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Collections, Programs and Services
Panel
Michelle Peralta
Archivist
Lalitha Nataraj
Instruction & Reference Librarian
California State University, San Marcos
As archives and libraries struggle with resources, funding, and staffing, they oftentimes relegate the development of their collections to luck and the generosity of the general public. However, this practice is dependent upon a collecting culture that favors white, cisgendered, and heteronormative histories. As the profession seeks to be more inclusive in its collecting activities and to rectify its acquisition policies, there have been many ideas presented on how to appropriately engage marginalized communities, who may look upon these institutions with hesitation or suspicion. But by developing programming centered on building trust, libraries and archives can engage marginalized communities of color in meaningful ways.
Michelle Peralta and Lalitha Nataraj will discuss how archival and traditional library services intersected in a collaborative effort to create dialogue and foster trust with marginalized communities in Escondido, California.They will specifically share approaches and challenges to creating and implementing “Home: A Living Archive” program in Escondido Public Library’s Pioneer Room, which featured the images and personal narratives of adult literacy learners; vis-à-vis this project, we envision the Living Archive as a site of community interaction and transformation. By the end of this presentation, participants will be able to apply a models of participatory archiving and engaging communities of color in archives, as well as devise approaches to forming partnerships between traditional library services and archives.