UC Irvine Libraries

Keynote for the Northwest Archivists Annual Meeting 2022 Virtual Conference. Reanimated social movements for liberation in the US and around the world at this historical moment should garner greater attention, care, and involvement by library and archival institutions. Starting from a recognition of our shared goals to advance a more inclusive cultural heritage, we propose a framework of C.A.R.E. approaches in community archives from our location in an institutional context. This presentation/conversation will situate our personal and professional commitments in community-centered archives practice and expand on the practical application of how we do this work alongside partners on our campus and organizations beyond.

This paper will firmly establish cataloging as a form of outreach, and will track the evolution in cataloging standards and library cataloging over the past 3 decades as it has allowed libraries to reach broader audiences for their holdings. Using a variety of unique examples from archival collections, small-run artists books, open access resources, one-of-a-kind materials as well as more widely available material, this paper will examine how cataloging-as-outreach is able to increase the discoverability of materials to larger and traditionally underserved groups of people, including those who may not hold academic or other professional certifications.

The UCI Libraries wanted to highlight the collections’ diverse materials but faced the following problems: how do we define diversity and how do we determine whether a specific title should be highlighted to patrons? Also, once we identify materials, how do we make them discoverable? Our solution: we tried two processes using the built-in functions in Ex Libris’ Primo VE and Alma systems. The first process used Primo VE’s user-generated tagging feature and involved the following workflow: identify lists of award-winning titles and add tags to the records in Primo VE. The second process used Primo VE’s Collection Discovery feature to highlight each of the book lists. This second workflow added the award information to the catalog record which allowed us to create a set in Alma and then create a collection that displays in Primo VE. Presentation to ALA Core Catalog Form and Function Interest Group by Cynthia Johnson, Kelsey Brown, Josh Hutchinson, Alyssa Hernandez. Feb 5, 2021

In this video recorded workshop, University of California, Irvine (UCI) Libraries Special Collections and Archives librarians provide an overview of the importance and purpose of community-centered archives. Community-centered archives come into being through collaborative partnerships between mainstream archival institutions and communities that are underrepresented in the historical record. Their goal is to empower communities in the process of telling and preserving their own histories. Topics covered in the worshop include: why archives matter, community-based archives, and the concepts of symbolic annihilation and representational belonging. This workshop is based on an in-class workshop for UCI undergraduates conducted as part of the "Transforming Knowledge, Transforming Libraries"  3-year Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) research grant in the community anchors category awarded to UCI Libraries. 

This poster describes the process by which librarians at the University of California, Irvine have collected, cleaned and used bibliographic data (which normally lives in the library’s catalog) in order to perform a large-scale assessment project on their collections.

This poster describes the process by which librarians at the University of California, Irvine have collected, cleaned and used bibliographic data (which normally lives in the library’s catalog) in order to perform a large- scale assessment project on their collections.

In Spring 2017, the University of California Irvine (UCI) Libraries were awarded a 3-year Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) grant in the community anchors category for “Transforming Knowledge/Transforming Libraries” (TKTL). Our research team (Audra Eagle Yun, Jimmy Zavala, Krystal Tribbett, and Thuy Vo Dang) sought to explore how libraries can fill the gap between calls to diversify the historical record and actually diversifying the profession through student-led action research. The project design for TKTL is rooted in the social justice imperatives and theoretical frameworks of community-based archives and ethnic studies, arguing that together these frameworks can transform the historical record and how we learn about our history. Working with people who identify with members of marginalized communities was central to our approach to the TKTL research project. 

For this grant we partnered with the UCI departments of African American Studies, Chicano/Latino Studies, and Asian American Studies. Overall, the research team collaborated with 12 different faculty members from the ethnic studies departments at UC Irvine for the project and hosted a total of 18 workshops. In some cases, the research team collaborated more than once with a faculty member for the same course. Over 700 students participated in the project, including 718 students completing an entrance survey; 686 participating in an in-class workshop; 418 completing an exit survey; and 30 students participating in an intensive summer cohort experiential learning opportunity. 

Our qualitative and quantitative research findings illustrate why it is vital to teach students about archives and libraries as undergraduate students. Teaching at an earlier point in the collegiate experience makes students aware of the importance of libraries and archives, helps students understand the impact they can have in shaping their own narratives, and fosters critical thinking by empowering students to challenge the exclusion they might face in mainstream archival institutions and historical narratives. 

The themes that emerged from our research provide key insights into the outcomes of student engagement with library, archives, and community building, as well as affective responses to the experience of students seeing (or not seeing) themselves in the archives. We discovered patterns and divergences in the personal, social, and cultural observations of community archives work by all involved in community-centered work. The data analysis, along with the novel approach of community-centered archives partnerships, articulates how participatory, student-centered approaches in building community-centered archives can transform engagement between ethnic studies, community-based archives, and libraries. 

The goal of the TKTL Summit is to bring together scholars, educators, library professionals, students, and community members to explore the intersection of community archives and ethnic studies theory and practice. More specifically, the summit seeks to foster dialogue and action around three questions:

What is the impact of putting community archives practice, ethnic studies theory, and grassroots efforts to preserve marginalized histories into conversation?

What are the ways in which students can address the silences and historical erasures prevalent in the archival record by becoming record creators?

How can we sustain resources and prioritize transformative reciprocity to address historical erasure and silences in the archives?

About TKTL

In Spring 2017, the UCI Libraries was awarded a 3-year Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) grant in the community anchors category for “Transforming Knowledge/Transforming Libraries.” This three-year research project explored the outcomes of undergraduate students applying what they learn in ethnic studies combined with lived experience in contributing to community archives. The research team (Audra Eagle Yun, Jimmy Zavala, Thuy Vo Dang, and Krystal Tribbett) partnered with the UCI departments of Asian American Studies, Chicano/Latino Studies and African American Studies, as well as stakeholders representing organizations throughout Orange County, California. Additionally, this collaborative partnership worked to connect library and information studies practice with the ethnic studies curriculum and provide undergraduate students with first-hand experience in building and providing access to the digital cultural heritage of under-represented communities.