Community-based Collections, SPEC Kit 347

Santamaría-Wheeler, Lourdes; Belcoure Marcetti, Jessica; Fitzsimmons, Rebecca; Vargas-Betancourt, Margarita; Krzys Acord, Sophia

30 · Survey Results: Survey Questions and Responses
With direction from the University Librarian, the Documenting Ferguson Project Team was formed and developed a
three-pronged strategy in documenting and preserving the events unfolding in Ferguson, Missouri, relating to the killing
of 18-year-old Michael Brown by police officer Darren Wilson on August 9, 2014.
The Concordia Club was approaching its 125th anniversary and needed an archival repository to take over the
stewardship of its collection. This donation followed on the heels of the K-W Oktoberfest donation a few years earlier.
The K-W Oktoberfest fonds was acquired as a result of the organisation’s 25th anniversary planning.
Saw the need to start documenting and found out the State Historical Society did not have an oral history collection on
this topic.
8. What forces drove the need for a collection partnership or acquisition? Check all that apply. N=35
Existing expertise and holdings in the library 24 69%
Aging of the community 13 37%
Conflict or other threats to the physical materials 8 23%
Economic difficulties 5 14%
Conflict or other threats to community stability 1 3%
Other force 20 57%
Please briefly describe the other force(s). N=20
A primary goal for this initiative was to document the existence and contributions of a community that was frequently
overlooked or ignored, particularly for the sake of scholarship and classroom use.
An effort to preserve the records for future research on the topics of race, ethnicity, labor, and immigration.
As new communities age and in the case of ethnic groups rapidly assimilate, the records are in danger of being lost.
Colorado State University history professor Sidney Heitman initiated a study of this unique population to preserve the
history of the mass ethnic migration to this region and in response to the aging population of immigrants. A 2006
strategic partnership between Colorado State University and Saratov State University (Russian Federation)—and the
founding of the International Center for German-Russian Studies—contributed to increased activity in working to collect
materials related to Colorado’s German Russian population.
Desire to preserve collection &make it available for research.
Ken was running out of space to house the collection, and wanted to find a permanent repository to preserve the
materials and make them available to the public.
Lack of sufficient coverage of the subject by other research libraries. Growth of interest in the subject by students and
scholars across multiple academic disciplines (the rise of Hip Hop Studies in the academy). Increasing recognition of the
historical significance and impact of this community across the globe.
Of the 270 men, women, and children killed in the December 21, 1988, terrorist bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over
Lockerbie, Scotland, 35 were students returning home from studying abroad through Syracuse University’s Division of
International Programs Abroad (DIPA). This tragic number meant the university had lost more victims than any other
institution with an existing archive. The charge of Chancellor Eggers that the university community fulfill a commitment
to preserve the memory of those 35 students and the tragic events of Pan Am Flight 103 necessitated the creation

