A lot of effort is spent on campus, in archives and preparing materials before we really get a chance to start. Photo: Tony Eetak
Our Winter 2026 Shift to Oral Histories
Last year, the lights stayed on late into the night as we focused on the heavy lifting of digital construction. It was a year of building foundations—creating the robust digital infrastructure and automated systems necessary to handle the sheer volume of archival material we hold.
From weather-worn post journals and intimate diaries to fragile letters and burial records, we spent our time perfecting the tools that allow us to capture, catalogue, and translate the past with precision.
Establishing this framework was about more than just technology; it was a massive effort in capacity building. We invested hundreds of hours into training our team on database management and advanced scanning techniques. By focusing on automation and workflow last year, we’ve effectively removed the “busy work” from the equation. We’ve moved away from the tedious, manual data entry that used to consume our evenings, freeing us up to do what really matters: discovery.
With that infrastructure now humming in the background, our 2026 winter program is pivoting toward a more human-centered theme: Oral History. Because we’ve automated the “putting into order,” we finally have the breathing room to spend more time searching for the voices behind the records. This year isn’t just about what was written down; it’s about the stories that were never put to paper, the nuances of memory, and the lived experiences of our community members.
This transition from digital “heavy lifting” to active storytelling is a rewarding milestone for our program. It allows us to use our newfound technical efficiency to honor the community’s legacy in a much deeper, more conversational way. By spending less time behind a scanner and more time listening, we are ensuring that the digital archive we built last year becomes a living, breathing resource for the future.
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