Beebe Library is pleased to be the recipient of an $8,500 Library Services and Technology Grant on the topic of Archives Arrangement. 

With this grant, we’ll be launching a year-long project called Memory-Keeping: Preserving and Sharing Wakefield’s History. Through next October, staff will be working to better organize and safeguard the library’s special collections, increase public awareness of and accessibility to the collections, and provide patrons with the tools to organize and protect their own personal archives. 

Through a series of programs and videos, patrons can follow along as staff move through the archival process from discovery and organization to preservation and digitization. There will be behind-the-scenes looks at our storage spaces, satisfying before-and-after photos and videos, and hands-on guides and ideas for making the best use of our Digital Media Lab to preserve your own memories. 

These federal funds are provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and administered by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s libraries and museums. They advance, support, and empower America’s museums, libraries, and related organizations through grantmaking, research, and policy development. IMLS envisions a nation where individuals and communities have access to museums and libraries to learn from and be inspired by the trusted information, ideas, and stories they contain about our diverse natural and cultural heritage. 

We hope you’ll follow along online, join us for a program or two (or all of them!) to find out more about what the library has in its collection, how we plan to keep it safe for generations to come, and what you can do to safeguard your own personal artifacts.