Arizona State University Library

Archivists prepare to scan and upload photographs into the archive at a workshop in April.

Arizona State University is in the midst of an initiative to diversity Arizona’s archives.

“The Latino community, African Americans, Asian Americans and LGBT community make up over 42 percent of Arizona’s current population but they’re only represented in zero to two percent of known archival collections,” said Nancy Godoy, the archivist for ASU’s Chicano/a Research Collection.

Godoy first noticed the problem in 2012 when she joined the archive, but she said a grant is allowing the University to hold dozens of free archival workshops and preservation sessions.

“We distribute free archival supplies so: a box, a folder, Mylar and white gloves,” she said. “We hope that they use this information to go back into their communities and preserve primary resources.”

Anyone interested can bring old letters, diaries, photographs and other documents that contribute to the history of the Southwest, and archivists will walk them through the preservation process.

“We’re also using new technology to conduct oral history interviews because for some communities, like Native American communities, the focus is more on oral tradition,” Godoy said.

ASU is also making some collections available online for the first time including the largest archive in the state focusing on LGBT history.