When their professor asked them to volunteer for a digital humanities project at a local library, three Delaware County Community College students did not realize the impact it would have on the library patrons they helped—and on their own academic and career plans.

The project was designed to give Ardmore community members the opportunity to preserve their family and local histories and contribute to Pennsylvania state history records by digitizing photographs and documents for archiving. It was a collaboration between Delaware County Community College, the Lower Merion Library System, and Pennsylvania Power Library.

DCCC Communication Professor Tanya Gardner, Ph.D., asked for volunteers for an event called Community Scanning Day at Ardmore Library during her Interpersonal Communication class. Katy Gallagher put her hand up. She joined Paulina Jaus and Taya Vietro, two students who had already volunteered.

The students received training in digital humanities tools, including high-tech scanners; learned procedures for processing the documents; and practiced creating meta data—which involves defining key descriptive details to help organize and identify files. Dr. Gardner also instructed them in how to conduct oral history interviews with community participants.

Residents who attended the Ardmore Library event shared their family and neighborhood histories with the students, had their documents scanned, and received a flash drive with digital copies of all they had brought. Additionally, they were offered the opportunity to submit them to Pennsylvania Power Library’s Photos and Documents search tool for public access—and many chose to do so.

“I interviewed a woman who had old zoning maps which indicated how Ardmore changed and how big corporations popped up mostly in Black neighborhoods, sometimes pushing residents out of their communities,” says Gallagher. “That is important local history. Another woman descended from immigrants from Ukraine and had photos of her great-great-grandmother. They looked almost identical.”

Gallagher, a Paralegal Studies major, said the experience has inspired her to ultimately transfer to a four-year university to pursue a degree in library science. “The professors at DCCC are amazing. Dr. Gardner has really taken me under her wing, and this project opened my eyes to what truly interests me.”

For Vietro, a former hairstylist and life coach, returning to college at DCCC and getting involved with this project has persuaded her that her interests lie in library science as well. “It is so easy to lose history. We want to make sure that the next generations can find the information, to understand the historical demographics of the communities in which they live.”

Vietro has worked with Dr. Gardner on several digital humanities initiatives, including the professor’s current oral history initiative called “Voices of Faith,” which aims to collect, digitize, and archive the experiences of 20 Philadelphia-area Black church leaders during the COVID-19 pandemic. After graduating from DCCC, Vietro plans to transfer to a four-year university to pursue digital humanities with the goal of becoming a research librarian.

For Jaus, the highlight of the experience was interviewing a woman whose mother had passed away at the age of 110. “The daughter had so much historical information to offer, and now—thanks to this project—will one day be in the Pennsylvania Power Library, so it is recorded historically as well. People will be able to use the added information to see how their communities evolved.”

She adds, “For me personally as a Communications major, this experience has added to my skill set. I have collected oral histories, learned how to properly handle and preserve historical documents, and gained a better understanding of the rich history of our region.”

Nicole Joniec of Power Library assisted with the event logistics and provides ongoing technical support. The event was supported by DCCC Dean of Communication, Arts and Humanities Terri Amlong, PhD; DCCC Art Gallery Studio Assistant Greta Motter; and DCCC Senior Media Specialist George Dobbin. “This amazing teamwork made the project a success,” says Dr. Gardner.