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“Something that feels like a community”: the role of personal stories in building community-based participatory archives

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Ana Roeschley
Ana Roeschley
Ana Roeschley
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Jeonghyun Kim
Jeonghyun Kim
Jeonghyun Kim
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Abstract

Our research aims to explore the personal contexts of community-based participatory archive contributors by unveiling the stories behind the objects the contributors donate to the archives. These stories are historical and valuable in intent because they provide rich evidence about and insights into the past from the perspective of the community members. Using the Mass. Memories Road Show as a case study, we analyzed interviews with individuals who contributed photographs that provide a snapshot of their community to the community-based participatory archives. We employed a grounded theory approach to categorize the photographs contributed and identify themes from the memories and sentiments evoked from the stories behind the photographs. The results of this study demonstrate how people perceive and appraise their past life memories and how their surrounding community influences the formation of community-based participatory archives. This study sheds light on how individuals make connections to their communities through their personal objects and stories.
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Vol.:(0123456789)
Archival Science (2019) 19:27–49
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10502-019-09302-2
1 3
ORIGINAL PAPER
“Something thatfeels likeacommunity”: therole
ofpersonal stories inbuilding community‑based
participatory archives
AnaRoeschley1 · JeonghyunKim1
Published online: 7 February 2019
© Springer Nature B.V. 2019
Abstract
Our research aims to explore the personal contexts of community-based participa-
tory archive contributors by unveiling the stories behind the objects the contributors
donate to the archives. These stories are historical and valuable in intent because
they provide rich evidence about and insights into the past from the perspective of
the community members. Using the Mass. Memories Road Show as a case study,
we analyzed interviews with individuals who contributed photographs that provide
a snapshot of their community to the community-based participatory archives. We
employed a grounded theory approach to categorize the photographs contributed
and identify themes from the memories and sentiments evoked from the stories
behind the photographs. The results of this study demonstrate how people perceive
and appraise their past life memories and how their surrounding community influ-
ences the formation of community-based participatory archives. This study sheds
light on how individuals make connections to their communities through their per-
sonal objects and stories.
Keywords Community· Community archives· Participatory archives· Memory·
Collective memory· Communities of records· Documentation projects
Introduction
Participatory archives are conceptualized in both interrelated and disparate ways.
As previous works on participatory archives (e.g., Roued-Cunliffe and Copeland
2017) have shown, participatory archives range from independent community-led
* Ana Roeschley
Ana.Roeschley@unt.edu
Jeonghyun Kim
Jeonghyun.Kim@unt.edu
1 University ofNorth Texas, Denton, USA
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
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