This project brings community members and organizations together to carry out a fully participatory process to broaden participation and inclusion within cultural heritage collections. This will create a model for institutions in small- and mid-sized urban areas seeking to enter into collaborative partnerships with diverse groups to produce more equitable archives. Additionally, this work will increase public access to community stories, build library and archival capacity, and promote lifelong civic learning.
To support these goals we have consulted and received support from key local community organizations, including City of Tacoma Office of Equity & Human Rights, City of Tacoma Neighborhood & Community Services, the Tacoma Action Collective, the University of Washington-Tacoma Library, the Tacoma Community House, the Tacoma Historical Society, Tacoma Public Schools, the Tacoma Arts Live, the Washington State Historical Society, and the University of Puget Sound Collins Memorial Library. This support and input will help us create a locally-grounded method that can nonetheless be scaled and disseminated nationally.
Featured image: “Tacoma skyline from E 34th Street” by SounderBruce, licensed by CC BY-SA 2.0
