SIA Statement on the Terminations at the Indiana Historical Society

July 29, 2026

On Friday, July 24, the Indiana Historical Society (IHS) terminated eleven people across the Education and Engagement, Exhibits, and the Archives and Library departments with no official notice. These terminations include the elimination of the Education and Engagement department and significantly affected the Exhibits department. In addition, IHS announced that it will no longer sponsor the state’s National History Day program.

This is approximately one year after the State of Indiana voted to no longer cover building and maintenance costs for IHS and state budget cuts resulted in the Indiana State Library (ISL) terminating sixteen people without notice. It is also the third round of layoffs at the IHS since 2019. These extensive staff cuts and department eliminations have and will continue to impact access to information and knowledge discovery for generations to come. The short-term budget decisions will reduce Hoosiers’ ability to learn about Indiana history and the important and impactful stories of Hoosiers, conduct personal research, and engage in educational activities and programs that advance our community. Most importantly, these decisions upend the lives of experienced professionals who’ve dedicated years of service to preserving and sharing Indiana’s history.

These terminations conflict with our profession’s  Core Values and Code of Ethics, which emphasize the importance of “expand[ing] access and usage… of archival records,” “develop[ing]… professional standards that promote transparency… and mitigate harm,” and “respect[ing] the diversity found in humanity and advocat[ing] for archival collections to reflect that rich complexity.” The work of preserving and sharing our collective history requires authenticity, diversity, and social responsibility, and institutions that make decisions based primarily on finances with no transparency and little respect for those affected do not align with our professional ethics and cause harm to individuals and the profession.

SIA expresses alarm at the trend of long-standing heritage organizations terminating individuals to balance budgets without considering the irreparable harm this does to our cultural institutions and society. These terminations were not carried out in a manner that respected these dedicated professionals and was made without forethought to the impact on the institution’s mission to serve our community. These decisions are counter to IHS’s mission to “… collect[ ] and preserve[ ] Indiana’s unique stories; bring[ ] Hoosiers together in remembering and sharing the past; and inspire[ ] a future grounded in our state’s uniting values and principles.”

The Society of Indiana Archivists (SIA) stands with our colleagues who have been terminated. This spring, the SIA Board voted to make a permanent membership category for unemployed professionals, such as those affected by budget-related terminations. This free membership will provide reduced or free event registrations at SIA events, such as the Fall Workshop, Pre-Annual Meeting Workshop, and Annual Meeting. The SIA Board hopes that this initiative will support these individuals in a time of transition.

The SIA Board welcomes feedback and ideas from membership on how SIA can better support our membership’s needs. Please feel free to reach out to SIA with additional thoughts. SIA’s main method of advocacy is through our membership’s grassroots efforts, and SIA encourages membership to stay up-to-date and share this and other related stories.