Large Collections in Small Facilities - Archivists as Teachers

The biggest challenges community archives face usually relate to finances and staffing. Professionals who set out to help these institutions must be creative to help them care for collections in a professional manner. Local historical societies and museums often hold valuable collections that are essential to creating an accurate historical record of society. Even when professional staff is not employed, small institutions can often rise to the challenge of properly caring for valuable archival collections. Such institutions seek guidance from professional associations or professionals at larger facilities (such as local universities), or from consultants. It is worth the professional's time to take stock of the local small institutions in their area; to see how their assistance may help build strong archival programs; to support institutions that may hold materials vital to their own work.

A bundle of letters from the Frank Lawton collection.
Small bundles like this gave me some clues to a rational
organization of the materials.

One layer of correspondence among the Lawton Papers

A number of years ago, I was brought on as a consultant at the Shirley Historical Society in Shirley, Massachusetts. My task was to survey their collections. Shirley has a very strong Historical Society thanks to a number of volunteers and one very strong director who volunteers A LOT of her time to making the facility work. It is usually through the dedication of passionate citizens that such institutions create a strong local history collection and drive exciting educational programs for their communities, raising appreciation of their sense of place and the value of archives.

Unbound letters in need of cleaning

The Shirley Historical Society has a dedicated building that was erected for the purpose of supporting local history and collections. Right from the start, the Society enlisted the help of volunteers, having them help with building construction. Shirley recognizes its valuable history. It was the home of Earl Tupper of Tupperware fame. The town was also the residence of the famed MacKaye theater family, including Benton MacKaye who diverged from the family business to create the Appalachian Trail. I was luck enough to process the family papers as my second consulting project for Shirley. Dartmouth College holds a collection of MacKaye Papers that dovetail with those in Shirley and we made a connection with the College to let them know about Shirley's holdings so that researchers could be referred when appropriate.

One of about sixteen neat boxes. The collection will grow
as letters are unfolded and interleaved. My time on the project
did not allow for me to do that.

Work in progress. Things usually get messier before they
get neater.

This past week, I worked on another interesting collection in Shirley. The papers of the local Lawton family consist mainly of correspondence that reflects the life of early twentieth century antique dealer, Frank Lawton and his family. Lawton is known for selling a large number of antiques to Henry Ford. The Shirley Historical Society director made a connection to the Henry Ford Museum to tell them about the collection and Dearborn, Michigan's tie to a small Massachusetts community.

The Society received a grant for the project, which covered about half of the consulting fee I would have required to fully process the collection. So, instead, I gave the disorganized collection some structure, gave a volunteer some instruction on preservation and what is needed to continue the project after I'm gone. I wrote up a small report providing additional  information to assist them and will return to the Society in a month to see what progress has been made - where the project is succeeding and where volunteers may need a little extra help.

Over the past ten years, I have always been impressed with what Shirley can accomplish. A few other communities with which I have worked have also managed to accomplish incredible things with grant money, dedicated volunteers who can whip up passion and support for their work, and a little professional guidance. These institutions do not run like "traditional" archives and need the support of flexible and creative archivists to guide them. I invite my fellow archivists who don't do so already to step outside the box and see what they can do to help lift their small local archives. In so doing, I assure you, you will be boosting our profession by expanding our purpose and value. It also feels amazing to "click" with volunteers and watch their eyes light up with the knowledge that they have the capability of building something for posterity.

visit the Shirley Historical Society's web page at www.shirleyhistory.org

Community of Collaborators

In this blog, I've discussed both communities and cultural heritage collaborators. I want to introduce the concept of a community of cultural heritage collaborators. A community is a group of people who share something - a common interest, a geographical locale, a faith, a relationship...The cultural heritage collaborative community is made up of people who have a common interest or responsibility in protecting cultural knowledge. This group includes professionals such as museologists, librarians, and curators. It also incorporates clerks, secretaries, records managers and others charged with retaining a specific history. Finally, the group should also rely on people the U.S. National Archivist David Ferriero has been calling "Citizen Archivists." (They can be called "Citizen Curators" or "Citizen Librarians" for my cross-professional colleagues.) These are people who may or may not know much about cultural resources. They may have some interest in collecting or preserving materials. Or, they may not be conscious of any personal interest in retaining cultural items, but may possess things that hold importance for historical memory. Materials such as family papers and heirlooms, records of community involvement, personal libraries and the like that have recognized historical value to cultural heritage professionals often remain hidden to us when this special subgroup is not included in our planning and collection development efforts. If we can identify our fellow cultural heritage collaborators, we have a greater ability to preserve our heritage by recruiting their help. Working together, we can identify and protect the resources that shed light on civilization.

1. Who are your potential professional partners? Think about fellow cultural heritage professionals in your geographic region. Think of those across your nation and around the world collecting similar resources. For example, the MacKaye family of Shirley Massachusetts left some family papers with the Shirley Historical Society. While working on this collection, I discovered that Dartmouth College a few hours north also retained a significant MacKaye collection. We exchanged finding aids and compared notes about holdings. We became cultural heritage collaborators.

2. Who are your quasi-professional partners? These are the people who use cultural materials in their day-to-day operations, but may not place emphasis on their historical import. City clerks, local businesses, association secretaries, artists and others can all be part of your collaborative. For example, as a member of Manchester Art Association I volunteered to be their historian, a volunteers Board position that had been left unfilled for many years. Records from decades of the groups operations were spread among members' homes. We organized and centralized them. I made them aware that a local historical society may have interest in their materials one day, which emphasized the group's value to the greater Manchester community and gave them incentive to better care for their materials.

3. Who are your non-professional partners? Consider the citizens in your town who have materials related to your community. Consider those outside of your geographic area who may have an interest in your community. It is most challenging to reach out to this group to convince them of the role they have to play in cultural heritage goals. Many have never considered the value of their personal materials beyond themselves or their families. Many think that they have no interest in history. This is an opportunity for outreach and a barrier that we can break by emphasizing the idea of community. The Waltham Rediscovered project in the early 1990s is a good example of enhancing citizen interest. A series of ethnic celebrations emphasized community pride and encouraged residents and former residents to share recollections in oral histories and to show others their family papers and memorabilia. The effort culminated in a book about the development of Waltham and the immigrant experience and a new collection of materials related to the project was eventually donated to the Waltham Public Library.

We all have an interest in advancing humanity and making our communities the best that they can be. Focusing on our common interests and recognizing that everyone has a role to play in preserving community memory will help cultural heritage institutions fill their missions to retain resources and sustain knowledge. A community of collaborators has a greater opportunity to raise awareness, increase enthusiasm, build support, boost goodwill, fully document a community or place, and encourage pride than any one of us working alone.

Read more about the collaborators in Cultural Heritage Collaborators: A Manual for Community Documentation and share your ideas about ways to cultivate a sense of community and collaboration.

The lovely prized family photo at the beginning of this post evokes a sense of place and can stand as a representation of local pride. A friend allowed me to make a copy when I found it hidden among her boxed photos.