Associated Products
The Oral History Lab at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (Center)Name: The Oral History Lab at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez
Abstract: The OHL @UPRM has a physical component in the University Library and a digital component that can be accessed through our website (uprm.edu/ohl) and through the library's website (upr.edu/biblioteca-rum). The physical space includes an interview room and four video editing rooms, both of which contain new furniture with ergonomic chairs for comfort during longer meetings and new equipment including computers, software, scanners, and iPads for recording. The keys to these rooms are in a separate wall-mounted lockbox and may be checked out by students and faculty. In addition to these rooms, there is a separate heaving-duty locked cabinet with filmmaking and oral history recording equipment that may also be checked out by students and faculty. We have also begun hosting community partners in these rooms for meetings and worksessions. Additionally, we are exploring expanding the physical space of the OHL into an adjoining room that would become a digital workspace for building our dissemination practices and a workspace that we could offer community partners who do not have adequate equipment, highspeed internet, and/or reliable electricity on site. In addition to the physical space, we have built our digital repository including developing bilingual metadata schemas for labeling ingested materials and an Omeka S site for accessibility.
Director: Ricia Anne Chansky
Year: 2022
Address: Recinto Universitario de Mayagüez, Call Box 9000 Mayagüez, PR 00681
Primary URL:
http://www.uprm.edu/ohlPrimary URL Description: This is the direct link to the OHL @UPRM website.
Secondary URL:
https://www.upr.edu/biblioteca-rum/Secondary URL Description: This is a link to the University Library website from which the OHL repository of oral histories may be accessed.
Oral History and the Climate Crisis: Listening in the Aftermath of Disaster (Article)Title: Oral History and the Climate Crisis: Listening in the Aftermath of Disaster
Author: Ricia Anne Chansky
Abstract: This reflection provides an overview of the on- and off-campus strategies to use storytelling for climate justice developed by individuals at the Oral History Lab at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez. Building from research and practices developed at the lab, forms of public remembering and the benefits of polyphonic narration for internal and external communities are positioned as decolonial responses to disaster. Highlighted in this essay is a discussion of the process of integrating oral history, digital archiving, and multimodal dissemination as well as the statement of ethics for interviewing in the aftermath of disaster developed by members of the lab. This overview of our post-disaster practice is shared in the hopes that teachers, researchers, and storytellers of all kinds will have a useful, post-disaster framework for listening to the narrating “I” as a form of mutual aid, offering the dignity of witnessing to survivors, developing active learning experiences for students, and amplifying essential experiential knowledge and community-based datasets to several different researchers and responders.
Year: 2023
Primary URL:
http://oralhistory.org/publications/oral-history-review/Primary URL Description: This is the journal's homepage through it's supporting organization, the Oral History Association.
Access Model: Subscription
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: The Oral History Review
Publisher: Routledge
Climate disaster isn’t a game. When will the U.S. stop pretending it is? (Article)Title: Climate disaster isn’t a game. When will the U.S. stop pretending it is?
Author: Ricia Anne Chansky
Abstract: Using examples from the repository of oral histories at the OHL @UPRM, Chansky discusses the need to take climate change seriously on a personal and communal level.
Year: 2022
Primary URL:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/09/14/hurricane-maria-puerto-rico-fifth-anniversary/Primary URL Description: This link goes directly to the op ed.
Format: Newspaper
Periodical Title: The Washington Post
Publisher: The Washington Post
dLOC as Practice: Decolonial Approaches to Listening and Remembering (Article)Title: dLOC as Practice: Decolonial Approaches to Listening and Remembering
Author: Christina Boyles
Author: Ricia Anne Chansky
Abstract: “dLOC as Practice: Decolonial Approaches to Listening” situates the Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC) as a model for decolonial practices in archiving that extends its value as digital repository to include recognition of the library’s methodological blueprint for equitable and just modes of disseminating recorded materials from marginalized communities. The coauthors of this essay have been independently and collaboratively impacted by the decolonial practices of archiving developed and promoted by dLOC and therefore employ a self-reflexive approach to project design as a means of asserting that this digital repository is as influential for its methodological practices as it is for its collections. Analyzing the development of three mass-listening projects related to climatological disaster in the Puerto Rican archipelago that were shaped by the decolonial practices of dLOC, this essay includes multimodal examples of digital texts emergent from the projects, each of which employ sound theory to present more nuanced and complex understandings of disaster narratives. The coauthors argue that this multimodal project design was made possible in part through their engagement with dLOC.
Year: 2022
Primary URL:
http://archipelagosjournal.org/issue06/chansky-boyles-dloc.htmlPrimary URL Description: This is a direct link to the essay.
Access Model: Open
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: archipelagos: a journal of Caribbean digital praxis
Publisher: archipelagos: a journal of Caribbean digital praxis
The Fractured Witness: Reading Death in Disaster Narratives (Conference Paper/Presentation)Title: The Fractured Witness: Reading Death in Disaster Narratives
Author: Ricia Anne Chansky
Abstract: A majority of climatologists agree that data-driven reports are not enough to move a reading witness to take action against the climate emergency. Political activist and public relations guru, David Fenton, however, offers a solution: “embed facts and data in…‘moral stories that tug at the emotions.’” Or, as I interpret that missive, record and disseminate as widely as possible life narratives shared by survivors of climatological disasters that highlight the personal and specific costs of the climate emergency. In other words, shift the global to the local in a way that personalizes these events on a very human level—something that auto/biographical narratives are historically and contemporarily well-versed in doing.
However, there are concerns and cautions related to such a missive. In our haste to position climate stories as part of the solution to responding to the climate crisis, we cannot lose site of the narrator in the life narrative. While I posit that the “I” narrative is uniquely positioned to resituate storytellers as agential beings through the emphasis on retelling active responses in the face of disaster and trauma, it is important to direct our attention to the possibility of further harm to the storyteller.
This presentation discusses two life narratives from the collection Mi María: Surviving the Storm Voices from Puerto Rico—those of Zaira Arvelo Alicea and Miliana Montañez León—which share eyewitness accounts of death in the aftermath of Hurricane María.
In the hopes of beginning a larger conversation related to the ethics of recording, preserving, and amplifying life narratives of climate survivors, this talk focuses on elements of narrative transaction, witness intent, listening to trauma, and narrative dissemination through data curation, all of which must be of service first to storytellers and local communities, and then the larger groups of stakeholders in the climate crisis.
Date: 6/20/2024
Primary URL:
http://iabaworld2024.hi.is/Primary URL Description: This is the conference website.
Conference Name: The International Auto/Biography Association Conference in conjunction with the Centre for Studies in Memory and Literature, University of Iceland, Reykjavik
Todavía Estamos Aquí (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)Title: Todavía Estamos Aquí
Writer: Raisa Bonnet Ocasio
Director: Jorge André Santiago Fernández
Director: Andrea Carolina
Producer: Carhianie Vargas Padín
Producer: Daniela Rivera Rosario
Producer: Raisa Bonnet Ocasio
Abstract: Todavía Estamos Aquí is a short film made by UPRM students enrolled in documentary filmmaking courses taught by award-winning filmmaker Raisa Bonnet Ocasio in the 2022-23 academic year.
The people of Barrio Rucio in Peñuelas, Puerto Rico have withstood generations of disasters and neglect, amplified by their mountainous location and continued government inaction, through their commitment to solidarity that uplifts their community. This first film from the @UPRM Oral History Laboratory explores their collective action with volunteers from the mutual aid organization Aula en la Montaña, in collaboration with Impacto Juventud GC Inc., to show us how and why they resist.
