Personal Digital Archiving 2018

Personal archiving is first and foremost an effort to preserve memories of the past. Through the preservation of photographs, documents, and other important personal objects, personal collections represent individual creators as well as the family and community groups they occupy. Community and participatory archives, in which community members contribute to archival collection, description, and preservation practices, are attempts to document their members’ individual and collective narratives.

The Mass. Memories Road Show is one such participatory archive project that works to “bring together local residents of all ages, ethnicities, races and backgrounds in lively and thoughtfully planned public events that celebrate each person's family history and contribution to the community” (Mass. Memories, 2016, p. 4). During Mass. Memories events, participants contribute photos that reflect themselves and their families in their community; those photos are digitized and video interviews documenting the story behind such photos are recorded.

The focus of our research are the stories behind the objects contributed to these community archives. Our research aims to explore the personal context of community archive participants by unveiling the stories behind the objects the participants contribute to the community archives. We believe that such research will allow for a nuanced understanding of the layers of memories created and fostered through participatory archive efforts.

To reach this nuanced understanding of the Mass. Memories participants’ narratives, we categorized the objects contributed and revealed themes from the experiences, memories, and sentiments evoked when participants discussed the objects. Our analysis results indicate that how people perceive and appraise their past life experiences and memories within the community (including their personal connections with the community, involvement with community events and organizations, reflection on community history, and their identity as a community member) has an influence on the formation of community and participatory archives.

Reference:
The Mass. Memories Road Show. (2016). The Mass. Memories Road Show Project Handbook: A Planning Guide for Local Communities. Boston, MA: University of Massachusetts Boston, Joseph P. Healey Library.

This presentation will describe the efforts of gathering oral histories, family trees, medical history, and behavioral genograms of the presenter's Chinese family members residing in mainland China. It will address changing cultural barriers to personal archiving such as technology, language, medical advancements, and war. To conclude, the talk will address the function of personal archiving on immigrant identity formation. 

Out of recognition and frustration with traditional archival outreach, the Houston Archives Collective was found in the summer of 2017 to bridge gaps between institutionalized outreach efforts and the needs of the Houston community.

This presentation will address non-hierarchical approaches for disseminating preservation knowledge, best-practices in archives, and community support across  Houston's communities: the arts, education, activism, and LGBTQ. 

Indigenous scholar and distinguished Tl'eeyegge Hut'aane (Koyukon Athabascan) linguist, Dr. Eliza Jones, of Koyukuk, Alaska, wished for the youth of the future to know their language and traditional ways. Since 1970 she has diligently documented the stories, songs, and genealogy of the people in Interior Alaska. Audio, video, text and photographic data are being digitized and shared through the Mukurtu Content Management System platform on the Internet. The Alaska Native Language Archive at the University of Alaska Fairbank, Washington State University, K-12 school Yukon-Koyukuk School District, and community members collaborate on this project. The variety and nature of Dr. Jones’ files provide an excellent test case for controlled and mediated access to primary materials.

Panel discussion with presenters.