LIS Student Reflection: Jesus Villalobos, University of Arizona

MLS Student Jesus Villalobos answers a series of questions on the collection they built for the LIS Student program and the program overall. Jesus was one of the participants in the 2024 LIS Student Program.

Jesus Villalobos

Jesus Villalobos is a second-year MLIS student at the University of Arizona School of Information, where they are also a Knowledge River Scholar. Their concentrations are in instructional design, information pedagogy, and archival studies. Jesus aspires to use their experience in academic libraries and archives to serve diverse communities.

LIS Student Reflection: Jesus Villalobos, University of Arizona

CollectionBuilder at the Intersection of Critical Archival and Digital Humanities Inquiry

My project serves two purposes: first, as an exploration of the potential applications of CollectionBuilder for community-based archival work, and second, as a prototype or proof of concept for broader interdisciplinary engagement between archival studies and the digital humanities.

Collection: Viral Culture: AIDS Ephemera, Art, and Activism

This project’s namesake and theoretical underpinnings are heavily indebted to Marika Cifor’s work on AIDS archiving. The intended focus of this project is on curating a digital collection of records from various archives, around the themes of protest ephemera, art, and social movements during the AIDS epidemic. By centering on perspectives from the South, Southwest, and Midwest regions of the United States, the collection proposes to highlight and link the disparate records and experiences of these social movements.

About CollectionBuilder and its Possible Use Case for Community-Based Archives

CollectionBuilder is an open-source tool for creating digital collections and exhibits using simple, static web technologies. Designed to be user-friendly and accessible for those with basic web development skills—such as knowledge of HTML, CSS, and Markdown—CollectionBuilder’s template format allows users to experiment with the levels of customization they desire.

In its simplest iteration, CollectionBuilder-Sheet’s built-in development mode (Sheets Walkthrough) provides a straightforward interface for users to create and manage their digital collections by using Google Sheets to input and organize metadata. This feature allows users to easily update and maintain their collections without needing extensive technical skills, as the data in the Google Sheet is automatically transformed into a functional and visually appealing static website. While my project utilized the most complicated and customizable template (CollectionBuilder-CSV), I found CollectionBuilder-Sheets to be an ideal entry point for learning experiences focused solely on curation and metadata creation.

Given the advantages of a low learning curve and a simplified template format, I envision CollectionBuilder as a useful tool for community-based archives, especially those without formal institutional support, such as through a university or museum. CollectionBuilder could allow for a community-based archive to create collections, crowdsource contributions, manage metadata, and make their materials accessible. Its cost-effective nature and static web approach are favorable qualities for archive projects with limited institutional resources.

Using CollectionBuilder

My experiences learning to work with CollectionBuilder were quite positive. I found the learning curve manageable even while working with the most complex and customizable template. The robust documentation and community of support made the learning process much simpler.

One aspect I found challenging was learning that it was okay to experiment and break things when exploring the template repository. When I started this program, I was still relatively new to GitHub repositories and had a basic understanding of coding in Markdown, HTML, and CSS. It was through the supportive learning environment that I was able to overcome the mental barrier of ‘breaking’ something that was very fixable. Once I overcame my apprehension about potential mistakes, I was able to work at a much faster pace and was even emboldened to try and incorporate more custom elements. I found that embracing an iterative development process worked best for me and allowed me to avoid becoming too attached to any single presentation or configuration.

Among the features offered by CollectionBuilder, I was drawn to its ability to represent information spatially and temporally. The platform’s interactive maps and timelines provide a dynamic way to visualize data, which can significantly enhance the presentation of collections. These features not only make the collections more engaging but also allow for deeper insights into the contextual relationships within objects and their metadata. For example, part of the focus of my project was to shed light on the presence of AIDS activism in regions of the United States that are typically excluded from the most popular imaginaries about the AIDS epidemic. Having the ability to map out these archival objects can be a meaningful intervention.

Reflection and Future Prospects

Participating in this Student Program has been an enriching and formative experience, particularly in learning about digital collections. As I continue my research and studies, I envision several scholarly projects where CollectionBuilder could play an essential role.

First, I would like to expand on the collection I created during this program. Currently, it serves more as proof of concept than a complete collection. My initial goal was to develop the full collection within the program. However, the scope of necessary research and development time exceeded the original timeframe.

As part of an advanced archives seminar, I conducted comprehensive research on the technical aspects of salvaging, detailing, and processing the Guatemalan National Police Archive / Archivo Histórico de la Policía Nacional (AHPN). This experience furthered my interest in grassroots archive projects, ordinary people becoming impromptu archivists, and engagements with urgent archiving. I see CollectionBuilder as a valuable tool for facilitating grassroots digital archives and enabling community members, outside of the traditional archival profession, to act as curators and metadata creators.

Furthermore, I have been exploring the intersection of digital curation/preservation, audiovisual archives, and media archaeology. While I am still conceptualizing a project that integrates these domains, I envision using CollectionBuilder to create and organize objects of distinct mediums within a single collection for teaching and demonstration purposes.