Engage, Educate, and Empower!
Established in 2017 with the support of Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, ASU Library’s Community-Driven Archives Initiative seeks to:
- Build relationships with historically marginalized communities (Latinx, Black, Asian & Pacific Islander, Indigenous, and LGBTQ).
- Center the lived experiences and knowledge of community members.
- Create intergenerational and intersectional safe spaces to support life long learning.
- Acknowledge historical trauma and support healing projects led by community.
- Advocate for equal ownership of archives and shared stewardship responsibilities.
- Provide free access to archival supplies and library resources that will help communities preserve their stories for future generations.
- Work with communities to redefine the traditional definition and function of an archive.
Collections
ASU Library seeks to digitize and make publicly accessible existing archival collections from the Chicano/a Research Collection and Greater Arizona Collection via the ASU Digital Repository. The Community-Driven Archives team is currently working on these collections.
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Alianza Hispano Americana Records
Oldest Latino mutual aid society (est. 1894)
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League of United Latin American Citizens Collection
Oldest active Latino civil rights organization in the U.S. (est. 1929)
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Maricopa County Organizing Project (MCOP) Records
Local farm worker and civil rights history (c. 1960-1990)
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Bj Bud Memorial Archives
Largest Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) collection in Arizona
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We are working with Alex Soto, Operations Supervisor of Labriola Center, to provide Community-Driven Archives services to Indigenous Communities throughout Arizona. Since 2018, we have worked with the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, Salt River Tribe, White Mountain Apache Tribe, and Hopi Tribe.