Based on an oral history interview with Eduardo Lugo Hernández, professor of Psychology at UPRM, this film focuses on the collaboration between community members, university students and faculty members to support young people in Barrio Rucio with their education and social-emotional development during and after the global COVID-19 pandemic. Ultimately, this film explores joy and hope as mutual aid and acts of resistance in underserved neighborhoods, which can lead to action and change.
Year: 2022
Primary URL:
https://www.uprm.edu/ohl/ohl-films/#1696631402258-08e3a519-1d1fPrimary URL Description: This is a direct link to the film page on our OHL @UPRM website and it includes a link to a Google Form for requesting a screening of the film.
Format: Film
Prizes
Honorable Mention and Official Selection
Date: 11/6/2022
Organization: International Puerto Rican Heritage Film Festival
Abstract: Todavía estamos aquí was an official selection of the International Puerto Rican Heritage Film Festival and received an honorable mention in the category of short documentary film.
Honorable Mention and Official Selection
Date: 8/26/2023
Organization: Libélula Dorada International Short Film Festival
Abstract: The film was an official selection of the festival and won an honorable mention.
Official Selection
Date: 2/4/2024
Organization: Vieques International Human Rights Film Festival
Abstract: The film was an official selection for this festival.
Official Selection
Date: 2/15/2024
Organization: Philadelphia Latino Arts & Film Festival
Abstract: The film is an official selection for this festival.
Nuestro Pedazo de Tierra (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)Title: Nuestro Pedazo de Tierra
Writer: Guillermo Gómez Álvarez
Director: Andrea C. Delgado Villarrubia
Director: Claudia E. Quiñones Ramos
Director: Ludimari Batista Berrios
Director: Diego J. Vera Acevedo
Producer: Guillermo Gómez Álvarez
Producer: Carhianie Vargas Padín
Producer: Ludimari Batista Berrios
Abstract: Nuestro Pedazo de Tierra is a short film made by students at UPRM enrolled in documentary filmmaking courses (CINE 4016) taught by award-winning filmmaker Guillermo Gómez Álvarez in the 2022-23 academic year.
Using historical footage from the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture To support contemporary interviews with farmers, mutual aid organizers, and government officials, this film explores the problem of food insecurity in the Puerto Rican archipelago in the years since Hurricane Marí a made landfall. These interviews with professionals in the food industry and community leaders provide insight into the severity of food insecurity during and after catastrophe with a focus on the ways in which stratified disasters comprised of hurricanes, earthquakes, and the global pandemic—interwoven within the contexts of a complicated economic and political landscape—further eroded an already unstable local food system on the agrarian, production, and distribution levels.
Stemming from a series of oral history interviews with the leaders of mutual aid organizations tied to food distribution that served communities in the aftermath of Hurricane Mar í a and then had to adapt to the new needs of COVID-19, Nuestro Pedazo de Tierra is a documentary for anyone interested in sustainable agriculture, climate and social justice, and the future of Puerto Rico and other communities facing climate change.
Year: 2022
Primary URL:
https://www.uprm.edu/ohl/ohl-films/#1696631402258-08e3a519-1d1fPrimary URL Description: This is the direct link to the documentary films webpage on our OHL @UPRM homepage. On this page, one can also find a Google Form to request a screening of the film.
Format: Film
Prizes
Official Selection and Honorable Mention
Date: 1/4/2024
Organization: Vieques International Human Rights Film Festival
Abstract: The film was named an official selection and received an Honorable Mention.
Official Selection
Date: 2/15/2024
Organization: Philadelphia Latino Arts & Film Festival
Abstract: The film is an official selection for this film festival.
INGL 3238 (Course or Curricular Material)Title: INGL 3238
Author: Ricia Anne Chansky
Author: Marci Denesiuk
Abstract: Chansky and Denesiuk worked together to redesign a preexisting course in the Department of English, INGL 3238. These courses present a variety of creative storytelling strategies for undergrad students at UPRM who self identify at over 98% as ESL learners. These courses include a significant unit on storytelling for social justice and employ oral history methodologies as the basis for creative nonfiction writing. The unit includes ethical interviewing, transcription, translation, and editing practices, and all materials are archived in our library repository with appropriate permissions.
Year: 2022
Primary URL:
http://www.uprm.edu/ohl/affiliated-courses/Primary URL Description: This is a link to the specific webpage on our website that discusses the OHL-affiliated courses.
Audience: Undergraduate
INGL 3345, CINE 4016, CINE 4025 (Course or Curricular Material)Title: INGL 3345, CINE 4016, CINE 4025
Author: Guillermo Gómez Álvarez
Author: Raisa Bonnet Ocasio
Abstract: Relevant filmmaking courses in the Dept of English and Film Certificate Program were redesigned by Gómez Álvarez and Bonnet Ocasio to create documentary filmmaking workshops related to oral histories. One stream of coursework was developed on the idea of developing a film from a single oral history narrative while a second stream focused on developing a film from a wide group of oral history narratives.
Year: 2022
Primary URL:
https://www.uprm.edu/ohl/affiliated-courses/Primary URL Description: This is a direct link to our affiliated courses webpage on the OHL @UPRM website.
Audience: Undergraduate
Story as Monument: Self-Narration, Public Remembering, and Data Curation in the Aftermath of Disaster (Conference Paper/Presentation)Title: Story as Monument: Self-Narration, Public Remembering, and Data Curation in the Aftermath of Disaster
Author: Ricia Anne Chansky
Abstract: This talk grows from the Mellon Foundation report from The Monuments Project, theorizing four monuments in or about Puerto Rico and how they are representations of presence and power in public thought and how they undermine or have been undermined in this same space. The talk continues to discuss storytelling as and in monumentalization relying upon data curation strategies to reframe public narratives and reshape public representation.
Date: 3/14/2024
Primary URL:
http://www.facebook.com/caribbeanwithoutborders/Primary URL Description: This is the main site for the conference.
Conference Name: Caribbean Without Borders conference
The New Oral History Lab at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (Article)Title: The New Oral History Lab at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez
Author: Ricia Anne Chansky
Abstract: This overview of the The new Oral History Lab at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez is structured as a report from the field with significant examples from our collected oral histories, documentary films, and assessment pieces.
Year: 2023
Primary URL:
https://oralhistoryaustralia.org.au/journal/journal-overview/Primary URL Description: This is the url for the journal.
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Oral History Australia
Publisher: Oral History Australia
Trauma-Informed Projects and the Ethics of Storytelling (Conference Paper/Presentation)Title: Trauma-Informed Projects and the Ethics of Storytelling
Author: Ricia Anne Chansky
Abstract: A three-hour workshop for doctoral candidates on designing trauma-informed research projects using decolonial and antiracist methodologies.
Date: 03/15/2024
Primary URL:
https://www.facebook.com/caribbeanwithoutborders/Primary URL Description: This is the main conference site.
