The development of UC Irvine Libraries’ CCAP is deeply intertwined with the history of the Southeast Asian Archive (founded in the mid-1980s) and the OC&SEAA Center (opened in 2015). Supported by grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and Mellon Foundation, this approach has fostered inclusive historical preservation, ensuring representation of traditionally underrepresented voices and transforming relationships between academic institutions and local communities. Over the years, this work has included
- Partnering with local communities on memory keeping initiatives
- Leading campus workshops on primary sources and community history
- Providing students with hands-on archival experiences
These collaborations empower communities to document their own stories while enhancing student engagement with diverse historical perspectives.
Southeast Asian Archive (SEAA) Founder Anne Frank
Orange County is home to the largest Vietnamese community outside Vietnam, along with significant Hmong and Cambodian refugee populations. Recognizing the need to preserve these communities’ histories, Anne Frank collaborated with local Southeast Asian leaders to establish the SEAA. This archive documents the experiences of the Southeast Asian diaspora, ensuring their stories are preserved for future generations.
Image credit: Allan Helmick.
The cornerstone of SEAA, this collection is an eclectic accumulation of thousands of items that document the life of Southeast Asian American communities. A wide range of topics is covered in the collection including cultural events, pertinent issues of the day, organizations and businesses, student activities, local politics, health concerns, and family relations.
Primary Source Instruction in Langson Library
Former Southeast Asian Archive Curator Thuy Vo Dang teaches a group of students in an old SEAA location in Langson Library.
Image credit: Thuy Vo Dang.
Orange County and Southeast Asian Archive (OC&SEAA) Center
As the Southeast Asian Archive grew, so did the need for a larger space. Opened in 2015, the OC&SEAA Center features a flexible reading room space for teaching, events, and research. The center collaborates with partners to curate exhibits, conduct oral and digital history projects, and engage in initiatives to better preserve the memories and records of the UC Irvine campus, the Orange County community, and the Southeast Asian diaspora.
Transforming Knowledge, Transforming Libraries (TKTL) Project
In 2017, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) funded the Libraries’ three-year TKTL research project, which explored the intersection of academic learning, personal background, and practical archival work in shaping students’ perspectives and skills. As part of the project, the Libraries began offering in-class primary source workshops focused on community memory keeping and partnering cohorts of UC Irvine students with community organizations to support historical documentation projects.
Funded by the Mellon Foundation, the Community-Centered Archives Practice: Transforming Education, Archives, and Community History (CCAP TEACH) initiative seeks to further establish a model for inclusive archival practices that bridge academic resources with community knowledge:
- Train students in archival stewardship and community-centered projects
- Provide funding for community-driven archival projects
- Assess strategies for ethical representation of marginalized histories
- Support academic libraries in implementing community-centered archives practice (CCAP)
- Establish a national coalition of community-centered archives practitioners