The State Library of Ohio is pleased to announce ODNFest will be returning on September 30, 2025. ODNFest will be held in person at the State Library of Ohio in Columbus, Ohio. Registration is now open.
Date: September 30, 2025
Location: State Library of Ohio, 274 E. 1st Ave, Columbus, OH 43214
Time: 9:30-4
Event Cost: $35
Announcing the ODNFest 2025 Featured Speakers
Looking at Vicarious Trauma and Trauma-Informed Care in Archives | Rachel Weiher and Erin McBrien
Looking at Vicarious Trauma and Trauma-Informed Care in Archives by Rachel Weiher (she/her) Macalester College Collections archivist, and Erin McBrien (she/her) curator of Upper Midwest Literary Archives at the University of Minnesota, looks at how to acknowledge vicarious trauma in university archives and special collections, as well as how to introduce discussions of this topic among archival staff. It will also touch on how to begin addressing vicarious trauma’s impacts through a framework of trauma-informed care, specifically geared towards student workers. Rachel Weiher previously worked as a psychiatric counselor and has been working to bring the principles of trauma informed care into archival work.
Vicarious trauma, also known as secondary trauma, is becoming increasingly recognized within the archival field as an occupational hazard. Archival materials can profoundly affect us as we process, uplift, and contextualize our work. Many of these materials document histories of violence, oppression, displacement, and personal tragedy. They are vital to preserve and provide access to, but can be emotionally damaging to work with. As archivists, we are typically not trained in trauma-informed care or self care, leading us to become more affected by trauma with fewer resources on how to cope with the negative effects. Acknowledging and discussing vicarious trauma can be challenging in an archival workplace, but is key to moving towards trauma-informed practices.
A trauma-informed framework in archives prioritizes creating a supportive environment for both researchers and archivists by integrating principles of safety, transparency, peer support, empowerment, and cultural awareness. It creates strategies that promote well-being while ensuring responsible and ethical stewardship of sensitive materials. The session will conclude with the steps taken so far towards a model of trauma-informed archival practice, as well as what is still needed for ideal implementation.
When AI Takes Over: What We’re Gaining, What We’re Losing, and What Still Matters | Rebecca Bakker
AI is here, and it’s already embedded in much of our daily work (or soon may be). From machine-generated metadata to AI-enhanced search systems that reshape how users discover content, we’re in the middle of a transformation that’s incredibly fast yet often contradictory. This session offers a grounded, practical look at how AI is currently shaping digital collections and archival work, with real-world examples of tools being tested: large language models that generate subject terms, computer vision systems that identify photos, and conversational interfaces that shift how users interact with collections.
But this conversation isn’t solely technical – it’s also deeply personal. As AI accelerates our processes, what are we gaining in efficiency, and what might we be losing in care, reflection, or insight? What does it mean for our profession when we no longer interact with materials in the same way? What still matters when our work becomes abstracted or automated?
This session invites participants into a space of critical experimentation, where we explore not only what AI can do, but what it asks of us. How do we sustain a thoughtful, ethical, and emotionally aware practice amid rapid change? How do we care for ourselves and each other as our roles evolve? Whether you’re cautiously curious, AI-resistant, or already knee-deep in AI experimentation, this session will offer case studies, emerging practices, and space to reflect on what meaningful, human-centered digital library work looks like in an AI-driven world.