Mapping the Landscape of Community-Based Archives

Across the United States, community-based archives preserve histories that mainstream institutions have often overlooked, excluded, or under-collected. These independent, community-led archives hold records, artifacts, and oral histories documenting the lived experiences of the communities they represent. Many have sustained this work for decades with small staffs and volunteers, even as funding, space, and safety have grown less certain.

Funded by the Mellon Foundation and guided by a Design Circle of archival practitioners and experts, this landscape study shares what 336 archives reported about their contributions, their challenges, and what they need to thrive. The report offers recommendations for funders, institutions, and archives themselves, and we invite readers to consider how community-based archives might support the work they already care about.

Photo Credit: Acción Latina, El Tecolote Archives, “The 90s Matter in the Mission” by Yano Rivera.