Archival Outreach & Repairing Community Representation and Relationships

 Paige, Kaitlyn

Source 

Luster, D. (2018). Archives Have the Power to Boost Marginalized Voices. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsNPlBBi1IE

Summary

This is a seminar given by Dominique Luster, she talks about the concept of who should control and what goes into the archives collections. She wants her listeners to think about how materials are portrayed and how they are received by a multitude of audiences. Are we as archivists taking the living people or culture out of the history and sterilizing it to make it more palatable to western peoples. Luster profoundly states, "If your history wasn’t recorded or preserved well; did you exist?" She questions the concept of who should decide what should go into the archives and how they should decide how it is portrayed to people outside the community it serves. There is an unmistakable connection between these items that were given or more often stolen from these communities that an outsider would not necessarily understand. Ultimately, the members of that community who express interest in collection materials should have a say in how these materials are brought to the light or taken back and adopted back into the communities culture. She explains that there is a power struggle between the concept of Bias vs. Privilege, this centers around colonialism and gentrification of materials in the archival collections. The last idea she brings up is the concept of who is truly the expert on these materials, their stories, and how they are being displayed if they are displayed? This centers around the direct battle between archivists and the native communities. Luster ends the discussion with a new archival theory that is racially conscience and has culturally competent practices; this includes asking questions about dis/ability, age, appearance, empowerment, ethnicity / race / nationality, gender / sex / sexuality, health and letting the community answer in a way  that creates a bridge of outreach between archivists and the communities they want to serve. When we give the power to the people and let them teach and be an active part of the archives, all parties grow, open communication flourishes, and archives become a place of true neutral ground.

Evaluation

This declaration makes one wonder if the way we have been receiving information and using martials in archives is one minded (colonial minded) and why no one has challenged this major way of gaining / labeling / displaying information in archives. Many patrons of archives and adjoining entities like libraries and museums have been fed the colonial mindset and have commonly accepted it at face value because this is the way that has always been taught for decades. It has taken up until the last 15 years for people both in the information field and underserved communities to speak up and demand the change from western to DEI / feminist practices. This starts with outreaching and open communication between the two entities. Luster practically begs the audience of archivists to ask the community how they would like to be perceived, showcased, and remembered and urges them to work with them to achieve a better received collection that gives these materials the right labels and respect in addition to giving a voice back to the communities. During this class I brought up the idea of creating a living archival collection between the John M. Pfau library and the Office of Tribal Affairs on the library’s Native American history collection. It is in reviewing the outreach between the two organizations that I can say that the library has already started the ground work. The library lets the OTA review and submit requests on materials for weeding or making new additions. This gives the Native Peoples a voice in how they would like to be perceived and a way for the tribal Elders to have an active hand in repairing the harm done by colonialism in academic archives and libraries, entities that have a long history of stealing and harming Native life. The next step in this process would have elected members from the Native community physically come into the library and become part of the team that actively participates in the collections handling and growth on a daily basis. More archives should start the practice and outreach and try to repair the damage done by the past.

Collaborative Collection Development for Specialized Collections

Dailey, Kaitlin

Carr, M. (2013). Crowdsourcing content to promote community and collection development in public libraries. Journal of Electronic Resources Librarianship 25(4), 313-316. 
DOI: 10.1080/1941126X.2013.847690 

Summary:
This article focuses on how important it is to reach out to community members in order to bring their own works into a collection. Specifically, this article focuses on chapbooks from poets which represent a difficult collection to work with for librarians because there is a constant tug between what is wanted and the quality. The idea is that by encouraging community members to voluntarily deposit their works into the library so patrons can get what they want and the collection can remain relevant to today's users.

Evaluation:
I rather enjoyed this article a lot because I think it is very important to include community members when selecting content for a collection. I noticed that with my library as well as other public libraries that there is a huge focus on the user initiating the process for collection development. Some libraries do have internal lists that they pull from, but they predominantly focus on the patrons for their development which does not always work. But, by utilizing a information community and creating a space for collaboration, Carr is demonstrating that development can occur at a local level for the collection that is still relevant and what is desired. I would have liked to have seen a broader study, but based on the scope it would have been problematic to focus on a larger collection.

Megan Pinheiro da Silva
Fall 2018

Collins, Karla B. and Carol A. Doll. 2012. " Resource Provisions of a High School Library Collection", American Association of School Librarians. http://www.ala.org/aasl/slr/volume15/collins-doll


Summary

This study explores teachers’ perceptions of the instructional role that the school library collection plays in one particular high school. Two different surveys were sent out to 80 teachers with 28 teachers responding. Four teachers agreed to participate in interviews. Teachers perceived students’ preference of library resources: first websites, next print, then videos, databases, other, eBooks in descending order. Students access information via computer first, then teacher provided materials, then textbook, then library, then print, and lastly video. More surprising than teacher perceptions of students preferences were teachers non-use of the library. Some teachers, even veterans, lack understanding of the school library's resources, including its most valuable resource--the librarian. Although teachers are often overwhelmed and lack the time to explore new resources, they spend a significant amount of time searching for quality resources on their own, without the help of the librarian or library collection.

Evaluation

Despite serious limitations acknowledged by the researchers, this study of one school's teacher perceptions reveals a significant barrier to effective use of library resources. If teachers are overwhelmed by the amount of new information, lack time, and don't know how the librarian can help them, they are not using the library, nor are they relying on the librarian for assistance. Collins and Doll acknowledge that trust is a key factor. An unexpected result of the study was the discovery that textbooks are being used less and that teachers are spending considerable amounts of time searching for their own materials. It is difficult for the librarian to support the curriculum if she does not know what is actually being taught in the classroom. It is also not easy for the librarian to gather this information, as it requires a working relationship of trust. The implications of Collins and Doll's research are sobering. School librarians will have to work much harder to make known what they offer and, more importantly, continue to build relationships with teachers over time.