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30 · Survey Results: Survey Questions and Responses
With direction from the University Librarian, the Documenting Ferguson Project Team was formed and developed a
three-pronged strategy in documenting and preserving the events unfolding in Ferguson, Missouri, relating to the killing
of 18-year-old Michael Brown by police officer Darren Wilson on August 9, 2014.
The Concordia Club was approaching its 125th anniversary and needed an archival repository to take over the
stewardship of its collection. This donation followed on the heels of the K-W Oktoberfest donation a few years earlier.
The K-W Oktoberfest fonds was acquired as a result of the organisation’s 25th anniversary planning.
Saw the need to start documenting and found out the State Historical Society did not have an oral history collection on
this topic.
8. What forces drove the need for a collection partnership or acquisition? Check all that apply. N=35
Existing expertise and holdings in the library 24 69%
Aging of the community 13 37%
Conflict or other threats to the physical materials 8 23%
Economic difficulties 5 14%
Conflict or other threats to community stability 1 3%
Other force 20 57%
Please briefly describe the other force(s). N=20
A primary goal for this initiative was to document the existence and contributions of a community that was frequently
overlooked or ignored, particularly for the sake of scholarship and classroom use.
An effort to preserve the records for future research on the topics of race, ethnicity, labor, and immigration.
As new communities age and in the case of ethnic groups rapidly assimilate, the records are in danger of being lost.
Colorado State University history professor Sidney Heitman initiated a study of this unique population to preserve the
history of the mass ethnic migration to this region and in response to the aging population of immigrants. A 2006
strategic partnership between Colorado State University and Saratov State University (Russian Federation)—and the
founding of the International Center for German-Russian Studies—contributed to increased activity in working to collect
materials related to Colorado’s German Russian population.
Desire to preserve collection &make it available for research.
Ken was running out of space to house the collection, and wanted to find a permanent repository to preserve the
materials and make them available to the public.
Lack of sufficient coverage of the subject by other research libraries. Growth of interest in the subject by students and
scholars across multiple academic disciplines (the rise of Hip Hop Studies in the academy). Increasing recognition of the
historical significance and impact of this community across the globe.
Of the 270 men, women, and children killed in the December 21, 1988, terrorist bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over
Lockerbie, Scotland, 35 were students returning home from studying abroad through Syracuse University’s Division of
International Programs Abroad (DIPA). This tragic number meant the university had lost more victims than any other
institution with an existing archive. The charge of Chancellor Eggers that the university community fulfill a commitment
to preserve the memory of those 35 students and the tragic events of Pan Am Flight 103 necessitated the creation

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SPEC Kit 347: Community-based Collections · 29
historical research and posterity. A former instructor at Penn State for ten years, Mr. Hill decided on the University
Libraries as the designated repository for establishing an archive devoted to the history of the 8th Air Force. On
October 28, 1991, an agreement was reached to formally establish the Eighth Air Force Archive, along with a gift for
preservation and maintenance of the collection. The agreement provided for 8th Air Force members to forward their
materials to Mr. Hill, who then delivered them to the archives, until his death in 1998.
A member of the conference association approached the archives about preserving the collection.
Gift of the Rochester Division of the National Council of Jewish Women, August 1977.
The Duke Ellington Society has been an IJS partner for a long time. We have hosted several conferences and symposia
over the years, and at some point in the late 90s they were looking for a place to deposit their collection of recordings of
guest lectures, and with Dan Morgenstern being a close friend of TDES, the IJS was the best fit for the materials.
Donation we have spoken before Asian American community groups informing them about our desire to document
diverse community organizations and this and other collections have resulted, with more expected in the future. The
Head of Special Collections and University Archives sits on the NJ State Historical Records Advisory Board, which has
identified ethnic community groups as a critical collecting area.
The collection was begun in 1979 by the USC School of Social Work and was housed in the school’s library. It was
formally given to USC Libraries Special Collection in 1999 when the School of Social Work merged its library and the
founding librarian retired.
The first round is now unclear as it happened before anyone now working in our facility’s tenure. The most recent
donation occurred when we realized that the collection had not continued to grow and we contacted the Center and
bugged them to give us the rest.
The Bureau of Jewish Education of Greater Buffalo began collecting records in about 2007. In 2008, University Archives
offered to be the holding repository for collections once they were processed by BJE’s archivist.
The decision to establish a centralized Pan Am Flight 103 Archives at Syracuse University was made 18 months after
the bombing. During this time, departments and individuals had of course been generating and collecting materials
related to the tragedy, and its immediate aftermath. A letter signed by then archivist, Amy Doherty, and the Vice
President for Undergraduate Studies, Ronald Cavanagh, stating the mission of the new Archives was sent to university
deans and directors in 1990. Materials began to arrive soon thereafter. A similar letter was sent to the families of the 35
students lost in the bombing. This letter offered the newly created Pan Am Flight 103/Lockerbie Air Disaster Archives
as a place for families to donate “correspondence, journals or diaries, photographs, newspaper clippings,” examples of
creative work, video and audio tapes by or about their child or about the events following the disaster.” The first family
collection received by the Archives was for Kenneth J. Bissett, a junior at Cornell who has been studying abroad through
Syracuse University. Since that first donation, the Pan Am 103 Archives has amassed over 100 distinct collections, some,
such as the Clippings Collection, created through the work of Archives staff.
In 1983, Dr. Milka Bliznakov (a professor in architecture for Virginia Tech’s College of Architecture and Urban
Studies) initiated a campaign to learn more about the historical contributions of women to architecture and design.
She corresponded with hundreds of women architects across the United States and Europe. In 1985, the College of
Architecture and Urban Studies entered into a joint partnership with the University Libraries to establish a dedicated
repository for such materials. Within the first year, the IAWA had received materials from 28 women and the
International Union of Women Architects. In 2015, the IAWA collections represent over 400 women architects and
women’s organizations.

