Take for example this simplified and condensed scenario of DePaul\u2019s Lincoln Park campus and the surrounding neighborhood.\u00a0 It is a fact that structures that housed families and small businesses for generations were torn down in the 1960s and 1970s for \u201curban renewal\u201d projects and the expansion of DePaul\u2019s campus.<\/p>\n Fact<\/strong>: Buildings were torn down.<\/p>\n Evidence<\/strong>: You can track this by photographs, by newspaper articles, by census records, city directories, etc.<\/p>\n There are various perspectives about how and why this was done, who was responsible, and how to judge the outcome.<\/p>\n Perspective\/Interpretation:\u00a0<\/strong>The neighborhood is better\/worse now.\u00a0 Citizens did\/did not have a voice in the process.\u00a0 A bigger, better DePaul makes for a better neighborhood\/DePaul was insensitive to many in the community displaced by the expansion.<\/p>\n Evidence:<\/strong> Neighborhood association meeting minutes, University memos, newspaper articles, personal and family papers, oral histories and interviews.<\/p>\n Words like \u201curban renewal,\u201d \u201cexpansion,\u201d and \u201cdisplacement\u201d have values and emotions attached to them based on perspective, but those interpretations and opinions should start with facts, and both facts and their complementary, contradictory, complicating, and contextualizing perspectives can be found in the archives.<\/p>\n The Society of American Archivists<\/a> (SAA) issued a statement in support of diversity and inclusion<\/a> in the fall, and the Association of College and Research Libraries<\/a> (ACRL) issued a statement on equity, diversity, inclusion and access<\/a>\u00a0on Monday.\u00a0 ACRL\u2019s statement asserts that \u201cacademic libraries have a critical role to play in creating spaces in which diverse and divergent viewpoints can be shared and exchanged\u2026As instructors, we teach students to critically evaluate information and to seek differing perspectives.\u201d\u00a0 Again, start with the facts and consider the sources and their perspectives.<\/p>\n Archives matter.\u00a0 Support us, use us, engage with us, challenge us to grow our collections in ways that better reflect the variety of the communities we serve.\u00a0 Advocate for us as part of a strong network of well-funded cultural heritage organizations.\u00a0 Encourage accountability by holding leaders from elected officials to volunteer committee chairs \u00a0to records retention schedules and transparency standards and leaving that paper (or email trail) that allows thoughtful citizens to engage with their past and to learn from the experiences of others they may see as different.<\/p>\n DePaul University Library Special Collections and Archives<\/a> partners with faculty to design\u00a0active learning <\/a>sessions\u00a0in which students analyze\u00a0primary sources, consult with their peers, and construct personal and shared meaning from the evidence at hand. These valuable skills have application beyond the instruction session, the course, and the undergraduate years.\u00a0For more information on our instruction program, please contact\u00a0Morgen MacIntosh Hodgetts<\/a>, or submit a\u00a0request for instruction<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Archival institutions exist to preserve and make accessible the raw, original sources that document the lives and times of individuals, groups of people, organizations, and regions.\u00a0 Collecting policies may differ but archives try to be as comprehensive as possible for their areas of focus, and to work with other archival institutions to create a network <\/p>\n![\"Stuart](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.library.depaul.press\/full-text\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/01\/Harold_L_Stuart_Center_resized.jpg?ssl=1\" "\\"Stuart")
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