In this episode of Archives in Context, cohosts Emily Mathay and Lauren Kata talk with Rachel Antell and Stephanie Jenkins, co-founders of the Archival Producers Alliance. Archival producers work with filmmakers to research and identify archival materials for inclusion in documentaries, feature films, exhibits, and many additional projects. Stephanie and Rachel discuss their respective paths to becoming archival producers, including their backgrounds in documentary filmmaking, as well as some...
https://umbrasearch.org/
Reviewed by Mattie Clear, Head of Research and Engagement & Assistant Professor, James Madison University Libraries, Harrisonburg, VA [PDF Full Text]
Figure 1. Screenshot of the homepage of Umbra Search, https://umbrasearch.org/.
Umbra Search: African American History is a digital resource created in 2014 by the Givens Collection of African American Literature at the University of Minnesota Libraries’ Archives and Special Collections in collaboration...
In this episode, cohosts Lauren Kata and Emily Mathay speak with Christina Zamon about her book Alone in the Stacks: Succeeding as a Solo Archivist, an updated edition that tackles the complexities of solo archiving in the 2020s. Smaller repositories and their solo archivists make up a large portion of American archives, yet they remain underrepresented in archival literature. Listen in for a range of discussions, from archival advocacy to community support and more.
Read the transcript...
In his new book, I’ll Make Me a World : The 100-Year Journey of Black History Month, award-winning author and acclaimed Harvard scholar Jarvis R. Givens unpacks the events that led from the establishment of Negro History Week in February 1926 to the declaration of a month-long celebration in February 1976. His discourse draws on black historical knowledge shared by black memory workers in traditional, cultural, and personal ways that contribute to the counter-narrative of black history that is...
Review of The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks. By Shauna Robinson. Naperville, IL.: Sourcebooks Landmark, November 2022. 330 pp. Softcover. $16.99 ISBN-9781728246444
Reviewed by Alyssa Noch, Master of Arts in Public History, Specialization in Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s History from Wayne State University [PDF Full Text]
This review contains spoilers for The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks.
The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks by Shauna Robinson was among my top five reads in 2024....
A powerful story has the potential to connect us to our own experiences, pull a community together, and engage new audiences with our work.
In this master class storytelling virtual workshop, sponsored by the Committee on Public Awareness (COPA) and led by Micaela Blei, a two-time Moth GrandSLAM winner with a PhD in narrative education, you’ll learn:
What makes a story...
By Elizabeth Shepherd. London: Routledge, 2025. 228 pp. $61.99 (eBook); $200.00 (Hardback). eBook ISBN 9781003640479; Hardback ISBN 9781041073741.
Reviewed by Katy Sternberger, CA, DAS; Archivist, Portsmouth Athenaeum [PDF Full Text]
Discussions of archival labor have become increasingly important as archivists draw attention to the formerly obscured physical, intellectual, and emotional work involved in managing archives. In Pioneering Women Archivists in Early 20th Century England,...