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SPEC Kit 347: Community-based Collections (July 2015) resources

SPEC Kit 347: Community-based Collections · 31
of a grief-based archive that would responsibly and respectfully house and care for the materials associated with
that memory. In the years surrounding the 15th anniversary of the bombing, the perpetual commitment, dedication,
and abilities demonstrated by the university and archives staff made the Pan Am Flight 103/Lockerbie Air Disaster
Archives the logical home for collection materials pertaining to all 270 victims, as well as associated organizations
and individuals.
Opportunity, timing, and strong connections with individuals and community groups.
Space constraints at the Mazer were preventing them from expanding their collecting efforts. This was a way to open
up space, in addition to providing wider research access to the collection and having the collections fully processed and
description available online.
Sustainability of the archives and creating a repository for the community before they passed away.
The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church, the book of orders and rules that unite and organize the Church,
states that certain records from the local church, church agencies, and other organizations are to be sent to the Annual
Conference archives for the region. The delivery of these archival items, determined by the retention schedule created
and updated by the General Commission on Archives and History, are to be sent when the local church, agency, or
organization closes or merges.
The major anniversary necessitated use, organization, and preservation of the historical records. The loss of memory
represented by both aging and death of members and the challenges posed by whatever records exist along with the
possibility of their loss combine to encourage the organisation to seek a safe home for their history.
The occasion of a major anniversary, the loss of memory represented by an aging community, and the challenges posed
by whatever records exists all combine to encourage the organisation to seek a safe home for their history. They usually
want an archival repository to arrange and describe their records so that they can access their own history.
The Point St-Charles Popular Archives was being dissolved due to decreasing financial resources and lack of space, for
instance. The McGill University Archives had the space and expertise for dealing with and managing community archives
and was able to provide access to the records. As a result, the McGill University Archives acquired the collections.
The World War II era veterans were already in their eighties when we started our most active phase of collecting. Their
families often did not plan for archiving. We needed to save this legacy before it became difficult to do so.
They spent a great deal of time gathering the information, and they wanted to preserve it.
Unknown, but by 1970 the Pilsen neighborhood population had changed from primarily European immigrants to
primarily Mexican immigrants. I can guess that the services and focus of the Neighborhood Service Organization
changed along with the local community and so access to older records didn’t have as much relevance. The Pilsen
neighborhood is close to the university, and the library at that time was actively (and still is) collecting Chicago’s near
west side communities’ historical documents, making UIC a natural home.
We felt that we needed to extend our collecting priorities to better serve our primary clientele, as well as document the
important organizations, movements, and voices of our own region.
We needed to collect history as it was happening on our doorstep as memorials, community meetings, protests, and
rallies were taking place. There was not a system in place to capture this history as it was happening, especially to
document, preserve, and make community and media content accessible.

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Page 9Survey Results click to expand contents

Page 69Respresentative Documents click to expand contents

Page 71Collection Descriptions and Policies click to expand contents

Page 107Finding Aids and Guides click to expand contents

Page 157Advisory Boards click to expand contents

Page 163Donor Support click to expand contents

Page 169Job Descriptions click to expand contents

Page 179Selected Resources click to expand contents

SPEC Kit 347: Community-based Collections (July 2015) resources

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