Black History in Syracuse workshops to be held Oct. 7 and Nov. 11

Black History in Syracuse workshops to be held Oct. 7 and Nov. 11September 30, 2008SU News ServicesSUnews@syr.edu

Syracuse University’s South Side Initiative will present two workshops by School of Information Studies (iSchool) professor of practice Kenneth Lavender this fall on collecting and preserving the history of black people in Syracuse.

The first workshop will be geared toward organizations and institutions, and will explain the basics of building your archives. It will be held Oct. 7 at 5:30 p.m. at Beauchamp Library, 2111 S. Salina St.

The second workshop will focus on how individuals and families can preserve their historical family collections. This program will be held Nov. 11 at 5:30 p.m. at the Dunbar Center, 1453 S. State St.

Lavender has taught courses on archives and preservation, and his research focuses on the preservation of cultural heritage.

Two of his current projects are the development of a series of “webinars” with the Ontario Library Association on preservation of library materials and establishing an interdisciplinary program and local research initiative on preservation of cultural heritage. The interdisciplinary program will include the SU Museum Studies Program and School of Architecture and the South Side Initiative as initial partners.

The South Side Initiative is a partnership between the Southside Community Coalition and SU’s Faculty for Community Engagement, a group of professors committed to participatory research that benefits the City of Syracuse. The goal of the initiative-which is part of the University’s commitment to Scholarship in Action-is to restore, revitalize and rejuvenate Syracuse’s South Side neighborhood.

To register for a workshop, call 443-1916. Registration is free.

The workshops are cosponsored by the Syracuse University iSchool and Gaylord Brothers.