I created the first complete archive and written history of the Michigan Writing Centers Association conference, where I:
- Scanned and uploaded documents from the early stages of MiWCA into an easily accessible online database via the MiWCA website.
- From reviewing the documents, I wrote a MiWCA conference history that covered the 1994-2019 conference years.
Why:
Creating an online archive documenting MiWCA established a valuable resource for writing center directors and staff members. Showing other writing centers the importance of archival work and how history can get lost if it’s not compiled may influence others to eventually do the same for their writing centers.
My experience with archival work made me qualified for this project. I learned a great deal from compiling a history of the Oakland University Writing Center, which covered usage, staff levels, and notable accomplishments since the center’s inception. The MiWCA archival work I completed was showcased to attendees of the 2019 conference, where many members gave valuable insight and expressed their support.
Leverage Research:
In my MiWCA 2018 presentation of my archival work for the Oakland University Writing Center, I noted that archival work is important because it:
a) creates a translatable history, giving writing centers — in this case, writing center conferences — easy access to old documents and accomplishments
b) contributes to local understanding, informing new and old consultants of their writing centers’ (and MiWCA conferences’) histories
c) is useful when needing to show progress, giving us tangible means to display growth through the depiction of notable accomplishments, staff levels, and center usage
David Gold said archival research is “like putting together a jigsaw puzzle without the picture on the box as a guide (as cited in Nall, 2014, p. 103). Histories have to be pieced back together with the help of documentation and sources.
References:
Nall, S. (2014). Remembering writing center partnerships: Recommendations for archival strategies. The Writing Center Journal, 33(2), 101-121. https://jstor.org/stable/43443373
Valley, K. (2018). Preserving the past, preparing for the future: The importance of archiving [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Na13EcguQDHPKHV_GF1ZpnZnGRxjY_5jzzOHbhTt0gs/edit?usp=sharing
Other Archival Work
I first dabbled into archival work when I created a written history of the Oakland University Writing Center, which included usage data, staff members by year, and notable accomplishments. I presented my research at the 2018 MiWCA Ideas Exchange at the University of Michigan-Flint.