Invitation to HBCU Libraries and Archives
Dear HBCU Library Deans and Directors,
We are writing to you on a topic of mutual interest: discovery and preservation of archives and special collections pertaining to African American history held in our libraries and archives. As you know, access to these primary source materials helps us better understand our past, fuels new scholarly research, and develops future generations of citizens and scholars.
As leaders of an HBCU library (AUC Woodruff) and of the world’s largest academic research library (Harvard Univ.), we are interested in exploring the possibilities for partnerships to advance access to these critical research materials, through means such as collaborative acquisitions, archival processing, description, digitization, preservation, and conservation.
We would like to invite you to join us in a facilitated discussion of needs and opportunities in this arena on Wednesday-Thursday, November 2-3, 2022, in Atlanta, GA (venue to be confirmed).
While the idea for such collaborations is far from new, we believe the time is right to develop new approaches. Harvard Library is deeply committed to Advancing Open Knowledgehttps://library.harvard.edu/advancing-open-knowledge through collaborative initiatives focused on enabling equitable, open access to diverse content owned by scholarly repositories around the world. There is also strong support within Harvard for efforts that would promote archival preservation, digitization, and other collaborations to document and safeguard African American history, as noted in the recent Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery reporthttps://radcliffe-harvard-edu-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/b2c5a41d-8bfd-4d04-933c-858670839e50/HLS-whole-report_FINAL_2022-04-25FINAL-ua.pdf. From an HBCU library perspective, there are valuable collections in our institutions that would be of interest not only to HBCU academic communities but to scholars at large, yet there are numerous challenges in making those materials accessible. The question is, how might HBCU libraries and Harvard work together to support these interests in a true partnership of mutual learning and mutual benefit?
Harvard Library is committing resources to explore this question. This is an open invitation to any HBCU Library Director or University Archivist who is interested in exploring a potential collaborative partnership. To assist with travel costs, Harvard Library is arranging, and will pay for, lodging and parking for one night and meals associated with the meeting. We anticipate beginning at 1:00 pm on November 2 and concluding at noon on November 3. We will share a detailed agenda in the coming weeks.
In preparation for the meeting, we will be compiling information on related initiatives that have been proposed or implemented in the past through various organizations, so that together we can consider lessons learned, gaps to be addressed, or potential synergies. We will endeavor to share an initial draft in advance and invite you to contribute to this background material.
Please RSVP by Friday, October 1, 2022, by clicking herehttps://harvard.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_24bkHtdO7FzGbY2. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our colleague and friend, Jerome Offord, Jr., Associate University Librarian for Antiracism, Harvard Library, at jerome_offord@harvard.edu. Thank you for your time and we look forward to hearing from you soon.
Respectfully,
Loretta Parham
CEO and Director, Atlanta University Center Woodruff Library
HBCU Library Alliance Co-Founder and Inaugural Board Chair
Martha Whitehead
Vice President for the Harvard Library and University Librarian and Roy E. Larsen Librarian for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University
Dear Loretta,
Thank you for sharing this wonderful opportunity with Alliance members. I look forward to further discussion.
Best,
Dawn
Dawn Kight, Ph.D.
Dean of Libraries
Southern University and A&M College
Baton Rouge, LA 70813
dawn.kight@sus.edu
225.771.4934
From: Loretta Parham lparham@auctr.edu
Sent: Thursday, September 8, 2022 11:36 AM
To: hbcu-libadmin@lists.hbculibraries.org hbcu-libadmin@lists.hbculibraries.org
Cc: Offord, Jerome jerome_offord@harvard.edu
Subject: Invitation to HBCU Libraries and Archives
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of SUBR. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links from unknown senders.
Dear HBCU Library Deans and Directors,
We are writing to you on a topic of mutual interest: discovery and preservation of archives and special collections pertaining to African American history held in our libraries and archives. As you know, access to these primary source materials helps us better understand our past, fuels new scholarly research, and develops future generations of citizens and scholars.
As leaders of an HBCU library (AUC Woodruff) and of the world’s largest academic research library (Harvard Univ.), we are interested in exploring the possibilities for partnerships to advance access to these critical research materials, through means such as collaborative acquisitions, archival processing, description, digitization, preservation, and conservation.
We would like to invite you to join us in a facilitated discussion of needs and opportunities in this arena on Wednesday-Thursday, November 2-3, 2022, in Atlanta, GA (venue to be confirmed).
While the idea for such collaborations is far from new, we believe the time is right to develop new approaches. Harvard Library is deeply committed to Advancing Open Knowledgehttps://library.harvard.edu/advancing-open-knowledge through collaborative initiatives focused on enabling equitable, open access to diverse content owned by scholarly repositories around the world. There is also strong support within Harvard for efforts that would promote archival preservation, digitization, and other collaborations to document and safeguard African American history, as noted in the recent Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery reporthttps://radcliffe-harvard-edu-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/b2c5a41d-8bfd-4d04-933c-858670839e50/HLS-whole-report_FINAL_2022-04-25FINAL-ua.pdf. From an HBCU library perspective, there are valuable collections in our institutions that would be of interest not only to HBCU academic communities but to scholars at large, yet there are numerous challenges in making those materials accessible. The question is, how might HBCU libraries and Harvard work together to support these interests in a true partnership of mutual learning and mutual benefit?
Harvard Library is committing resources to explore this question. This is an open invitation to any HBCU Library Director or University Archivist who is interested in exploring a potential collaborative partnership. To assist with travel costs, Harvard Library is arranging, and will pay for, lodging and parking for one night and meals associated with the meeting. We anticipate beginning at 1:00 pm on November 2 and concluding at noon on November 3. We will share a detailed agenda in the coming weeks.
In preparation for the meeting, we will be compiling information on related initiatives that have been proposed or implemented in the past through various organizations, so that together we can consider lessons learned, gaps to be addressed, or potential synergies. We will endeavor to share an initial draft in advance and invite you to contribute to this background material.
Please RSVP by Friday, October 1, 2022, by clicking herehttps://harvard.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_24bkHtdO7FzGbY2. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our colleague and friend, Jerome Offord, Jr., Associate University Librarian for Antiracism, Harvard Library, at jerome_offord@harvard.edu. Thank you for your time and we look forward to hearing from you soon.
Respectfully,
Loretta Parham
CEO and Director, Atlanta University Center Woodruff Library
HBCU Library Alliance Co-Founder and Inaugural Board Chair
Martha Whitehead
Vice President for the Harvard Library and University Librarian and Roy E. Larsen Librarian for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University
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