Community-Centered Archives Practice: Transforming Education, Archives, and Community History (C-CAP TEACH)

This report provides the findings of a study conducted as part of the project,Community-Centered Archives Practice: Transforming Education, Archives, and Community History, led by the University of California, Irvine Libraries in collaboration with the California Digital Library. It is intended to answer two main questions:1) How can regional and national digital collection aggregators (e.g., DPLA, the DPLAHubs Network, and other regional aggregators) work towards a more representative and inclusive aggregation; and 2) What is a responsible and inclusive digital exhibition framework that may amplify historically marginalized narratives? This report summarizes and contextualizes the national survey conducted as part of this research.

This guide is for community organizations and the institutions that hope to partner with them to share their stories online. It provides an introduction to two forms of online sharing common among archives and libraries—aggregation websites and online storytelling — and suggests key questions for community organizations to consider before they decide to share their content online, or before they enter into a partnership with another organization or individual to do so. Sharing Your Stories Online also includes questions and resources for more well-resourced institutions interested in partnering with community organizations. The guide was produced as part of Community-Centered Archives Practice: Transforming Education, Archives and Community History (C-CAP TEACH), a Mellon-funded initiative led by the UCI Libraries Department of Special Collections & Archives — Orange County & Southeast Asian Archive Center.

This paper is a preliminary environmental scan conducted by Sharon Mizota on behalf of UCI Libraries in 2023 as part of a research assessment designed to identify actionable strategies to support ethical and responsible representation of marginalized histories in digital collection aggregations and exhibitions.

The research assessment is itself part of Community-Centered Archives Practice: Transforming Education, Archives and Community History (C-CAP TEACH), a Mellon-funded initiative led by the UCI Libraries Department of Special Collections & Archives — Orange County & Southeast Asian Archive Center. C-CAP TEACH aims to cultivate commitment among higher education institutions to community-centered archives approaches, simultaneously solidifying the ability and responsibility of academic libraries to engage critically and contribute to social justice-focused scholarship, training, pedagogy, and partnerships in their communities.