Archivists do not only wait for records to arrive on their doorstep, passively accepting whatever comes their way. More and more, archivists feel a responsibility for seeking out records to broaden and deepen our pool of knowledge about the world around us. I think that these proactive measures are going to become even more of archival work in the near future. Many young archivists have ideas for seeking out historical materials, and for finding ways to build an archival record before the records ever have to arrive at an archive. One of my ideas ties together oral history, community involvement, digitization of paper materials, and maybe even some therapeutic help for a community in need.
My idea is for a comprehensive database for nursing homes, to capture a range of data about their residents. This would be paired with a template for a nursing home website. The website would allow for something similar to a social networking platform like Facebook or Google Plus, but with a greater emphasis on compiling photographs, letters, and oral histories. In so doing, it would create detailed accounts of the lives of the people who stayed at the home. It would also build the history of the nursing home, and contribute to our local histories.
Each resident of the nursing home would get a page. He or she would then be encouraged to work with a staff member--or perhaps a volunteer, like an oral historian--on adding materials to the page. The staff member would scan old photographs and letters, and would ask the resident about each one. Who is in the photo? When was it taken? Who was writing the letter to whom? These interviews could be recorded and added to the database as well; in the course of identifying people in a photograph, each resident is bound to remember interesting stories that are unrelated to that specific task of identification. Bit by bit, each resident gets to build the story of his or her life.
The residents are then active participants in building their stories, and in ways that could be done by anyone. They do not need, for example, the literary skill to write their own autobiography. Only the eagerness to reminisce and share stories with someone else. And the residents might find that it brings them together, which is where the social networking aspect fits in. A resident might learn that a co-resident served in the same military unit, had the same kind of job, or grew up in a nearby town. They might soon start helping each other fill in the gaps in their recollections.
They might also keep healthy in the process. Though I make no claims of expertise on mental health, my understanding is that keeping the mind active later in life is a therapeutic activity, and one that can perhaps help prevent certain mental illnesses, like Alzheimer's. Keeping residents engaged in remembering their lives would then have the added benefit of being a sort of therapy. It might keep their minds sharp. It might also help them feel good about their life, to have a chance to share these stories.
In the end, everyone wins from this. The residents get an activity they (hopefully) enjoy, and some socialization and mental challenge along the way. The nursing home gets to build a more comprehensive picture of its identity, which is surely shaped by its residents. (And this might in turn make the home more attractive to other prospective residents.) The staff or community volunteers who get involved learn about building the historical record, get to feel that they have contributed something meaningful to the world around them, and probably get to make new friends along the way.
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