Garnett Library
304 W Trish Knight Street
West Plains, MO 65775
Presented in partnership with the Ozarks Heritage Research Center, join us at Garnett Library in West Plains for a free digitization event focused on African American heritage in the Ozarks! Residents of Howell, Texas, Wright, Douglas, Ozark, Shannon, Oregon, Carter, and Ripley counties, as well as points throughout the southern Ozarks, are invited. The event is free, but registration is required.
Hosted by the SHSMO Rolla Research Center, archivists will be available to digitize photographs, letters, pamphlets, postcards, and other materials that speak to African American heritage in the region. Attendees will also have the opportunity to record an interview with an oral historian about their items, community history, and genealogy.
Participants will be advised on the best practices for protecting their materials and offered the opportunity to digitize and preserve them as part of the larger “African American Heritage in the Ozarks Project.”
Funded by an American Rescue Plan grant through the National Endowment for the Humanities and Missouri Humanities, this project aims to gather and organize an ample collection of primary and secondary sources related to African American life, provide public programming in multiple communities in the Ozarks, develop physical and digital exhibits, and preserve the voices and memories related to traditions, genealogy, and firsthand accounts of the people who have lived in the region.
If you have questions about what materials to bring or about the digitization process, contact us at (417) 836-3782 or rolla@shsmo.org.