Conference Name: Caribbean Without Borders Conference
Radical Listening: Classrooms and Communities in Mutual Aid (Conference Paper/Presentation)Title: Radical Listening: Classrooms and Communities in Mutual Aid
Author: Helga Maldonado Domínguez
Author: Ricia Anne Chansky
Author: Raisa Bonnet Ocasio
Author: Carhianie Vargas Padín
Author: Jorge Santiago Fernández
Abstract: The OHL film team was invited by Alaí Reyes Santos to present in the Just Futures Initiative cluster at the Public Interest Environmental Law Conference. The OHL and its interdisciplinary approach to storytelling for social justice was introduced by Chansky, our film Todavía Estamos Aquí was screened, and then the panelists answered questions from the audience. On the panel with Chansky was film faculty member, Bonnet Ocasio; mutual aid organization leader, Maldonado Domínguez; and students, Vargas Padín and Santiago Fernández.
Date: 03/03/2024
Primary URL:
http://www.pielc.org/schedulePrimary URL Description: This is the conference schedule for the Public Interest Environmental Law Conference.
Secondary URL:
https://jfi.uoregon.edu/Secondary URL Description: This is the url for the Pacific Northwest Just Futures Institute for Racial and Climate Justice directed by Reyes Santos.
Conference Name: Public Interest Environmental Law Conference
Nature’s Witness: Storytelling for the Future (Conference Paper/Presentation)Title: Nature’s Witness: Storytelling for the Future
Author: Ricia Anne Chansky
Abstract: In this invited presentation for the Wyoming Humanities Council satellite event, the Casper College Humanities Festival, Chansky discussed the benefits of storytelling as a means of connecting readers to the natural world and environmental concerns.
Date: 02/21/2024
Primary URL:
https://www.caspercollege.edu/events/humanities-festival/Primary URL Description: This is a direct link to the Casper College Humanities Festival.
Conference Name: The Casper College Humanities Festival
Trauma-Informed Project Design (Conference Paper/Presentation)Title: Trauma-Informed Project Design
Author: Ricia Anne Chansky
Abstract: Led by our community of experts, including Latinx mothers in the San Fernando Valley and Cal State Northridge (Lupita Gomez from Padres Pioneros) who run intergenerational climate justice workshops for local families; a youth radio station in New Mexico on podcasting by/with farmworker families and Dona Ana Community College (Lamaia Vaughn from Learning Action Buffet); and an oral history in disaster lab from faculty the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez (Ricia Chansky).
Date: 10/26/2023
Primary URL:
https://www.humanitiesactionlab.org/news-and-eventsPrimary URL Description: This link is to the event announcement on the Humanities Action Lab website.
Conference Name: Humanities Action Lab National Convening
Stories of Land, Water, and Disaster (Conference Paper/Presentation)Title: Stories of Land, Water, and Disaster
Author: Bryan Ramos Romero
Abstract: A panel discussion featuring testimonies of the climate crisis and how communities are confronting it, by our local partners from Newark (Anthony Diaz, Newark Water Coalition), Chicago (Lauren DeJesus, UIC Latino Cultural Center), Las Cruces (Federico Almarez, Doña Ana Community College), Mayagüez (Bryan Ramos Romero, University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez), Merced (Carlos Gomez, Central Valley, CA), and Oxnard/San Fernando Valley (Rosa RiVera Furumoto, Cal State University
Northridge). Moderated by Armando Arellano from Learning Action Buffet.
Date: 10/26/2023
Primary URL:
https://www.humanitiesactionlab.org/news-and-eventsPrimary URL Description: This is the direct link to the program on the Humanities Action Lab homepage.
Conference Name: The Humanities Action Lab National Convening
From the Classroom to the Archives: The OHL @UPRM as a Collaborative Workspace (Conference Paper/Presentation)Title: From the Classroom to the Archives: The OHL @UPRM as a Collaborative Workspace
Author: José Morales Benítez
Author: Ricia Anne Chansky
Author: Marci Denesiuk
Abstract: The Oral History Lab at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (The OHL @UPRM) brings together three humanities-based assets on our campus—the University Library, English Department, and Film Certificate Program—to build community-centered storytelling for social justice projects. Our projects begin on- and off-campus in our undergraduate course offerings in oral history and documentary filmmaking and in our community-focused online seminars on building narrative-driven archival projects through both oral history interviews and mass-listening events. Each interview and the public history digital outputs—such as films, zines, data visualization tools, exhibitions, etc.—are meticulously archived, rooting each project in an understanding of preservation and dissemination as essential outcomes. These outcomes, however, are guided by community needs and wants, and employ post-custodial archiving methodologies to undermine histories of extractive practices in favor of decolonial approaches to recording, preserving, and disseminating life stories. This poster presentation maps out the roles of the three intertwined hubs that comprise the OHL—Library, English Department, and Film Certificate—demonstrating how they work collaboratively to document responses to the stratified disasters that people in the Puerto Rican archipelago have creatively faced in the last six years, including Hurricanes María, Irma, and Fiona; an ongoing earthquake swarm; the global pandemic of COVID-19; the #RickyRenuncia movement of 2019; and an economic depression and response that have triggered a humanitarian crisis.
The presentation further charts the on- and off-campus pedagogies that integrate faculty, students, and community members in this documentary process through nonhierarchic / feminist collaborative project structuring that is steeped in decolonial and antiracist methodologies and trauma-informed approaches.
Date: 10/21/2023
Primary URL:
https://oralhistory.org/2023/07/05/2023-oha-annual-meeting-preliminary-program-is-now-available/Primary URL Description: This is a link to the specific page on the Oral History Association website that discusses the 2023 conference and contains a link to the program PDF.
Conference Name: Oral History As/And Education: Teaching and Learning in the Classroom and Beyond
The Oral History Lab @UPRM: Decolonial Practice On, Across, and Beyond Campus (Conference Paper/Presentation)Title: The Oral History Lab @UPRM: Decolonial Practice On, Across, and Beyond Campus
Author: José Morales Benítez
Author: Ricia Anne Chansky
Author: Marci Denesiuk
Abstract: In 2017, Hurricane María made landfall in the Puerto Rican archipelago. Weeks after the hurricane, faculty at UPR Mayagüez began a bilingual, mass-listening project that placed hundreds of undergraduate students in their home communities to record the stories that mattered most to them. Trained in antiracist and decolonial methodologies as well as trauma-informed approaches, students and faculty have recorded almost 500 oral histories to date that are focused on hurricanes, earthquakes, COVID-19, the economic crisis, and the complicated relationship between Puerto Rico and the US. In our panel, we focus on the recent establishment of our Oral History Lab and its emphasis on storytelling for social justice. The lab aligns assets from the English Department, University Library, and Film Certificate to expand our program through engagement with digital archiving and exhibition, documentary filmmaking, and creative nonfiction. Encompassing a unique faculty-student-community partnership model, our pedagogical work transgresses the division between university and community to create oral history projects that are actively shaped by students alongside members of mutual aid and citizen-scientist organizations. These presentations articulate some of the ways in which multiple on-campus assets and off-campus community organizations can collaborate on oral history for social justice projects while theorizing oral history as a decolonial pedagogical model that undermines counterproductive divisions between both academic disciplines and on- and off-campus communities as they work to tell essential stories of climate disaster and community ingenuity.
Date: 10/20/2023
Primary URL:
https://oralhistory.org/2023/07/05/2023-oha-annual-meeting-preliminary-program-is-now-available/Primary URL Description: This url links directly to the annual conference page on the Oral History Association website. From there, one can link to a PDF of the conference program.
