Archives Are for Everyone

When some people think of archives, they imagine documents and artifacts that are rarefied, specialized, and only available through tightly monitored access. While preservation does require that archives are arranged systematically and treated with care, archival materials are not meant to be vaunted and intangible.  They are historical primary sources, but communities and individuals make up history, and as such, are deeply connected to what they choose to document and keep. Archives are for everyone.

Langsdale Special Collections’ own Angela Rodgers-Koukoui--with assistance from Smithsonian Audiovisual Archivist and Baltimorean Megan McShea--is sharing the secrets of archival preservation in Special Collections' Community Archives workshop (#bemorearchives) that will take place for 3 Saturdays in October, part of Baltimore’s #FreeFall program. We had some questions for Angela and Megan about what people can expect, and what the workshop is all about.

Preserve the Baltimore Uprising

Screen capture of Preserve the Baltimore Uprising online

Local cultural heritage organizations and university faculty members are working together to create an online digital collection related to the events surrounding the death of Freddie Gray in police custody on April 19, 2015. The public is invited to submit content to the online project.

Angela Koukoui, a UB undergraduate and Langsdale Library student assistant, is one of two interns currently working at the Maryland Historical Society on building the digital repository. She was recently interviewed alongside Maryland Historical staff member, Joe Tropea, about the collaborative initiative. You can view their online interviews on Channel 2 and Channel 13.

Sneak Preview: Ten Hills Collection

A sneak peek at archival records in the Ten Hills Collection

Langsdale Library Special Collections is pleased to announce a new addition to the archives, the Ten Hills Collection. Longtime neighborhood resident and Ten Hills history buff, Stephen Israel, worked with the community association and archivists in Special Collections to transfer the material earlier this week.

Want to know more about Ten Hills? Check out the community profile on the Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance website. A summary of the Ten Hills Collection exists in the library’s archival collection database. Staff in Special Collections will be digging into the boxes over winter break, so additional information will be available to researchers soon!