Affirming Self, Affirming Community: Outreach in the Spirit and Memory of Neil Richards
Date
2023-07-01
Authors
Liang, Ann
Stokalko, Lindsay
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Conference Presentation
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Abstract
The Neil Richards Collection of Sexual and Gender Diversity was established in 2010 and contains more than 8,000 unique items. Neil Richards spent his life and career at the University of Saskatchewan preserving LGBT history in Saskatchewan. Sadly, Neil Richards passed away in 2018, and without his enthusiastic and engaging personality, the collection became underutilized, and its growth slowed. This project involved the creation of marketing videos featuring real users and their experiences with the collection to increase the awareness and the use of the archive by the community. Inspired by Apple (2021), our goal was to give this collection back to the community by removing the high academia stigma and exclusivity associated with archives in hopes of inspiring partnerships and to create a more accurate and holistic reflection of LGBTQQIP2SAA history in Saskatchewan. Since the creation and release of the videos, interactions with the collection have markedly increased, including donations, integration into University of Saskatchewan courses, its use in events like Drag Story Time for Adults and partnerships with community organizations like OUTSaskatoon, the University of Saskatchewan Students’ Union Pride Centre, Saskatoon Pride, the Western Development Museum and JusticeTrans. This session covers our process for the creation and distribution of the videos, the initiatives that have formed from the renewed interest in the collection and where we hope to take the collection in the future.
Description
Presented at the 2023 Association of Canadian Archivists Conference as a part of 11B. Outreach for Representation and Belonging in Charlottetown, PEI.
Keywords
LGBTQQIP2SAA, archives, marketing
Citation
Liang, A., & Stokalko, L. (2023). Affirming Self, Affirming Community: Outreach in the Spirit and Memory of Neil Richards. Association of Canadian Archivists Conference: Charlottetown, PEI.
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Citation
Liang, A., & Stokalko, L. (2023). Affirming Self, Affirming Community: Outreach in the Spirit and Memory of Neil Richards. Association of Canadian Archivists Conference: Charlottetown, PEI.