Conference Name: Oral History As/And Education: Teaching and Learning in the Classroom and Beyond
Learning Beyond the Classroom: Community Storytelling and Experiential Knowledges as Decolonial Practice (Conference Paper/Presentation)Title: Learning Beyond the Classroom: Community Storytelling and Experiential Knowledges as Decolonial Practice
Author: Naomi Sturm-Wijesinghe
Author: Ricia Anne Chansky
Author: C. Díaz
Author: Mauricio Bayona
Abstract: When working with community members whose lives intersect in multitudes of ways, how are we able to create synergetic experiences that acknowledge and amplify the many ways we learn and share knowledge? In this roundtable session, the 2023 INCITE Assembling Voices Fellows—Mauricio Bayona, Ricia Anne Chansky, C. Díaz, and Naomi Sturm-Wijesinghe—share insights into how their community-based listening projects seek to disrupt hierarchical and extractive archival practices, creating more opportunities for knowledge sharing through various modes of communication. Establishing that their community archiving projects situate experiential knowledges steeped in community history as essential contributions to actively disrupting colonial projects in New York, Puerto Rico, and Texas, the panelists together reframe educational experience as knowledge exchange and circulation through the act of storytelling for social justice. From Diversity Plaza in New York City—the most multicultural space in the United States—to four underserved communities in the Puerto Rican archipelago to the contested site of Elon Musk’s SpaceX program at Boca Chica Beach in Brownsville, TX, the framework for this open discussion is structured around the fellows’ community listening projects that include such alt archiving methodologies an interactive, mobile DJ booth—the sonicycle—mass-listening events at community celebrations, and a community memory-mapping project that archives home movies.
Date: 10/21/2023
Primary URL:
https://oralhistory.org/2023/07/05/2023-oha-annual-meeting-preliminary-program-is-now-available/Primary URL Description: This is the url for the annual conference page on the Oral History Association website. There is a link on this page to a PDF of the 2023 conference program.
Conference Name: Oral History As/And Education: Teaching and Learning in the Classroom and Beyond
Digital Archives as Decolonial Practice (Public Lecture or Presentation)Title: Digital Archives as Decolonial Practice
Abstract: Traditional academic research often relies on the violence of extraction—the taking of people, resources, goods, and ideas from the marginalized in order to serve the needs of those in power. Community-engaged research requires academics to reject extractive forms of knowledge acquisition and relegate authority and control of project processes and outcomes to the participating community members.
The collaboration between the Oral History Lab (OHL) at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (UPRM) and the Archivo de Respuestas Emergencias de Puerto Rico (AREPR)—which includes teams at Michigan State University and UPR Río Piedras—has afforded us the opportunity to re-vision digital archives as spaces for communities to self-narrate their lived experiences with disaster and survival. Our proposed webinar traces the lines of community archiving as decolonial practice through our linked projects, including aspects of archives and pedagogy, access to archives, community archives, and collaborative archiving strategies.
Our working model leads to the creation of archival collections shaped by the community and characterized by a high degree of accessibility and immediate relevance, which can serve as tools for transformation by preserving and disseminating the perspectives, lived experiences, and work of individuals and community organizations who do not traditionally have access to public discourses.
Author: José Morales Benítez
Author: Ricia Anne Chansky
Author: Christina Boyles
Date: 09/29/2023
Location: Florida Digital Humanities Webinar Series
Primary URL:
https://www.fldh.org/2023-webinar-series/Primary URL Description: This is a direct link to the Florida Digital Humanities 2023 Webinar Series program: the Latin American and Caribbean Edition.
Secondary URL:
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11801/3647Secondary URL Description: This is the link connecting to the presentation on our institutional repository, Scholar @UPRM.
Listening as Memorial: Storytelling as a Strategy for the Worst of Times (Public Lecture or Presentation)Title: Listening as Memorial: Storytelling as a Strategy for the Worst of Times
Abstract: This presentation pushes us to reconceptualize what is a memorial, how we memorialize, and for what purposes we employ public memory. This pursuit is especially apropos across the landscape of the twenty-first century in which our days are marked by climatological disaster, a global pandemic, mass-shootings, hate crimes, political upheaval, and economic uncertainty. Taking the Mellon Foundation’s “Monuments Project” as a foundation, the discussion underscores the urgency for recording, preserving, and disseminating oral histories in the form of “immediate archives” that both resituate survivors as agential actors in the aftermath of disaster and provide necessary guides for navigating similar crises. The narrative transactions between speaker and listener that are the hallmarks of storytelling make traumatic events more visible by engaging witnesses in the autobiographical, which can foster a reshaping of responses to large-scale events grounded in empathy and experiential knowledge. The lecture uses the example of memory work and mass-listening projects after Hurricane María made landfall in the Puerto Rican archipelago—including the impact of “stratified disasters” that involve an earthquake swarm and COVID-19—to position recording life stories as a practice that changes lives.
Author: Ricia Anne Chansky
Date: 4/21/2023
Location: Bloomington-Normal, IL
Primary URL:
https://mchistory.org/events/sembrando-raices-oral-histories-of-latinos-in-central-illinois2023-04-21Primary URL Description: This is the url for the McLean County Museum, a cosponsor of this event.
Oral History (LibGuide) (Web Resource)Title: Oral History (LibGuide)
Author: José J. Morales Benítez
Abstract: The Oral History online guide created by the OHL presents fundamental concepts of oral history methodology and how to carry out an oral history project. It includes information on aspects such as how to prepare for an oral history interview, how to conduct the interview, and transcription, translation, archiving, and dissemination of the interview. Essential ethical aspects related to oral history are also covered. The guide provides multiple links to helpful online resources, including various from the Oral History Association.
This guide is available in English and Spanish. A hyperlink on the guide’s home page allows you to switch from one language to the other.
Year: 2022
Primary URL:
https://libguides.uprm.edu/oral-historyPrimary URL Description: The link redirects you to the English version of the Oral History LibGuide.
Secondary URL:
https://libguides.uprm.edu/historia-oralSecondary URL Description: The link redirects you to the Spanish version of the Oral History LibGuide.
Oral History Lab (OHL) Website (Web Resource)Title: Oral History Lab (OHL) Website
Author: José Julián Orta Rosa
Author: Ricia Anne Chansky
Author: Jaquelina Álvarez
Author: Vashti Tacoronte Cruz
Author: Natalia Hernández Mejias
Author: Isabel Padilla Carlo
Author: Fher Alejandro Rodríguez Díaz
Abstract: Main website to disseminate information about activities, projects, and resources related to the Oral History Lab (OHL)
(English version first, then Spanish)
Year: 2022
Primary URL:
http://uprm.edu/ohlPrimary URL Description: Oral History Lab website.
The OHL Metadata Manual (Web Resource)Title: The OHL Metadata Manual
Author: José Morales Benítez
Abstract: This manual was created for the purpose of assigning metadata to the interviews that will be conducted and preserved as part of the activities of the Oral History Lab (OHL) of the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez (UPRM). The interviews, along with their metadata records and related documentation that will be reviewed in the manual, will be made available through UPRM’s institutional repository, Scholar@UPRM.
One of the objectives of the OHL is to enhance access to its collection of oral history interviews by assigning bilingual metadata. For this reason, not only will the manual focus on assigning metadata in both English and Spanish, but the manual itself has been published in both English and Spanish, as well.
Year: 2022
Primary URL:
https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdrive.google.com%2Ffile%2Fd%2F1JHMRKDlSXhelZmGXLaBiUhavka_1cd37%2Fview%3Fusp%3Ddrive_link&data=05%7C02%7Cricia.chansky%40upr.edu%7C3360387205a34f769b5708dc41d03eb5%7C0dfa5dc0036f4615Primary URL Description: The link redirects to the English version of The OHL Metadata Manual.
