Advocacy, Outreach and Collaboration
Poster Session
Tamara Rhodes
Subject Librarian - Psych, Cog Sci, Human Development & Linguistics
UC San Diego Library
Rachel Myers
Information Services Specialist
UC San Diego Library
Gayatri Singh, MLS
Reference & Information Services Coordinator, and Librarian for Communication
UC San Diego Library
Cristela Garcia-Spitz
Digital Initiatives Librarian
UC San Diego Library
According to Maya Angelou, “the more you know of your history, the more liberated you are.” Knowledge of that history along with direct action organizing can oftentimes create significant change. In the academic environment, it can make students, particularly underrepresented students, aware of their own power in order to alter existing structures that don’t benefit or represent them. In April 2016, in response to political chalkings that targeted underrepresented students and the subsequent student discussions regarding the lack of support and representation on campus, the UC San Diego Library began Tell Us How UC It: A Living Archive. The purpose of this project is to provide the narrative of UC San Diego’s history of student activism to foster and contextualize a conversation about the ways students experience UC San Diego’s campus climate. The living archive format can be used to support, document, and engage social movements in any community by presenting an historical narrative, featuring community perspectives through all manner of creative work, and including in-the-moment feedback to the theme, event, or topic. The UC San Diego Library presented the project as a physical exhibit with accompanying events - workshops and classes, and an online collection using Omeka, a free and open-source platform. The development of the living archive required the expertise of and collaboration between multiple people and departments in the library and campus community. This poster will discuss the living archive concept, considerations for creating a living archive and digital exhibit, lessons learned, and the collaborations that were created from it.