Vermont Historical Society League of Local Historical Societies & Museums program
League workshop meetingFor 59 years, the Vermont Historical Society has provided outreach and support to Vermont’s local history community through the League of Local Historical Societies. In 2010, with the disbanding of the Vermont Museum and Gallery Alliance, VHS extended the services to include museums and is working to expand collections care services.
Although League programs and services are available to any Vermont collecting organization, institutional membership in the Vermont Historical Society is strongly encouraged. Membership will help support the many forms of assistance offered by the League Program to the more than 280 local historical societies, museums and heritage organizations throughout the state. The services provided by the League Program include:
Educational outreach weekly “Local History News” enewsletter
Emailed to more than 1270 subscribers, the e-newsletter posts historically significant events, workshops, seminars, and information submitted by local historical societies, museums, and heritage organizations. It also updates subscribers on Vermont Historical Society events, acquisitions, and other news. Learn more about the e-newsletter.
Collections care
Vermont Historical Society offers a number of resources for helping local historical societies and museums with their collections care.
Vermont Historical Society website listing
Each local historical society in Vermont can list contact information, hours of operation, and description of collections, as well as website links when applicable
League of Local Historical Societies & Museums annual meeting and conference
The daylong conference with generally more than 150 attendees features a keynote address, business meeting, achievement awards, lunch, and professionally-led workshops relevant to the needs of the local history community. Attended by local historical society members and museum professionals, the meetings are held throughout the state, typically at places of significant historical interest. The League Meeting also provides participants the opportunity to network and share concerns, successes and issues.
Local historical societies achievement awards program
Each year, the Vermont Historical Society Achievement Awards recognize outstanding achievements of local historical societies, museums and individuals in collecting, preserving, and disseminating the history of their communities. The awards are given in the following categories:
- Publications/Oral History
- Exhibits and Museum Techniques
- Historic Preservation, Society Operations
- Individual Achievement
Nominations are solicited each September and reviewed by a committee, and awards are presented at the League Meeting.
Special programs and workshops
The League offers participation in special programs, such as the Community History Partnership, Connecting to Collections, and the Alliance for Response. Additionally, the Vermont Historical Society occasionally hosts workshops designed to assist local historical societies and museums with a wide array of the challenges they may face, from collections care, strategic planning, volunteer recruitment, disaster management, creating exhibits, planning regional history fairs to PastPerfect cataloging.
Vermont History Expo
The Vermont Historical Society hosts and organizes the Vermont History Expo every other year. The Expo is held at the Tunbridge Fairgrounds in Tunbridge, Vermont and is generally attended by approximately 5,000 visitors. The Vermont History Expo provides a forum for approximately 100 participating local historical societies and 70 museum and heritage organizations to exhibit and engage with participants interested in Vermont history.
For more information or assistance, please contact Laura Brill at the Vermont Historical Society: (802) 479-8522 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