Secondary URL:
https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdrive.google.com%2Ffile%2Fd%2F1uO2catSxcZLcQLwkorUH7_th_rzOASfv%2Fview%3Fusp%3Ddrive_link&data=05%7C02%7Cricia.chansky%40upr.edu%7C3360387205a34f769b5708dc41d03eb5%7C0dfa5dc0036f461599e494aSecondary URL Description: The link redirects to the Spanish version of The OHL Metadata Manual.
Digital Preservation (LibGuide) (Web Resource)Title: Digital Preservation (LibGuide)
Author: José Morales Benítez
Abstract: This library guide provides an introduction to the basic concepts of digital preservation (DP). As more and more digital material is generated and stored in a wide variety of contexts (universities and other research organizations, cultural heritage institutions, government agencies, private entities and many others), the issue of how to properly preserve this content and assure that it can be accessed in the future and utilized becomes crucial. Practitioners in the field of DP establish systems to effectively navigate these complex issues and protect the authenticity and accessibility of digital assets.
The sections in this guide focus on different aspects of the DP process. Also provided are links to external resources that you can use to continue expanding your knowledge on this topic.
Year: 2022
Primary URL:
https://libguides.uprm.edu/digital-preservationPrimary URL Description: This is a link to the English version of the LibGuide.
Secondary URL:
https://libguides.uprm.edu/preservacion-digitalSecondary URL Description: This is a link to the Spanish version of the LibGuide.
Archival Practice (LibGuide) (Web Resource)Title: Archival Practice (LibGuide)
Author: José Morales Benítez
Abstract: This library guide provides a brief introduction to several concepts of the archival discipline. It discusses practices that can help achieve proper organization and description of documents, which serves to protect their authenticity and trustworthiness and facilitates their retrievability. While we wanted to cover the more traditional principles of archival practice, we also included more modern concepts, such as the post-custodial model and community archives.
Year: 2022
Primary URL:
https://libguides.uprm.edu/archival-practicePrimary URL Description: This is a link to the English version of the LibGuide.
Secondary URL:
https://libguides.uprm.edu/practica-archivisticaSecondary URL Description: This is a link to the Spanish version of the LibGuide.
Después de la tormenta: Libros para niños sobre desastres, supervivencia y recuperación After the Storm: Children's Books about Disaster, Survival, & Healing (Exhibition)Title: Después de la tormenta: Libros para niños sobre desastres, supervivencia y recuperación After the Storm: Children's Books about Disaster, Survival, & Healing
Curator: Yarelis Marcial Acevedo
Curator: Ricia Anne Chansky
Abstract: The Oral History Lab installed two bilingual children’s book exhibitions: one at the RUM library and another at the Biblioteca Juvenil de Mayagüez. The exhibit that could be found at the main entrance of the UPRM library was available from Monday, September 5th, 2022, until Monday, October 31st, 2022. The exhibition had been under work since 2019, but COVID-19 derailed the project. Despite this setback, the project persevered.
The exhibitions were created in response to the many problems Puerto Rican children faced with trauma after Hurricane Maria. Thus, it contained many children’s books that focused on the the topic of natural disasters and recovery.
Year: 2022
Primary URL:
https://mimariapr.org/childrens-books-guide/Primary URL Description: The link leads to the official page of MiMaria, where further information about the exhibition is found. Information includes the location of the exhibitions, those being at the Biblioteca Juvenil de Mayagüez and at the Biblioteca General at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez. Additional links that can be found on the site that will redirect you to different pages related to the exhibit, some of which are the following:
A list of children’s books about disaster & recovery that were part of the exhibit, including the bilingual children’s book Maxy Survives the Hurricane / Maxy sobrevive el huracán;
A list of the courses related to the project that the UPRM has offered;
A list of collaborators and partners, which include Voice of Witness and the Humanities Action Lab.
Marci Denesiuk (Staff/Faculty/Fellow Position)Name: Marci Denesiuk
Abstract: Under the NEH grant, the OHL was able to pay the salary of contingent faculty member, Marci Denesiuk, who taught oral history courses affiliated with the project. These courses would have otherwise been canceled due to budgetary shortfalls during COVID.
Year: 2022
Primary URL:
https://www.uprm.edu/ohl/about-ohl/team/faculty/Primary URL Description: This link leads directly to the faculty webpage for the OHL.
Raisa Bonnet Ocasio (Staff/Faculty/Fellow Position)Name: Raisa Bonnet Ocasio
Abstract: Under the NEH grant, we were able to pay that salary of contingent faculty member, Raisa Bonnet Ocasio, to teach documentary filmmaking courses. These courses would have otherwise been canceled due to budgetary shortfalls during COVID.
Year: 2022
Primary URL:
https://www.uprm.edu/ohl/about-ohl/team/faculty/Primary URL Description: This link leads directly to the faculty webpage for the OHL.
Guillermo Gómez Álvarez (Staff/Faculty/Fellow Position)Name: Guillermo Gómez Álvarez
Abstract: Under the NEH grant, the OHL was able to pay the salary of contingent faculty member, Guillermo Gómez Álvarez, who taught documentary filmmaking courses affiliated with the project. These courses would have otherwise been canceled due to budgetary shortfalls during COVID.
Year: 2022
Secondary URL:
https://www.uprm.edu/ohl/about-ohl/team/faculty/Secondary URL Description: This link leads directly to the faculty page of the OHL website.
(ZINE) Comiendo A Través Del Desastre: Inseguridad Alimentaria en Puerto Rico/Eating Through Disaster: Food Insecurity in Puerto Rico (Report)Title: (ZINE) Comiendo A Través Del Desastre: Inseguridad Alimentaria en Puerto Rico/Eating Through Disaster: Food Insecurity in Puerto Rico
Author: Yaritza Sanchez Silva
Author: Ricia Anne Chansky
Author: Bryan Ramos Romero
Abstract: Incorporated in the Zine are specific mutual aid efforts in response to COVID and after, and how these groups have transformed and adapted their work for food security in the wake of a global pandemic. Efforts such as those from Come Colegial, a UPRM student association providing thousands of students annually with food stability in the way of non-perishable food supplies; Comedores Sociales de Puerto Rico, a non-profit organization that seeks to eradicate hunger in Puerto Rico through collective work strategies and resource socialization in favor of the majority of our people; Brigada Solidaria del Oeste, a self-managed community initiative comprised of individuals from various organizations, creative spaces, and social struggles; and Alacena Feminista, a feminist mutual aid group focused on the solidary exchange of foods and the advocacy against gender violence in all its forms and Plenitud P.R., a non-profit organization that supports individuals and communities in their development. All these organizations and individuals have, in one way or another, adapted to the circumstances of the Pandemic, offering their help to local communities that suffer from a lack of food security only worsened by COVID.
Date: 10/31/2022
Primary URL:
https://www.uprm.edu/ohl/ohl-outputs/zine/#1697487392903-98d6a4f6-90e0Primary URL Description: This is the zine page on our website.
Secondary URL:
https://issuu.com/bryan.ramos7/docs/issuu_zine_english2Secondary URL Description: This is the link to the digital version of the zine.
Access Model: Print copies are available for free upon request and there is a digital version of the zine available through our website.
