Kathleen Spring, Collections Management Librarian and IR Administrator at Linfield College, has a vision for the repository as a plugged-in component of both the college and local community, which has led directly to the library’s playing a key role in some exciting projects—first chronicling and preserving the history of viticulture in the region, and now documenting the history of a unique dory fleet operating out of nearby Pacific City, OR.
In a recent webinar, Kathleen described how the IR is serving the college and the regional community by publishing and showcasing the extensive research produced through these two community-focused initiatives: The Linfield Center for the Northwest, which coordinates student internships, service-learning opportunities, and collaborative research projects with direct implications for Oregon and the Pacific Northwest; and the Dory Project, a collaborative college and community venture focused on the historical and contemporary role of dory fishermen and women in the life of a coastal Oregon village.
Theatre & Communication Arts Professor Brenda DeVore Marshall also participated in the webinar, describing her work with the Linfield students, the Pacific City Dorymen’s Association, and the Pacific City Arts Association to collect oral histories and other documentation of this historic fishery. DigitalCommons@Linfield now provides a permanent home for these histories as well as a common space for a larger project that culminated in an original multimedia theatrical production, scholarly papers and poster sessions, a traveling exhibit, and a visual art exhibit.
Building partnerships with community-oriented research centers and departments is one of the best ways to develop an institutional repository into a valued community resource. If you’d like to hear more about Linfield’s work in this area, you can view a recording of the webinar here.
Launching through the Surf- The Dory Fleet of Pacific City – Linfield College Research – DigitalCommons@Linfield