Archivist repairing documents

Resources for Community Archiving

The Maryland State Archives is committed to supporting community-driven and participatory archive initiatives across Maryland. Our support is shaped by the needs of local communities, and we work in a capacity determined by their priorities. We offer training in essential archival processes, including collection development, conservation, storage, digitization, and the creation of customized workplans to meet your community's unique needs and goals.

Please contact us at msa.helpdesk@maryland.gov and we will get back to you within two weeks. We look forward to hearing from you!

Preserve Your Community's History! Handout (.PDF)

Frequently Asked Questions

Sample Inventory Spreadsheet in Excel (.xlsx format)
Archiving Basics: How to Begin Preserving Your Communities Collections Handout (.PDF)

We suggest that you begin with inventorying and cataloging your collection. We can give you guidance on how to inventory and catalog and can provide you with an inventory spreadsheet template to help you get organized.

We can train you and your community in inventorying, cataloging, collections management, digitization, and how to handle rare and fragile items.

Here is an example of one of the trainings we can offer:

Archives staff can assist you by examining the physical condition of your collections and recommending preservation supplies and procedures for protecting your collection in the long-term.

Individual or small groups of items with common condition issues can be assessed by the Archives' conservators.

If collections have been exposed to water, mold, pest-damage or pollutants, the Maryland State Archives can provide a list of professionals who have the resources needed to mitigate the damage to the extent possible.

There are no fees for Archives staff providing guidance, assessments and or trainings.

If records require conservation a cost estimate for treatment and rehousing can be provided. Costs vary on a case-by-case basis.

Why is the Maryland State Archives Committed to Helping Your Community?

Community archives are essential for preserving Maryland's history, cultural heritage, and collective memory. The Maryland State Archives views supporting community archives as a vital part of its mandate. Section 9-1010 of the Maryland Code, State Government, states in part: "The Archives shall collect public and private records and other information that relate to the history of the province and State of Maryland from the earliest times, including church records and newspapers; may edit and publish these records." Community archives help us understand the full breadth of Maryland's past, as community archives offer insights that government records alone cannot provide. These archives reveal the lived experiences, struggles, and triumphs of all Marylanders across generations and backgrounds.

All Marylanders regardless of background and ethnicity have a place in Maryland's historical record. While we should create spaces for our differences to be celebrated and highlighted, it's important to remember that we are all unified. We must collectively push against the idea that only the history of prominent individuals and organizations is important. Community archiving uplifts the true history of all Marylanders as they are the creators of their own content and in control of the narrative.

By supporting the sustainability of community archives, the Maryland State Archives is committed to ensuring that every facet of Maryland's history and culture is recognized and preserved for future generations. While working with groups that have inquired about how the Maryland State Archives can assist with their community goals and vision, we have found an amazing group of thoughtful leaders who have taken such an active role in the lives and betterment of their community but also had the foresight to dedicate resources and intentionality to documenting and preserving the history of their community. These leaders continue to help sustain their community through remembering and preserving the past, supporting the community's needs in the present, and ensuring the legacy of their communities will be remembered and continued in the future.

As we offer support to these communities, as an Archives it's important to stress that our objective is not to add collections to our institution but to educate and offer assistance, while intentionally prioritizing the community's goals and vision. Shared stewardship ensures that the community is in control of its own narrative and collections, while institutions, such as the Maryland State Archives, or another one of our common partners, the Enoch Pratt Free Library through their Digital Maryland platform, help provide sustainability and access, as determined by the community. Shared stewardship can take on any number of forms, from the Maryland State Archives acting as a back-up repository for collections which the community provides access to on their own platform, to training on how to inventory and archive collections, to assisting with digitization or providing digitization standards, to potentially being an archival repository for the community. It all depends on what the community's needs, goals, and vision for their collections are. The Maryland State Archives is here as a partner to help ensure that your community's history and legacy are preserved for future generations.

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