Our Mission

The Community Archiving Program at UC Santa Cruz works in partnership with community stakeholders to preserve and promote local history for present and future generations. We take a holistic approach that supports active research, inclusive teaching, regenerative remembering, and experiential learning. The Community Archiving Program is committed to engaging students in the work we do and supporting their growth as scholars.

About Us

Community Archives are a new and notable approach to archival practices. There are many scholars and practitioners doing this important work now—rethinking and reconsidering what archives can be in the future. Ideally, community archives provide a space where the hidden histories of our past are shared and celebrated. Some of the best community archiving work in universities and colleges is rooted in efforts to preserve local histories so that students, faculty members and community scholars find themselves in collections and are inspired to create new pathways to history. This allows for meaningful connections with materials, encourages engagement, inspires creative collaborations and produces diverse scholarly perspectives. Archives can and should be spaces that bridge memory and social justice, community archives help make that possible. 

The 2022 Listening Tour Report summarizes the results of a listening tour conducted in Spring 2022 as the first step in planning for the new Community Archiving Program. The responses we heard as part of the listening tour will be used in developing and scoping a forthcoming 1-3 year plan for the program.

Download the full PDF at the link listed below.