The Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board (OHRAB) is proud to announce that Nancy Brock of the Hudson Library & Historical Society and Jim Hearlihy of the Clark County Historical Society are recipients of the 2024 OHRAB Citizen Archivist Award.
The OHRAB Citizen Archivist Award honors volunteers in Ohio’s archives who work long hours, unpaid and often unacknowledged, answering reference requests, processing collections, and indexing historic records. This award recognizes those in Ohio archives who best exemplify the dedication and hard work volunteers–our citizen archivists–contribute to Ohio’s archives each day.
Nancy Brock has been a devoted volunteer at the Hudson Library & Historical Society for over twenty-seven years, where, according to the society’s staff, she has had a hand in just about everything. She has taught genealogy classes and coordinated genealogy programming. Nancy has a vast knowledge of the society’s collections and directs researchers to the best materials. When the library moved to a new building, Nancy volunteered to organize and reshelve the collection. Currently, Nancy maintains the society’s obituary index and provides individual tutoring sessions to any researcher in need. Nancy’s enthusiasm for genealogy and the Hudson Library & History Society has inspired many to start researching their family tree. On their first visits, they tell the society’s staff, “Nancy told me I could find it here.”
Jim Hearlihy has volunteered for the Clark County Historical Society for ten years and has contributed over 1,200 hours to its archives. His main project during that time has been processing the society’s enormous Springfield News-Sun collection, which encompassed nearly 2,000 reels of microfilm and 165 record boxes of material from the newspaper’s “clippings morgue.” Jim organized and inventoried the collection by subjects, such as Local People, Local Subjects, and Sports Files. His handwritten lists were turned into spreadsheets that can be viewed online. Jim has also processed many other collections, including the Clark County Historical Society’s own newsletters. Natalie Fritz, Archivist & Outreach Director, says, “Jim’s hard work and contributions have allowed so many collections to be accessible. We are so grateful for his time and service and want to recognize his dedication.”
Please join OHRAB in celebrating the accomplishments of Nancy Brock and Jim Hearlihy and their contributions to the history of Ohio. We applaud the dedication, talent, and love that they and their fellow volunteers bring to Ohio’s archives each day.