Teaching Tools
The work of community-centered archives practice is rooted in a commitment to education, training, and empowerment through self-representation. This section offers sample teaching tools including reading lists, syllabi, and training others have used to teach about community-centered archives principles and practices.
DocsTeach
Created by the National Archives, this website provides lesson plans, interactive activities, and easily accessible primary sources relevant to community history, such as social justice and civil rights movements in the US.
Archives Education Institute
The Archivists Round Table of Metropolitan New York, Inc. (ART) developed a program for K-12 educators that includes sample lesson plans from the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture that allow students to reflect on Black history via zinemaking.
Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) Hub, UC Berkeley
Designed for educators and community leaders, this hub provides countless lesson plans to foster and center community, particularly youth, in self-representation work, applicable to archives.
The 1619 Project Curriculum
Reading lists for educators, in addition to a “ Curricular Resources ” site that focuses on lesson plans, units, and activities.
Created by the National Archives, this website provides lesson plans, interactive activities, and easily accessible primary sources relevant to community history, such as social justice and civil rights movements in the US.
Archives Education Institute
The Archivists Round Table of Metropolitan New York, Inc. (ART) developed a program for K-12 educators that includes sample lesson plans from the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture that allow students to reflect on Black history via zinemaking.
Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) Hub, UC Berkeley
Designed for educators and community leaders, this hub provides countless lesson plans to foster and center community, particularly youth, in self-representation work, applicable to archives.
The 1619 Project Curriculum
Reading lists for educators, in addition to a “ Curricular Resources ” site that focuses on lesson plans, units, and activities.
Improving Primary Source Literacy Learning Outcomes through a Community-Centered Archives Approach
by Krystal Tribbett, Derek Quezada, and Jimmy Zavala
In libraries, there is a long tradition of primary source instruction that helps students engage with history through the materiality and contextualization of archives and special collections materials. In this report, the authors describe an undergraduate training program focused on fostering representational belonging through more inclusive item selection for learning.
Community-Centered Archives by Elvia Arroyo-Ramirez, Krystal Tribbett, and Thuy Vo Dang
This presentation (slides, text, and recording) covers the principles and interventions of community archives within the context of UCI Libraries Special Collections and Archives’ focus on a “community-centered archives” approach to building partnerships in support of more equitable historical records. This video may be of interest to groups undertaking documentation of communities independently, within a classroom context, or in partnership with an institution.
Living Archives of Poetic Justice - Canvas Courseware Guide, UC Irvine
A guide to support faculty development of undergraduate courses about community-centered archives practice, including readings, videos, sample assignments, and other materials.
Grassroots Self-Documentation: Community Archives among North American Muslims
An exemplary course from UCLA educating undergraduates on community-based archives concepts. By Salma Abumeeiz, 2022.
In libraries, there is a long tradition of primary source instruction that helps students engage with history through the materiality and contextualization of archives and special collections materials. In this report, the authors describe an undergraduate training program focused on fostering representational belonging through more inclusive item selection for learning.
Community-Centered Archives by Elvia Arroyo-Ramirez, Krystal Tribbett, and Thuy Vo Dang
This presentation (slides, text, and recording) covers the principles and interventions of community archives within the context of UCI Libraries Special Collections and Archives’ focus on a “community-centered archives” approach to building partnerships in support of more equitable historical records. This video may be of interest to groups undertaking documentation of communities independently, within a classroom context, or in partnership with an institution.
Living Archives of Poetic Justice - Canvas Courseware Guide, UC Irvine
A guide to support faculty development of undergraduate courses about community-centered archives practice, including readings, videos, sample assignments, and other materials.
Grassroots Self-Documentation: Community Archives among North American Muslims
An exemplary course from UCLA educating undergraduates on community-based archives concepts. By Salma Abumeeiz, 2022.
Cohort Syllabus, UC Irvine
This syllabus provides a reading list with an emphasis on experiential learning outcomes and deliverables for undergraduate student fellows working with community-based organizations on archival projects.
UCLA Community Archives Lab
Training graduate students in library and information studies, the Lab studies community-based archives but also designs collaborative projects with these organizations. The website includes a toolkit for assessing the affective impact of community archives that can be used by educators.
Reckonings Summer Institute
Hosted by Northeastern University, this institute emphasizes the empowerment of BIPOC communities and residents in the work to preserve and curate their own community histories. Modules emphasize training in digital systems and tools including Omeka, Reclaim Hosting, StoryMaps JS, and Scalar.
Training of Trainers
The Community Archiving Workshop supports organizations working to preserve their audiovisual collections, pairing archivists with collection caretakers and community volunteers. Their TOT curriculum provides agendas, notes and slide shows, and other resources to help educators provide hands-on training in their region.
This syllabus provides a reading list with an emphasis on experiential learning outcomes and deliverables for undergraduate student fellows working with community-based organizations on archival projects.
UCLA Community Archives Lab
Training graduate students in library and information studies, the Lab studies community-based archives but also designs collaborative projects with these organizations. The website includes a toolkit for assessing the affective impact of community archives that can be used by educators.
Reckonings Summer Institute
Hosted by Northeastern University, this institute emphasizes the empowerment of BIPOC communities and residents in the work to preserve and curate their own community histories. Modules emphasize training in digital systems and tools including Omeka, Reclaim Hosting, StoryMaps JS, and Scalar.
Training of Trainers
The Community Archiving Workshop supports organizations working to preserve their audiovisual collections, pairing archivists with collection caretakers and community volunteers. Their TOT curriculum provides agendas, notes and slide shows, and other resources to help educators provide hands-on training in their region.