The Oral History Lab @UPRM -- Digital Portfolio (Web Resource)Title: The Oral History Lab @UPRM -- Digital Portfolio
Author: José J. Morales Benítez
Abstract: This digital portfolio provides a thorough introduction to the Oral History Lab and all of the components of it. The portfolio includes an introduction, an overview of the OHL spaces and equipment, a sample of the OHL's oral history work, the documentaries made by film course students, the library's contributions, and conclusions. This portfolio is intended to be a concise overview of what the OHL includes, its purpose, and what types of work it can conduct, as a research and pedagogical hub. Its intended audience is other professors on campus, external researchers, and potential collaborators.
Year: 2023
Primary URL:
https://scalar.usc.edu/works/the-oral-history-lab-uprm/indexPrimary URL Description: This is the direct url for the digital portfolio.
Nos Cuidamos – Community Care & Power in Oral History (Public Lecture or Presentation)Title: Nos Cuidamos – Community Care & Power in Oral History
Abstract: The workshop, which was given by artist, activist-scholar, archivist, and historian, Cynthia Tobar, was focused on community-based approaches in co-creating oral history collections. An additional topic of discussion was how academic institutions can support local communities by providing access to needed resources and implementing post-custodial archival models. The workshop was a conversational event, so it was encouraged that the participants shared their experiences and thoughts on the matter.
The event was conducted in English, while the Q&A section was conducted in both Spanish and English.
Author: Cynthia Tobar
Date: 12/9/2022
Location: Virtual through Microsoft Teams
Primary URL:
https://youtu.be/WpVE4IJUEY8Primary URL Description: The link redirects to a recording of the event provided by the Oral History Lab’s official YouTube page.
Secondary URL:
https://uprm.libcal.com/calendar/cedibi/noscuidamosSecondary URL Description: The link redirects to the registration form of the event. Although the registration form is now closed, the viewer can still find relevant information about the event, such as the workshop’s description, the author, the date and time, the promotional image, the target audience, etc.
Introduction to Archiving: Concepts and Practices for Archives and Collections Management (Public Lecture or Presentation)Title: Introduction to Archiving: Concepts and Practices for Archives and Collections Management
Abstract: This workshop was conducted by Cristina Fontánez Rodríguez from Pratt Institute. She discusses the field of archival and its theoretical frameworks. Additionally, she covered the theories and basic concepts related to archival and its practical applications in the acquisition and development of collections, enhancement, file processing, use and access. This webinar was intended for people who work, or are interested in working, with archives and who have little or no prior knowledge of the history of the field of archival and its theoretical frameworks.
This activity was conducted in Spanish.
Author: Cristina Fontánez Rodríguez
Date: 8/26/2022
Location: Virtual through Microsoft Teams
Primary URL:
https://youtu.be/DKYY8qSy_y8Primary URL Description: The link redirects to a recording of the event provided by the Oral History Lab’s official YouTube page.
Secondary URL:
https://uprm.libcal.com/calendar/cedibi/intro-archivos?fbclid=IwAR03JWjnLV0yrcH6B3Cn1Up01dFirhmFJ-r4KRaF4OhdtHe73mvhwjB7P6USecondary URL Description: The link redirects to the registration form of the event. Although the registration form is now closed, the viewer can still find relevant information about the event, such as the workshop’s description, the author, the date and time, the promotional image, the target audience, etc.
Using Omeka for Digital Humanities (Public Lecture or Presentation)Title: Using Omeka for Digital Humanities
Abstract: Rosadel Santos Flores, a Documentation Technician for the entity Advantage Insurance who specializes in the areas of cultural heritage and digital media, gave a workshop on Omeka, an open access platform that can be used to create and disseminate collections of digital objects. She discussed how different aspects of Omeka’s functionality can be used for Digital Humanities projects, including how to add objects in different formats, assign metadata, and create online displays of digital material.
This activity was conducted in Spanish.
Author: Rosadel Santos Flores
Date: 6/30/2022
Location: Virtual through Microsoft Teams
Primary URL:
https://youtu.be/L2pF3A___FQPrimary URL Description: The link redirects to a recording of the event provided by the Oral History Lab’s official YouTube page.
Secondary URL:
https://uprm.libcal.com/calendar/cedibi/omeka?fbclid=IwAR3Ouvm4bJ85EGrIViZib-8118OQOkeVwng3-NXea2nZ71FZUtamTAGSC5A.Secondary URL Description: The link redirects to the registration form of the event. Although the registration form is now closed, the viewer can still find relevant information about the event, such as the workshop’s description, the author, the date and time, the promotional image, the target audience, etc.
Digital Preservation Basics and Fundamentals (Public Lecture or Presentation)Title: Digital Preservation Basics and Fundamentals
Abstract: Caroline Gil Rodríguez, a curator of audiovisual materials, archivist and author, conducted a workshop on the basics and fundamentals of digital preservation. In her workshop, Rodríguez discussed what are digital files, the different types of files that can be found in digital collections, and how to navigate the risks and differences between proprietary formats and open codes/sources. Rodríguez also discussed how to collect, see, and interpret the technical metadata of a file, and she went over the different techniques for managing, describing, and monitoring a collection of digital objects.
This activity was conducted in Spanish.
Author: Caroline Gil Rodríguez
Date: 4/29/2022
Location: Virtual through Microsoft Teams
Primary URL:
https://youtu.be/YpTwWvxVffwPrimary URL Description: The link redirects to a recording of the event provided by the Oral History Lab’s official YouTube page.
Secondary URL:
https://uprm.libcal.com/calendar/cedibi/preservacion_digital?fbclid=IwAR011HVwJa1yWCjvB9kjGdXTUIOoW1gwbjwqrzioYNsk8CnHxZagVKfe5WU.Secondary URL Description: The link redirects to the registration form of the event. Although the registration form is now closed, the viewer can still find relevant information about the event, such as the workshop’s description, the author, the date and time, the promotional image, the target audience, etc.
Oral History Lab Collection in Scholar @UPRM (Institution Repository of the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez) (Database/Archive/Digital Edition)Title: Oral History Lab Collection in Scholar @UPRM (Institution Repository of the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez)
Author: The Oral History Lab at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez
Abstract: A entries of the oral histories under the OHL’s collection can be found in this collection. The entries contain not only the relevant archives of each oral history (recordings, transcripts, images, etc.), but they also include information surrounding the metadata.
The oral histories collected by the OHL constitute valuable community-sourced data for researchers in a diversity of disciplines, including STEM fields, and serve as excellent resources for more informed development of public policy and initiatives that impact different population groups.
The metadata of the entries are bilingual (Spanish and English), whereas the archives of the oral histories themselves can be in either language.
Year: 2022
Primary URL:
https://scholar.uprm.edu/discover?filtertype_1=type&filter_relational_operator_1=contains&filter_1=Oral+History&submit_apply_filter=Primary URL Description: This link takes you to the OHL entries stored in Scholar @UPRM.
Secondary URL:
http://136.145.147.146/Secondary URL Description: This link takes you to the Omeka website that specifically contains a sample of the oral history interviews collected by the Oral History Lab @UPRM (OHL)
The samples found in this website will redirect the user to the oral history interview files in Scholar @UPRM.
Access Model: Open access
The OHL @UPRM (Database/Archive/Digital Edition)Title: The OHL @UPRM
Author: The Oral History Lab at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez
Abstract: The Omeka website that specifically contains a sample of the oral history interviews collected by the Oral History Lab @UPRM (OHL), a center for oral history research based in the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez. The samples published have given voice to members of the Puerto Rican community as they have navigated a variety of situations affecting the archipelago.
