The Four Guiding Principles of the Mass. Memories Road Show
First, we believe that everyone who lives or lived, works or worked in a given community is equally representative of that community. Thus, the Road Show’s on-the-ground events and the resulting digital
collection are intended to reflect as realistic a picture as possible of the community, based on demographics past and present.
Second, we believe that we are not creating a comprehensive archive of Massachusetts’ (or a given community’s) history; rather, we are creating a self-portrait of the state based on the photographic
artifacts that are held in individuals' personal photo albums and scrapbooks. The photos that individuals bring to the event reflect their choices of how they want to represent themselves and their families in the project archive, as
opposed to meeting a predetermined collecting standard.
Third, we believe that the Road Show events themselves play a vital role in creating an understanding of communal history.
Particularly in large, diverse cities, individuals and organizations may not be aware of the larger historical and contemporary context of their community. Yet all of the people arriving at their local Road Show with photos in hand have in common their connection to that physical location and its history, regardless of their age, ethnic, economic or religious background; all “belong” simply by virtue of their involvement (present or past) in this place. The events help build connections between contributors and contributing organizations and the digital collection serves to mirror a community back to itself.
Finally, we believe that the contributor is as worthy of documentation as the contribution. We hope that our digital collection will serve as a resource of primary source material well into the future. As such, we believe that the participation of Road Show contributors and volunteers is also worthy of documentation. Each person who takes part in a Road Show has shown a commitment to their community history that is captured and preserved.
Click here to read an article about the Mass. Memories Road Show at the U Mass Boston website.
collection are intended to reflect as realistic a picture as possible of the community, based on demographics past and present.
Second, we believe that we are not creating a comprehensive archive of Massachusetts’ (or a given community’s) history; rather, we are creating a self-portrait of the state based on the photographic
artifacts that are held in individuals' personal photo albums and scrapbooks. The photos that individuals bring to the event reflect their choices of how they want to represent themselves and their families in the project archive, as
opposed to meeting a predetermined collecting standard.
Third, we believe that the Road Show events themselves play a vital role in creating an understanding of communal history.
Particularly in large, diverse cities, individuals and organizations may not be aware of the larger historical and contemporary context of their community. Yet all of the people arriving at their local Road Show with photos in hand have in common their connection to that physical location and its history, regardless of their age, ethnic, economic or religious background; all “belong” simply by virtue of their involvement (present or past) in this place. The events help build connections between contributors and contributing organizations and the digital collection serves to mirror a community back to itself.
Finally, we believe that the contributor is as worthy of documentation as the contribution. We hope that our digital collection will serve as a resource of primary source material well into the future. As such, we believe that the participation of Road Show contributors and volunteers is also worthy of documentation. Each person who takes part in a Road Show has shown a commitment to their community history that is captured and preserved.
Click here to read an article about the Mass. Memories Road Show at the U Mass Boston website.
