Excerpt: “The staff of the North Carolina Room at Pack Memorial Library, located in downtown Asheville, NC, is always on the lookout for new ways to engage the public in our work. Until 2009, when the collection first moved into a space of its own, (separate from adult reference) there had not been much in the way of these efforts. Searching for inspiration, staff encountered Archives Alive: Expanding Engagement with Public Library Archives and Special Collections by Diantha Dow Schull. In this volume of case studies, Schull sought out how both public and university libraries (as well as small museums and historical societies) found creative, low budget solutions for engaging in new projects and programs that worked to connect collections with communities.
The biggest take-away from Schull’s work for North Carolina Room staff was the concept of community-driven archives projects. Community-driven or community-based archives being collections created by and for members of a specific community (whether defined by geography, race, culture or class). Community-driven projects aim to increase engagement, because community members will likely want to take an active part in gathering the historical and contemporary heritage of their own community.”
