Venue

Now that you have an idea of the type of material you will be archiving and a general sense of the number of community members who can help throughout the event, the next steps are to find a venue that can support it. This should happen early in the planning period.

Below are some considerations for choosing a place and date to host the archiving event:

Time of year and weather

When choosing a date and location for your archiving event, you should consider typical weather conditions. If a particular venue requires part of the setup to be outdoors, you will want to have a backup plan in the event of adverse weather conditions or have the necessary equipment (e.g., tents, heaters, etc.) to run part of the event outside. When possible, picking a date with typically pleasant weather conditions is highly recommended, but we understand it is not always possible.

Size of the venue

Once community members have completed the community survey, you will have a rough estimate of the number of participants for the event. This will help you determine the size of the venue. We recommend that a venue have at least three spaces to set up the stations. The room that will possibly be used for check-in/ check-out should be large enough to hold approximately 20 people. For digitization, you’ll need a table or other flat surface to set up lightbox photography. Additionally, for the oral histories, you need a space with a door that can be shut for privacy, like an office. The more rooms that allow for a door to be closed, the faster you can move community members through the process, as the oral history typically takes the longest (10-20 minutes per contributing object).

Layout of venue

You will want to consider the proximity of the rooms you will use for the event. For example, you may not want to choose a venue where the rooms you will use are too far apart from each other, as this will require community members to walk longer distances and can prolong the entire process. Additionally, the rooms that will be used for the oral histories should be in an area that is quieter, away from the check-in room, so that the audio recording does not pick up background noise from other community members participating in the archiving event.

Power sources

During the event, you will be using various electronic devices that will require power throughout the day, so when checking out venues, consider the number of outlets available and their location in various rooms. You can use power strips to increase available outlets, but you want to avoid situations where power strips create trip hazards to community members and volunteers. Taking this into account will help you determine how the rooms can be used and whether the location is appropriate for your event.

Accessibility

Accessibility is an essential component to consider when choosing a venue, especially considering the needs of community members. You will want to ensure the location is physically accessible to all participants. Ideally, your chosen location will allow you to host the event all on the same floor to help with movement through the event.