12:30:00 GMT

REVOLUTIONARY RESILIANCE
250 & Beyond

Friday, October 2, 2025
University of Maine at Augusta

Keynote Speaker: Dr Libby Bischof

Libby Bischof is Executive Director of the Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education, Professor of History, and the inaugural University Historian at the University of Southern Maine, where she has taught courses in Maine History, History and Photography, Popular Culture, and Public History for the past 19 years. A visual and cultural historian of the 19th and 20th centuries, Bischof is interested in the ways in which friendship informs cultural production, especially in relation to landscape and place. A public historian, Bischof believes deeply in site-based, hands-on, place-based social studies education, and the ways in which teaching local and regional history can lead to deeper civic engagement. She lives with her husband, children, and new puppy Red in Gorham, Maine, and when she’s not working, she’s either reading, swimming, hiking in the woods, or sending postcards.

2026 MAM Conference Schedule:

Pre and Post Conference Add-ons
(free of charge but space is limited, must RSVP when registering for the conference)

Thursday, October 1:

10:00-12:00 Tours of Vaughan Woods & Historic Homestead, Hallowell (two options)
A Place Reconsidered: This tour will tackle how historic sites can reckon honestly with histories of colonialism and slavery while remaining meaningful, welcoming places for their communities—especially at a moment when telling the histories of traditionally marginalized people is increasingly contested. Participants will learn about ongoing work at Vaughan Woods & Historic Homestead (VWHH) to reinterpret a site long associated with the prominent Hallowell–Vaughan family.
Historic Preservation and the Natural Landscape at Vaughan Homestead: Property Manager Dan Mitchell will lead a tour focused on the way in which principles of historic preservation, most commonly associated with buildings, are applied to the landscape at VWHH. Participants will learn about documentation and maintenance plans, as well as the evolving philosophy behind the preservation efforts at the site.

1:00-2:30 Beyond Martha’s Diary: Stitching History by Hand, Maine State Library, 230 State Street, Augusta
In this interactive session, learn how Maine State Library Reference Librarian Kelli Burnham developed the “What Martha Wore: Clothing in the Ballard Diary” program and discover how hands-on objects can bring archival materials to life. Participants will have the opportunity to try historical sewing techniques, including stitching a rolled hem, making a fabric or thread-wrapped button, weaving on a tape loom, and examining reproductions of original 18th-century clothing.
3:00-5:00 Tour of the Maine State Museum & Maine State Archives, 230 State Street, Augusta
Join MAM colleagues from around the state for a sneak peek at the newly renovated and refreshed Maine State Museum before it opens to the public later in October. Participants will also tour the newly renovated Maine State Archives and see the updated storage systems now in place.

5:00-6:30 Opening Reception, Maine Cultural Building Atrium, 230 State Street, Augusta
Hosted by the Maine State Archives, Maine State Library, and Maine State Museum, the opening reception is a casual opportunity to meet MAM conference attendees from around the state and reconnect with old friends and colleagues. Refreshments will be provided.

6:00 Trivia, Meet Me Out Back, (registration not required), 40 Front Street, Augusta
Head to Cushnoc Brewing's tasting room for trivia led by past MAM board member and interim Executive Director John Taylor. This is a public event, but John promises plenty of questions for the history buffs in MAM's ranks.

Friday, October 2:

5:30-7:00 Student & New Professional Mixer, Viles Arboretum, 153 Hospital Street, Augusta
Whether you are just thinking about a career in museums and archives, or you've taken on a new roll in the field and could use some pointers, join us for a post-conference mixer to learn more, ask questions that arose from sessions earlier in the day, and make further connections with professionals from around the state. Food and drink will be provided. Sponsored by Maine Historical Society.

Friday Oct. 2

Maine Archives & Museums Conference

Jewett Hall & the Michael Klahr Center
University of Maine at Augusta

8:30 Registration & Continental Breakfast
9:00 Welcome
9:15 Keynote
10:25 Breakout 1: Workshops
11:55 Lunch
12:40 Breakout 2: Classic breakouts
1:50 Breakout 3: Lightning Sessions
2:20 Afternoon Coffee Break
2:50 Breakout 4: Classic breakouts
4:00 Maine Archives & Museums Annual Meeting

Registration includes a box lunch which contains one of the following options, chips, apple, dessert, and a beverage, as well as continental breakfast and afternoon coffee break.

Curried Chicken Salad and Almond Sandwich (oven-roasted diced chicken with curry, apples, almonds, celery, grapes, mayonnaise, and lettuce on wheat berry bread, 550 cal), contains nuts

Smoked Ham, Brie, and Apple on Sourdough (smoked ham with brie cheese, Granny Smith apple, baby arugula, and Dijonnaise on sourdough bread, 520 cal)

Falafel Tzatziki and Hummus Wrap (falafels with hummus, roasted red peppers, greens, and lemon vinaigrette in a flour tortilla, 540 cal), vegetarian

Crispy Chickpea Salad (Romaine lettuce, grape tomatoes, red onion, seasoned crispy chickpeas and tahini salad dressing, 400 cal), vegan

More information & details on the schedule can be found here.

MAM strives to make the conference as affordable as possible while still offering a high-quality event. If the cost of registration is a burden to you or your institution, please reach out to info@mainemuseums.org and we will do our best to accommodate you.

Thank you to our 2026 Conference Sponsors & Exhibitors:

Maine Historical Society
Odyssey Preservation Software
Margaret Chase Smith Library | Osher Map Library & Smith Center for Cartographic Education | Maine State Archives | Maine State Library | Maine State Museum | Clement and Linda McGillicuddy Humanities Center | Holocaust & Human Rights Center | Permanent Commission on Racial, Indigenous, and Tribal Populations | Cultural Alliance of Maine | First National Wealth Management | Maine Community Foundation | Maine Office of Tourism | Perch Design Studio | SmallCorp | University of Maine Department of History | University Products | Digital History Consulting | Kennebec Historical Society | CoverME.gov | Yarmouth History Center

Maine Archives & Museums upcoming events

Digitizing Your Collection on a Budget (25 Sep 2026)

2026 Annual Conference (02 Oct 2026)