Education Going Virtual

How has outreach and public programming changed at the archives since the onset of COVID-19? Find out how archives staff have adapted a popular program for a virtual platform.

By Megan Lockhart, Archives Technician

One of our most successful programs at the Oxford County Archives is “Memories From The Vault”. As the program coordinator, I deliver the program mainly to long-term care centres, retirement residences and senior centres. During my visits, I bring a box of “archival goodies” filled with interesting items and records from our collection. These include photographs, journals, newspaper articles, pamphlets, textiles, artifacts, the list goes on. Each session falls under a specific theme related to Oxford County’s cultural heritage. The themes are curated with care to ensure that they are relatable for participants, focusing on social history or places and events that people are familiar with or have lived through. Themes like “rural schools”, “early farming”, and “history of summer sports” are very popular. We share pieces from our collection during the program and often utilize archival materials kept exclusively for programming. These programming materials allow for participants to get up close and personal with the records. Sensory experiences stimulate memory, and therefore we feel it is important to allow participants to touch archival material during the program. Having a programming collection allows for this to happen, and if certain records are needed for a program theme that we do not want people to touch we make copies of these records to share instead.

Local high school photos like this one from W.C.I. are always great conversation starters.

The interactivity of the program is one aspect that I believe has led to its success and popularity. The program is designed to encourage interruptions and stimulate conversation. I did not want the program to be “us talking at them”. Instead if someone has a memory to share or simply wants to tell their own story to the group, I take a back seat and leave the floor open. The program is not just about us sharing our knowledge, but also archives staff learning from members of the community. It is a social experience for participants as well as an educational one.

Due to COVID-19, our in-person programs have had to be put on hold. With so many uncertainties surrounding when we will be given the greenlight to deliver programs face to face again, we have concocted ways to deliver our programs virtually online. I set my sights on developing video versions of our Memories From The Vault sessions. Our first video series features me dressed up in a fancy hat speaking on the history of springtime traditions like garden and tea parties, spring sports and fashion. Developing these videos provided its own challenges, having to write scripts, film myself speaking and learning the ins and outs of video editing has been quite the experience (especially with a curious cat around that likes to make cameos in the background).

The feedback from the videos has been wonderful. People enjoy seeing our staff’s faces and hearing us speak on video seems a little more personal than reading an article. We’re happy to allow people to still learn from our collections despite being closed to the public. More videos are planned for the near future. We also have our “Tip Tuesday” series which feature me talking about ways you can preserve your archives at home. In October I would like to produce another series on the darker side of Oxford’s history.

Stay tuned to our blog and Instagram page (@OxfordCountyArchives) for updates on new programs and services and check out our videos on Instagram as well!