Our Records, Our Selves: How to Save Your History was a hands-on archiving workshop designed for students, student orgs, community members, and any archive beginners to introduce them to the basics of organizing and preserving personal and collective histories. Archivists from the Bentley Historical Library (UM-Ann Arbor), the Genesee Historical Collections Center at the Frances Willson Thompson Library (UM-Flint), and the Mardigian Library (UM-Dearborn) shared knowledge on caring for physical and digital records, from diaries and photos to meeting notes, member lists, and protest banners. Participants learned practical archiving techniques, including organizing and storage, to ensure their histories remain accessible for future generations.
Archival records play a crucial role in strengthening collective memory and protecting rights, property, and identity. They support historians and researchers, ensuring that valuable knowledge is preserved and accessible. This workshop aimed to share skills, knowledge, and resources to empower under-resourced, community-held collections and to support shared authority in storytelling and preservation.
All workshop participants received an archiving starter kit with acid-free file folders, a pencil, nitrile gloves, worksheets, and other informational takeaways to help get them started.
Our Records, Our Selves: How to Save Your History was co-created and organized by Callum Carr, Meghan Courtney, Elena Colon-Marrero, and Hannah Zmuda, with support from the Inclusive History Project.