Beyond Belief Community Archival Training Workshop, Part 1

Where is your community's history? In a filing cabinet in the church office? In photographs stored in someone's basement? In newsletters, meeting minutes, protest flyers, membership registers, email lists, or boxes that have not been opened in years? As part of Beyond Belief: Religion and Social Change in 1960s Chicago, the Newberry Library is offering free Community Archival Training Workshops to help religious congregations, activist and historical organizations, and community groups preserve and share their histories. These practical, hands-on workshops are designed for organizations with little or no archival experience. Participants will explore how archives can strengthen community identity, preserve intergenerational memory, document organizational achievements, and ensure that important stories are not lost. The workshops are offered in two parts each year. Participants are welcome to attend either workshop or both, depending on their interests and needs. Part 1 focuses on the big-picture questions of community archiving: Why do archives matter? What should we preserve? How do we involve community members in documenting our history? Participants will learn how to identify archival records, begin organizing collections, think through questions of privacy and access, and make thoughtful decisions about stewardship and sharing. Part 2 focuses on the practical aspects of caring for collections over time. Participants will learn safe handling techniques, affordable preservation strategies, storage best practices, and the basics of disaster preparedness. The workshop also introduces digitization and explores the growing challenge of preserving born-digital materials such as email newsletters, websites, social media content, photographs, and files stored in the cloud. Each session includes examples drawn from the Newberry's collections and Chicago's rich history of faith communities and social movements, along with opportunities to discuss participants' own collections and preservation challenges. The stories of Chicago's congregations, community organizations, and movements for social change are too important to be lost to time, water damage, obsolete technology, or forgotten boxes. Together, we can help ensure that these histories remain accessible, meaningful, and discoverable for future generations. In addition to workshops held at the Newberry, customized on-site trainings are available for organizations interested in developing archival practices tailored to their own collections and communities. Write to [email protected] to inquire about arranging such a workshop. These workshops will be presented in English. This program is part of Beyond Belief: Religion and Social Change in 1960s Chicago, a wide-ranging, multi-year public humanities initiative at the Newberry exploring the role of religious communities in movements for civil rights, urban change, activism, and social transformation in Chicago during the 1960s and beyond. Beyond Belief is generously supported by Lilly Endowment Inc., through its "Religion and Cultural Institutions" Initiative. Hilary Mac Austin is a writer, researcher, and independent historian. She is the co-author, with Kathleen Thomspon, of four books: Examining the Evidence, The Face of Our Past, America’s Children, and Children of the Depression. She is also author of numerous lessons and activities on the Newberry’s Digital Collections for the Classroom. Karen Christianson, Project Director of the Beyond Belief initiative and an award-winning public historian who has been with the Newberry in a variety of roles since 2008, holds a PhD in history from the University of Iowa. Brandon Stokes, Public Humanities Fellow for Beyond Belief, is an urban historian and native of Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood. He holds a PhD in African American and African Diaspora Studies from Indiana University Bloomington. Who may attend? Representatives or volunteers working with organizations engaging in religious activities, social change activism, or community/historical functions, who have records in need of being organized and secured. Register for the fall 2026 Part 1 workshop here. This workshop is free and open to all, but space is limited. Registration in advance is required. Receive updates and announcements for Beyond Belief's upcoming programming and educational resources. Your generosity is vital in keeping the library’s programs, exhibitions, and reading rooms free and accessible to everyone. Call us at (312) 255-3592 or send us an email. Check out video recordings of past Newberry public programs on our YouTube channel.