We are revisioning archives to preserve the past, bring the untold stories to the present, and make them relevant for the future.
Revisioning Archives is for family historians, community archivists, and documentarians—the people who preserve everyday legacies.
We usually take on this role voluntarily, because we are fascinated with history and our lineage. We also want to look forward, learn from our ancestral stories, and make them relevant and engaging to future generations.
What do you want to save?
On Archives
When people think about archives they often think about preserving the past: in stable, non-reactive materials, acid-free paper, cool temperatures, with backups. Preserving the physical and digital archives so they don’t deteriorate is key for the future yous, the future family historians.
At Revisioning Archives you will find resources to:
keep your physical and digital archives safe;
practice good and ethical oral history; and
preserve the stories.
What stories do you want to tell?
On Revisioning
Though saving the past is itself a worthy goal, what good are archives if we can’t learn from them?
What has been left out of your personal, family or community history?
What are the stories that remain untold?
How can we learn from the lessons, mistakes, skeletons, and sins of the past to inform our present, to disrupt traumatic patterns in the future?
At Revisioning Archives you will find resources to:
determine and own your biases;
reflect upon the stories that have been hidden or remain untold;
learn about who you are, as the family historian, as the narrator of this archive; and
how to interpret the archives through your particular lens.