Community History: The Showcase

Union Public Library discussed how they gathered and documented immigrant stories within their community. They developed a preliminary film containing these stories, with Spanish subtitles, which showcase attendees had the opportunity to preview. According to Debbie Walter and Barbara LaMort, their community history project helped the library to expand their collection to more accurately reflect the people within their community. Through participation in the program, they learned the value of listening to constituents and developing programs to meet their needs.

Indian American Club talked about their project, which collected and showcased stories that promote better understanding of the Indian American community in New Jersey. They hosted a panel of Indian Americans with business backgrounds to discuss their experiences with immigration and to foster networking and conversation among program participants. The panel emphasized the power in building community and keeping Indian culture alive in New Jersey. Indian American Club hopes to host future events like this due to the positive feedback received from the panelists and audience members.

TRUE Mentors gave a presentation centered on the importance of giving voice to youth so that they have the power to shape the historical narrative. They partnered with the Rutgers Filmmaking department and Hoboken Historical Society to provide the resources and skills to youth to create their own documentary film about important historical events in their community. Once completed, their film will be showcased to the community at a local theatre. We’re looking forward to seeing the final product!

Haddonfield Public Library showed us the importance of making historical resources readily available to the community. The vault of their library, formerly a 1920s bank, houses a local history collection with all sorts of old documents: scrapbooks, meeting minutes, and more. One day, when poking around in the collections, Andrea Elson stumbled upon a brown sandwich bag containing letters from the late eighteenth century. These letters had been lying in the vault for years, unbeknownst to any members of the staff. According to Elson and Cathy DeCampli, “The discovery and realization that the library had all of these resources fueled our participation in the Community History project.” They looked for ways to make their collections more accessible to the community and began promoting the library as a central spot for community history engagement in their Borough, offering greater access to scanned historical documents and purchasing a digital kiosk to allow community members to present their stories through interactive maps and virtual exhibits.

Click the image to view the video

Though the Preserve Shady Rest Committee could not make it to the showcase, they pre-recorded a video which demonstrated the variety of stories that can be illuminated by looking in “unassuming” places, such as a country club. By setting up opportunities for community members to share their stories, Preserve Shady Rest learned about the rich African American history of their site, as well as the community’s interest in preserving this history. Check out their video to hear more about their project and experiences in the Community History program!