The Omeka collection contains bilingual metadata records and links to the oral history interview files in Scholar @UPRM (Digital Institution Repository of the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez)
Year: 2023
Primary URL:
http://136.145.147.146/Primary URL Description: The link redirects you to the official Omeka web-publishing platform of the Oral History Lab @UPRM (OHL). This site contains a sample of oral history interviews collected by the OHL.
Access Model: Open Access
Oral History Lab (OHL) Opening Symposium / Simposio de apertura del Laboratorio de Historia Oral (OHL) (Conference/Institute/Seminar)Title: Oral History Lab (OHL) Opening Symposium / Simposio de apertura del Laboratorio de Historia Oral (OHL)
Author: The Oral History Lab at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez
Abstract: The activity was the grand opening of the Oral History Lab that took place on February 16, 2023. This activity allowed for the general public the opportunity to learn about the OHL, its archives, and the current projects being undertaken. The attendees were allowed to join the event through an online and in-person modality.
Date Range: Thursday, February 16, 2023. 10:30am – Noon Introduction to the lab, its current projects, and opp
Location: In-person modality: Graduate Research & Innovation Centre (GRIC) at the General Library at the Univeristy of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus. Online modality: Microsoft Teams
Primary URL:
https://www.uprm.edu/ohl/oral-history-lab-uprm/Primary URL Description: The link redirects to an article of the event on the Oral History Lab’s official website. The page provides the promotional flyers, as well as the schedule of the activity.
Secondary URL:
https://uprm.libwizard.com/f/ohl-openingSecondary URL Description: The link redirects to the official registration form of the event. The form allows for the attendees to choose the modality in which they preferred to join the activity, as well as choose which sessions (morning and/or afternoon session) they wanted to attend.
Forging Future Access to Memory: Library Contributions to a Multi-Disciplinary Oral History Project (Conference Paper/Presentation)Title: Forging Future Access to Memory: Library Contributions to a Multi-Disciplinary Oral History Project
Author: José J. Morales Benítez
Author: Jaquelina Álvarez
Author: Ricia Anne Chansky
Abstract: Over the last six years, Puerto Rico has been shaken by a surge of stratified disasters that have severely affected the lives of residents. In response to this situation, the university library established multidisciplinary alliances across campus for the creation of an oral history laboratory (OHL). The OHL, housed in the library, is a space dedicated to collecting, preserving, and disseminating oral histories that capture the memories and life experiences of community members navigating these difficult times. The OHL’s collections are a significant contribution to the historical record, bringing forth voices that have traditionally been underrepresented or silenced. This session presents the OHL’s groundbreaking methodological approach and shows how libraries can forge strategic alliances to advance social justice and equity in their home communities.
Date: 03/12/2023
Primary URL:
https://scholar.uprm.edu/entities/publication/56e6cdb5-0cc5-492e-9d24-3aee56d242f2Primary URL Description: This link is to a record of the presentation on the university institutional repository, Scholar @UPRM.
Umbrella Models as Decolonial Pedagogy (Conference Paper/Presentation)Title: Umbrella Models as Decolonial Pedagogy
Author: Gabrielle Armstrong Velázquez
Author: Ricia Anne Chansky
Author: Yarelis Marcial Acevedo
Author: Natalia Betancourt Malavé
Abstract: At this symposium for the Archivo de Respuestas Emergencias de Puerto Rico, the OHL Director and four Graduate Research Fellows presented on pedagogical decolonial umbrella model developed for teaching oral history courses at UPRM. The discussion included mentoring graduate students through research projects and facilitating the development of undergraduate teaching resources.
Date: 03/20/2023
Surviving Stratified Disasters: Collaborative Approach to Collecting and Preserving Oral Histories (Conference Paper/Presentation)Title: Surviving Stratified Disasters: Collaborative Approach to Collecting and Preserving Oral Histories
Author: José Morales Benítez
Author: Jaquelina E. Alvarez
Author: Ricia Anne Chansky
Abstract: Over the last six years, Puerto Rico has been shaken by a surge of stratified disasters—multiple simultaneous catastrophes that affect the population in different but interrelated ways. Unrelenting economic depression provoked the establishment of a fiscal control board appointed under the PROMESA Act, which led to the imposition of harsh austerity measures. Furthermore, Hurricanes Irma and María caused extreme devastation in September 2017, early 2019 saw the beginning of a swarm of earthquakes which eventually numbered in the thousands (including one with a magnitude of 6.4 in the Richter scale), and 2020 brought the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez (UPRM) has not been spared, as it has been subject to extreme budget cuts that have brought the elimination of faculty positions and deterioration of infrastructure and services, with student precarity also on the rise. The project “Listening to Puerto Rico: The Promise of Oral History On-Campus and Beyond” emerges as a response to this scenario of stratified disasters. The main objective of this collaborative project, which brings together UPRM’s General Library, English Department, and Film Program, is the creation of an Oral History Lab (OHL). The OHL will be housed in the General Library and will be a space focused on the collection, preservation, and broad dissemination of oral histories from around the Puerto Rican archipelago, particularly those that touch upon the experiences of community members as they have navigated the many challenges of these difficult times. Preservation, stewardship, and visibility of the materials will be enhanced through their deposit in UPRM’s online institutional repository, Scholar@UPRM. The creation of the OHL is an example of how academic libraries faced by precarious circumstances can forge strategic multidisciplinary alliances with campus partners to design creative projects that directly address local historical events while also produci
Date: 07/06/2022
Primary URL:
https://revistas.upr.edu/index.php/acceso/article/view/20420Primary URL Description: Link to the presentation published as part of the journal.
Secondary URL:
https://revistas.upr.edu/index.php/acceso/article/view/20420Secondary URL Description: This link is to a record of the presentation on the university institutional repository, Scholar @UPRM.
Conference Name: 51st Association of Caribbean University, Research and Institutional Libraries (ACURIL): Conference under the theme: Change Management and Resilience; Proactive Actions in Libraries, Museums, and Archives of the Caribbean, Willemstad, Curaçao
Estrategias para hacer crecer un repositorio institucional: Identificación de desafíos y aprovechamiento de oportunidades de colaboración multidisciplinaria (Conference Paper/Presentation)Title: Estrategias para hacer crecer un repositorio institucional: Identificación de desafíos y aprovechamiento de oportunidades de colaboración multidisciplinaria
Author: Grisell Rodríguez
Author: José J. Morales Benítez
Author: Jaquelina Álvarez
Abstract: El repositorio institucional de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Mayagüez, llamado Scholar@UPRM, se estableció en el 2017. Uno de los objetivos principales es dar amplia visibilidad a la labor investigativa y creativa realizada en la institución. Durante el 2022, Scholar@UPRM recibió más de 139,700 visitas, evidenciando el gran valor de la plataforma. Un 91% de estas fue a la colección de tesis y disertaciones, haciendo del repositorio la fuente principal para acceder a dichos trabajos. No obstante, un desafío significativo ha sido recopilar los trabajos investigativos de docentes, siendo pocos los que han depositado sus obras. Igualmente, son escasos los trabajos de estudiantes subgraduados que figuran en el repositorio. Este cartel presenta iniciativas desarrolladas desde la biblioteca para fomentar el crecimiento de Scholar@UPRM. En el caso de los docentes, se realizó un estudio para identificar los factores que han inhibido a miembros de esta comunidad de depositar sus obras. El desconocimiento sobre la existencia y uso del repositorio, dudas sobre derechos de autor y cuestionamientos sobre el alcance de difusión que ofrece Scholar@UPRM fueron algunos factores identificados. Otra iniciativa consistió en establecer alianzas multidisciplinarias entre la biblioteca y docentes de las áreas de Inglés y Cine para crear el Laboratorio de Historia Oral, unidad dedicada a recopilar entrevistas de historia oral y producir documentales sobre temas que afectan a comunidades puertorriqueñas, como la inseguridad alimentaria y los desastres naturales. Estos productos se depositan en el repositorio para su diseminación y preservación.
