C-CAP TEACH is proud to announce our sixth subaward recipient – the University of South Florida (USF)! Their project Concentric Circles Archiving the Tampa Heights and Sulphur Springs Communities in Tampa, FL will be led by Tomaro Taylor, the current President of the Society of American Archivists (SAA) as well as the Director of Special Collections at USF. Tomaro will be working closely with Fatima Elkott, the Program Manager at Tampa Heights Junior Civic Association, and Kelley Curtis, the Director of the Sulphur Springs Museum.
Concentric Circles: Archiving the Tampa Heights and Sulphur Springs Communities in Tampa, FL is a community archiving project designed to increase documentation of the Tampa Heights and Sulphur Springs neighborhoods in the urban core of Tampa, Florida. Tampa Heights and Sulphur Springs are historically under-documented communities that are either experiencing, or at imminent risk of experiencing, demographic changes due to socio-economic shifts in Tampa’s urban center. These changes strongly indicate the need for enhancing memory-keeping practices among current and former residents and for collecting stories and memories that chronicle the changing landscape of these historic neighborhoods.
USF’s project prioritizes collecting oral histories from current and former residents of these neighborhoods, documenting the Tampa Heights and Sulphur Springs communities through still photography, working with community members on personal and family archiving projects, and encouraging digitization of historic and contemporary documents and photographs during community-centered events and workshops. An additional outcome includes online exhibition of materials collected or created as part this project. The ultimate aim of this project is to raise awareness of and enhance access to resources that document each of these communities’ heritage and legacy.
Goals of this project will include:
- Acquiring, transcribing and publishing oral histories via the USF Libraries Digital Commons from the USF Living Heritage Institute’s completed oral history project in Sulphur Springs.
- Documenting the Tampa Heights and Sulphur Springs communities through archival research, still photography, digitization, and new oral history programs.
- Engaging current and former residents in community archiving practices by providing community-based programs and workshops (described below).
- Using materials collected or created as part of this project to develop digital exhibits on the USF Libraries Tampa Through Time portal and USF Libraries Digital Commons.
- Creating an online exhibit at the Sulphur Springs Museum.
In order to accomplish these goals, USF will be conducting training programs and workshops for community members as well as support personnel.
We at C-CAP TEACH are excited to see what USF accomplishes with their project and how Tampa community benefits!
Written by Rivka Arbetter, C-CAP TEACH Project Coordinator