Archive-It

August 8th, 2023

By the Community Programs Team

This Spring, the Internet Archive brought together over 50 public librarians at two US events intended to shine a spotlight on community-focused digital collecting. The two symposia – part of a series of cohort-building events for members of the Community Webs program – provided opportunities for attendees from across the country to meet, learn and share ideas in support of the program’s local history collection-building and outreach objectives.

Internet Archive Headquarters, San Francisco

Community Webs, a community history web archiving program initiated by the Internet Archive in 2017, aims to expand capacity for community-focused memory organizations to build web and digital archives documenting local histories, with a particular focus on communities that have been underrepresented in the historic record. With over 180 members in Canada, the US and around the world, the program has led to a significant increase in the volume of community history being captured and preserved on the web and beyond.

Rick Prelinger, Founder of the Prelinger Archive, discusses his approach to Community Archives

In San Francisco, Community Webs members gathered at Internet Archive Headquarters for a day that included presentations from Internet Archive staff and members of the program, as well as a keynote address from Rick Prelinger of the Prelinger Archive. During the member presentations, Abilene Texas Public Librarian Janet Bailey shared her work developing partnerships with community members to build the library’s Hispanic Heritage Collection. Katherine Crowe of Alexandria Library described her organization’s web archive collecting strategy, as well as many of the policies, tools and workflows she has put in place to support the work long term. Dylan Gaffney of Forbes Library, one of the longest standing Community Webs members, discussed the many community-focused projects his library has accomplished during his time in the program, including the library’s web archive collection, oral history project, and upcoming digitization work, funded through an NHPRC grant awarded through a collaboration with the Internet Archive. In addition to learning from these presenters, our guests mingled during a tour of headquarters, and had opportunities to share digital archiving successes and plans with one another during discussion sessions and a post-event social hour on the Internet Archive patio. 

Internet Archive staff member Caitlin Olson shows San Francisco attendees the Internet Archive Great Room

Community Webs members gather for social hour on the Internet Archive patio in San Francisco

In Chicago, attendees gathered at the historic Glessner House during the American Library Association Conference for a similar day of conversation and idea sharing. At this event, presenters from Niagara Falls Public Library, New Brunswick Free Public Library, and Scott County Public Library shared their thoughts on initiating and maintaining their web archive collections. The day started with a keynote from Stacie Williams, formerly of the Chicago Public library. Courtney Geerhart of Niagara Falls Public Library shared her project which documents a local natural disaster’s aftermath and residual impact on the local community. Jackie Oshman of New Brunswick Free Public Library outlined the challenges and opportunities that web archiving has brought to her institution and the city of New Brunswick. Sarah Carlin Vermillion of Scott County Library System in Iowa shared a practical overview of their web archiving work, which is always helpful for new members to showcase ways of getting started with building collections! The day was capped off with a tour of the Glessner house and group discussion session.

Stacie Williams, formerly of the Chicago Public library, giving the keynote address.

Sarah Carlin Vermillion of Scott County Library System in Iowa shares her Community Webs project with other members.

The events underscored the value of gathering together in person, as new web archivists met with seasoned Community Webs members for exchanges of support and enthusiasm. What became apparent throughout the gatherings was the remarkable achievements of the cohort as a whole. Since its inception, members have worked with their communities to build over 700 collections of archived local history web content, totalling over 100 TB of data. Yet the impacts extend beyond these measures as many Community Webs described how their relationships to their communities have been enriched via program activities. In both San Francisco and Chicago, members shared their success co-creating collections with their patrons and engaging in other forms of outreach that have brought new forms of interest in the library’s collections. 

For folks who were not able to join us, we plan to host similar in-person and virtual events in future. Keep an eye on this space for more information.

Honorary Internet Archive staff member, ZZ, commands the attention of attendees in San Francisco