VOICES
Digital Collections and Archives (DCA) is the archives and manuscript repository of Tufts University and is open to the public. DCA’s team of professional archivists provides stewardship for the Tufts University Archives, nearly three hundred manuscript collections, and other permanently valuable physical and digital archival materials. DCA staff also assist Tufts students, faculty, and staff with recordkeeping activities, through records management and digital library services. DCA’s stewardship responsibilities are mandated by the Board of Trustees, as outlined in the University Records Policy.
UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES AND COMMUNITY INSIGHTS FROM AN ARCHIVIST
By Daniel Santamaria There are thousands of stories in have grown to thousands of boxes and are as accessible as possible to the enthe archives. Tufts Digital Collections terabytes of digital data. tire Tufts community. and Archives (DCA) is the home of University records generated in One way we have tried to highlight the Tufts University Archives and is the course of working at Tufts don’t tell a variety of communities at Tufts across the primary archives and manuscript the full story of the university’s past, time is by hiring students as “roving arrepository at Tufts. Archival records however. Over the last several years, chivists” to discuss donation of archival exist from the foundmaterial from students ing of the university and student groups, and DCA itself traces and acquiring collecits origins to 1964 tions—most promiwhen the first univernently the papers of sity archivist position faculty member Gerwas created at Tufts ald Gill—which docuin recognition of the ment his extensive need to create a forwork on the history of mal program to preBlack students at Tufts. serve evidence of the We’ve also beuniversity’s past. The gun reparative work University Archives’ on our description of founding documents collections and cataand original mandates loging information refer to official uniin awareness of the versity records and impact that language some formal student can have on researchwork such as theses Projection onto Goddard Chapel. Archival Image: Claud Randolph Taylor ers and users of arand dissertations. This chival material. We’ve focus has continued and now includes much of the work of our dedicated focused our attention on digitizing a records management program that team of professional archivists has fo- and providing online access to student provides advice to staff, faculty, and cused on centering stories of students publications such as Onyx, Voices, and students across the university about and faculty that are underrepresented South Asian Literary and Art Magazine document retention and transferring in the archives and removing barriers (S.A.L.A.A.M). All of this documenmaterial to the archives. The archives to access to the archives so that they tation is essential to understanding
26 TUFTS OBSERVER MAY 2, 2022
DESIGN BY UMA EDULBEHRAM, ART COURTESY OF DIGITAL COLLECTIONS AND ARCHIVES, TUFTS UNIVERSITY
