by Ellen Brooks, Community Memory & Digital Archives Consultant
The work that WiLS began in 2019 as a mentor organization for small and rural libraries undertaking community memory projects around the country is drawing to a close. Over the past 3 years, WiLS staff Vicki Tobias, Kristen Whitson, and Emily Pfotenhauer, along with expert consultant Ellen Brooks have worked with 17 libraries (in 2 cohorts) that received grants from IMLS under the Accelerating Promising Practices for Small Libraries initiative (IMLS APP for short). Cohort 1 has wrapped up their grant-supported work, and while many of the Cohort 2 projects have received extensions (requested mainly due to Covid-19 and the challenges it created), it is time to celebrate the work that has been done, as well as reflect on WiLS’ role as a mentor throughout this time.
(Image at right: During their June 2022 visit to the DC Public Library Memory Lab, cohort 2 gets some hands-on experience creating zines with Siobhan Hagan, Memory Lab Network Project Manager.)
The libraries involved in this grant program came from 13 different states and tackled a number of topics, with the common bond being the desire to collect, document, and preserve community history. In practical terms, this meant setting up memory labs, planning scanning days, launching oral history projects, designing websites, and facilitating dialogue within their communities. Along the way, the WiLS team focused on determining what tools, resources, and conversations might be most useful for the cohort participants at various stages of their projects. In doing so, a variety of documentation containing functional tools and resources emerged and we recognized that these materials (slide decks, handouts, worksheets, tip sheets, etc.) might be useful for other organizations doing work similar to that of our IMLS APP cohort members. So, as one of the outcomes from the IMLS APP project, we are happy to share a collection of tools and resources for organizations and individuals undertaking community memory projects.
This is not an all-inclusive list of materials needed for community memory work but a round-up of resources we curated in response to cohort needs. Most of the documents fit within at least one of three categories: Grant and Project Management, Community Engagement, and Tools and Technology. The list is loosely organized in chronological order of how one might approach a community memory project. One thing we found consistently helpful to the cohorts, both practically and emotionally, was talking to folks who had done similar work and using outside examples to springboard their own ideas. We hope that this resource list (as well as the Project Products document we created to highlight cohort work) can offer support and encouragement to others, thus giving forward what we learned and developed during the IMLS APP cohort experiences.
The other, less tangible, outcome that we want to highlight is the relationships created during the process: between cohort members, the WiLS team, and outside experts who graciously shared their work, time, and advice over the past 3 years. As mentors, the WiLS staff recognized that our most important role was creating space for conversations and connections (just as the cohort libraries themselves were focused on serving as trusted spaces for engagement and dialogue in their communities). Within that space, we lent our expertise, but perhaps more importantly, we offered encouragement and an opportunity to continuously redefine what success looks like. The outcome is a network of peers and colleagues across the country that we hope can offer ongoing support to one another.
To read more about our work with the IMLS APP Community Memory Cohort, check out the following:
- Libraries Preserve Community Memory, from EveryLibrary
- Accelerating Promising Practices Panel – Recording from ALA 2022, from OCLCVideo
Additional WiLS Blog posts about the IMLS APP work:
- The First Meeting of the IMLS APP Community Memory Cohort – December 9, 2019
- IMLS APP Community Memory Cohorts – Welcoming New Projects in Changing Times – May 18, 2021
- IMLS APP Cohort: Celebrating two years of community memory work – August 23, 2021
- APP Community Memory Cohort 2 Visits Washington, D.C. – August 15, 2022