Black Collections at Arizona State University Library: Triumphants and Challenges starting a new community-based archival collection in Arizona

According to the Arizona Archives Matrix Project conducted in 2012, the Latinx, Black, Asian & Pacific Islander, and LGBTQ community made up over 42% of Arizona's population but are only represented in 0-2% of known archival collections. Out of 59,463 linear feet of collections held across the state, only 19.66 linear feet were identified as focusing on Black/African American people within this state. Arizona State University Library’s Black Collections, a new repository within the Community-Driven Archives (CDA) Initiative, is directly addressing this erasure by engaging and empowering Black and African American communities through educational workshops and outreach. Hear from the first/current curator of the collection Jessica Salow as she discusses the challenges and rewards of starting a new archival collection at Arizona State University Library and Black Collections dedication to the preservation of Black/African American memory in Arizona.

Learning Objectives:

• Archival Collections
  
• Arizona Black History 
  
• Community Outreach and Engagement
  

Presenters:

Jessica Salow is the Assistant Archivist of Black Collections at Arizona State University (ASU) Library. She obtained her Masters in Library and Information Science (MLIS) from the University of Arizona and is an alumna of Arizona State University. She is the recipient of the 2022 Archival Innovator Award from the Society of American Archivists and the 2023 Catalyst Award for inspiring and igniting transformation and inclusion at Arizona State University. She is also an American Library Association’s Emerged Leader Class of 2024. She currently serves as the President-Elect of the Arizona Library Association for the 2024-2025 term. Her current work focuses on specialized reference and instruction as well as creating a robust collection of primary and secondary resources that document the lived experiences of Black people living and thriving in the state of Arizona. She currently resides on the ancestral homelands of the Akimel O’odham people of Arizona.