Date: 06/05/2024
Primary URL:
https://scholar.uprm.edu/entities/publication/e07d6457-a6b5-447b-ad93-dda72699cd9ePrimary URL Description: This is the link connecting to the presentation on our institutional repository, Scholar @UPRM.
Conference Name: The Association of Caribbean University, Research and Institutional Libraries Conference
AKXJ DELL PowerEdge R740 Server (Equipment)Name: AKXJ DELL PowerEdge R740 Server
Description: The digital preservation infrastructure was expanded by the acquisition of a 1TB RAM- 16x64GB RAM 210-AKXJ DELL PowerEdge R740 Server (210-AKXJ) .
Location: Data Center at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez
Year: 2022
Laptops (Equipment)Name: Laptops
Description: Two Apple 13.3 MacBook Air were acquired to facilitate student's video editing and field work. Computers are available at the OHL and can be check out under the Library's general circulation policies.
Location: Oral History Lab (OHL) at the UPRM Library
Year: 2022
Apple Ipad Mini (Equipment)Name: Apple Ipad Mini
Description: Four Apple Ipad Mini were acquired to facilitate the oral histories field work. Ipads are available at the OHL and can be check out under the Library's general circulation policies.
Location: Oral History Lab (OHL) at the UPRM Library
Year: 2022
Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro (Equipment)Name: Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro
Description: A Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro, varios DJII RSC 2 Gimbal Pro Combo & Nanuk 930 Case, Rode Wireless Go II Omni Lavalier Microphone, tripod, Pelican StormCase were acquire to create a recording kit to check out at the OHL and to the field to record documentaries.
Location: Oral History Lab (OHL) at the UPRM Library
Year: 2022
Introduction to audiovisual cataloging with PBCore (Public Lecture or Presentation)Title: Introduction to audiovisual cataloging with PBCore
Abstract: This presentation addresses some important considerations to take into account when describing audiovisual resources and demonstrates how to easily start cataloging with PBCore.
This activity was conducted in Spanish.
Author: Valeria Dávila
Date: 05/22/2023
Location: Virtual through Microsoft Teams
Primary URL:
https://youtu.be/SbVtGE-W-Js?si=y0cJD_mAlX9Yd0gfPrimary URL Description: The link redirects to a recording of the event provided by the Oral History Lab’s official YouTube page.
Secondary URL:
https://uprm.libcal.com/calendar/cedibi/pbcoreSecondary URL Description: The link redirects to the registration form of the event. Although the registration form is now closed, the viewer can still find relevant information about the event, such as the workshop’s description, the author, the date and time, the promotional image, the target audience, etc.
Oral archives with a community focus: Theories and methodologies (Public Lecture or Presentation)Title: Oral archives with a community focus: Theories and methodologies
Abstract: This webinar offers ideas, steps, and questions for creating oral archives with a community perspective. It addresses the new political and ethical role of archivists in the “community archival paradigm” and then presents practical cases to appreciate the value and functionality of oral testimonies in some community archives in Latin America. Finally, it presents some ideas for planning and implementing this type of initiative in future projects.
This activity was conducted in Spanish.
Author: Claudio Ogass Bilbao
Date: 02/24/2023
Location: Virtual through Microsoft Teams
Primary URL:
https://youtu.be/u_TIMUus4-c?si=nud7BAU5tMp1l0xNPrimary URL Description: The link redirects to a recording of the event provided by the Oral History Lab’s official YouTube page.
Secondary URL:
https://uprm.libcal.com/calendar/cedibi/archivos_oralesSecondary URL Description: The link redirects to the registration form of the event. Although the registration form is now closed, the viewer can still find relevant information about the event, such as the workshop’s description, the author, the date and time, the promotional image, the target audience, etc.
What else can Scholar@UPRM tell us (Public Lecture or Presentation)Title: What else can Scholar@UPRM tell us
Abstract: This presentation was organized as part of the Library Week activities to relaunch Scholar@UPRM, the UPRM Institutional Repository. It presents the diversity of content included in the new version of the Institutional Repository on DSpace 7 platform. It also shows examples of the productivity and creative work of members of our university community. In addition, explains how you can contribute your works to increase their impact.
This activity was conducted in Spanish.
Author: Jaquelina E. Alvarez
Author: José J. Morales Benítez
Author: Grisell Rodríguez
Date: 4/24/2023
Location: Hybrid at Graduate Research and Innovation Center (GRIC) and MS Teams
Primary URL:
https://youtu.be/_Fwh69Zq-no?si=Q4XjmPNlpOuhl8T5Primary URL Description: The link redirects to a recording of the event provided by the Oral History Lab’s official YouTube page.
Secondary URL:
https://uprm.libcal.com/calendar/cedibi/scholaruprmSecondary URL Description: The link redirects to the registration form of the event. Although the registration form is now closed, the viewer can still find relevant information about the event, such as the workshop’s description, the author, the date and time, the promotional image, the target audience, etc.
Oral History Lab (OHL) at UPRM (Web Resource)Title: Oral History Lab (OHL) at UPRM
Author: Jaquelina E. Alvarez
Author: Natalia Hernández Mejías
Abstract: This guide provides an introduction to the library services, spaces and equipment available to students and faculty affiliated to the OHL.
This guide is available in English and Spanish. A hyperlink on the guide’s home page allows you to switch from one language to the other.
Year: 2023
Primary URL:
https://libguides.uprm.edu/ohlPrimary URL Description: The link redirects you to the English version of the Oral History LibGuide.
Secondary URL:
https://libguides.uprm.edu/ohl/esSecondary URL Description: The link redirects you to the Spanish version of the Oral History LibGuide.
An Ethical Framework for Interviewing in the Aftermath of Disaster (Web Resource)Title: An Ethical Framework for Interviewing in the Aftermath of Disaster
Author: Ricia Anne Chansky
Abstract: Framework developed at the OHL to ethically guide us in our work in the aftermath of disasters. It utilizes antiracist and decolonial methodologies, and is grounded in trauma-informed approaches, and adheres to the best practices of the Oral History Association.
Year: 2023
Primary URL:
https://www.uprm.edu/ohl/ethics-statement/Assessment and Library’s Digital Preservation Landscape Report (Report)Title: Assessment and Library’s Digital Preservation Landscape Report
Author: Caroline Gil Rodríguez
Abstract: Report prepared by Caroline Gil Rodríguez, a Media Conservator, Archivist, and NEH consultant, to aid the UPR-Mayaguez in evaluating the preservation needs of its digital collections. The report includes the results and findings of the environmental scanning carried out by Gil Rodriguez as recommendations in terms of staffing, training, funding, advocacy, outreach, and communication.
Date: 12/15/2023