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Oregon Multicultural Archives: About the OMA

About the OMA

Overview

About Archivists

Archivists are the professionals who specialize in archives management. Archives are records of the human experience that may include textual documents, photographs, video and sound recordings, and increasingly, digital records. Archivists are educated and trained to collect, organize, preserve, and provide access to these important materials so that we can develop a more complete historical record. Through archival materials, we can explore and learn from the past as we work toward creating a more inclusive and socially just future.

About the OMA

In 2005, the Oregon State University Libraries (OSUL) established the Oregon Multicultural Archives (OMA) to highlight multicultural collections already held in the OSUL Archives, to serve as a digital resource linking researchers to other institutions or organizations with multicultural archival collections, and to build an archive with records that document African American, Asian American, Latino/a and Native American communities to reflect how they have contributed to the identity of the state of Oregon.

The mission of the OMA is to assist in preserving the histories and sharing the stories that document Oregon's African American, Asian American, Latino/a, and Native American communities.

The Oregon Multicultural Archives advances scholarship in ethnic studies and racial diversity both on the Oregon State University campus as well as on a state and regional level. The OMA helps to strengthens the university’s core value of diversity, which enhances OSU's "teaching, scholarship, and service as well as our ability to welcome, respect, and interact with other people" (OSU Strategic Plan).

Be sure to visit the OMA Blog (2010-2022) and the SCARC Blog - OMA posts (2023-present) for information regarding projects, new collections, recently digitized materials, and much more!

Contact Information

Natalia Fernández, Associate Professor, Curator of the Oregon Multicultural Archives and OSU Queer Archives Oregon State University

Pronouns (she/her/hers)

OSU Libraries and Press: Special Collections and Archives Research Center

natalia.fernandez@oregonstate.edu

541-737-3653

Location Information

The OMA is located in Corvallis, Oregon, and is a part of the Oregon State University Libraries - Special Collections & Archives Research Center, located on the 5th floor of The Valley Library. The physical collections are housed in SCARC and are open to the public; however, they are intellectually separate from other SCARC collections and can be accessed through this website.

Please see the Guide to SCARC for more information about visiting us in-person.

Mailing and Shipping Address:

Oregon Multicultural Archives
201 SW Waldo Pl
Corvallis, OR 97331

Featured Student Projects

MLIS Graduate School Internship - The intern worked on a variety of projects to cover the breath and scope of the work done within a special collections and archives.
Karen Tockman, MLIS internship, Winter 2017 

Obo Addy Legacy Project collection - The intern created an inventory of the materials and arrange and describe the collection physically and through a Finding Aid. The collection includes a substantial amount of audio/visual materials, and the intern will be tasked to research the best preservation and migration options for the items. The intern made recommendations regarding exhibit ideas for a planned Spring 2014 exhibition.
Obo Addy Legacy Project collection internship, Summer and Fall 2013

Miracle Theatre Group collection ~ During the Winter and Spring Terms of 2013, the intern completed an inventory of the Miracle Theatre Group’s records; the Miracle Theatre is a Latino/a community based theatre in Portland. The intern attended the Northwest Archivists 2013 Conference in Vancouver, B.C. in May and presented on the project as part of a Theatre Archives roundtable discussion. For more information, see the intern’s blog posts about the project: Miracle Theatre Group
Intern 1 Winter-Spring 2013 and Intern 2 Summer 2013-Spring 2014

St. Philip the Deacon Episcopal Church records ~ In the Spring of 2012 an intern began working with the St. Philip the Deacon Church community to organize and describe its records. The St. Philip the Deacon Church located in Portland, OR, was established in 1911 by Caribbean immigrants of African descent who experienced hostility from the local churches. The congregation grew and became actively involved in assisting the local community especially through civil rights work and education programming. The project included the intern assisting in the planning and implementation of “Parish History Day” – a community outreach event in which we invited the congregation to learn about archiving and preserving personal and family history materials. For more information, see the intern’s blog posts about the project: St. Philip the Deacon internship, Spring 2012

All internships are completed through OSU's Special Collections and Archives Research Center Internship Program. Internships may be used for course credit.