Skylar C's Senior Project Blog

Project Title: How Libraries Help Us Preserve Our Past and Impact Our Future BASIS Advisor: Matthew Corradi Internship Location: 215 E. Goodwin St. Prescott, AZ 86303 Onsite Mentor: Melissa Orr/Sarah Willadsen, Lead Librarian, Adult Services

Project Abstract

When someone hears the word library, they undoubtedly imagine shelves heaped with books and scratched up DVDs available to borrow. But, libraries also play a lesser known role in people’s communities other than lending out materials: they are able to collect the local history of their town or city and preserve it through different ways. Digitizing old records and collecting documents and objects are ways these institutions are able to do this, and librarians are then able to display the memorabilia for the public to see. This allows the patrons to be more aware of their cultural heritage and where they came from, provides invaluable tools for researchers to reference and use in their studies, and ensures future generations will have access to direct links to their past. The town where I go to high school, Prescott, has an interesting history that is still very apparent and celebrated. Now, as the Prescott Public Library arrives at its fiftieth anniversary, the librarians are striving to document Prescott’s rich history by recording all the collected documents they have for better access. There are not only records from general Prescott history, like pamphlets from old museums or news, but the librarians have also saved clippings about the library itself throughout the years. I will help them with this project by digitizing the documents and recording details to better find and understand them. This process will help me learn more about the ways libraries preserve history and the importance of remembering our past.