The Archivo de Respuestas Emergencias de Puerto Rico (AREPR), or the Emergency Response Archive of Puerto Rico, is a digital open access repository that records, preserves, and disseminates oral histories and relevant disaster-related materials from grassroots Puerto Rican organizations. Utilizing methodologies grounded in the fields of community archiving and digital humanities, AREPR serves as a model for community-engaged researchers to envision and implement projects that are people-first, socially-conscious, and non-extractive. This presentation explores how AREPR’s innovative infrastructure spans theory, technology, and praxis by (1) embracing postcustodial archiving practices; (2) co-creating and co-designing open source software with community partners; (3) partnering with community organizations to determine who, what, where, when, and how information will be shared; (4) collaborating with students in cross-campus research and curricular activities; and (5) building a collaborative framework that allows participating community organizations to collect, preserve, and share archival materials during and beyond the scope of the project. Each of these strategies demonstrate how infrastructure can be reinvented and reimagined to create new opportunities for community engagement, knowledge curation, and social activism. 

Christina Boyles is an Associate Professor of Information and Library Sciences in the Luddy School at Indiana University Bloomington. Her research explores the relationship between critical archival and data studies, community-centered praxis, and social justice. She currently directs projects funded by the Mellon Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities, including the Archivo de Respuestas Emergencias de Puerto Rico, or the Emergency Response Archive of Puerto Rico, a digital humanities project that works with community organizations to collect and preserve oral histories and artifacts pertaining to disaster. The project is available at arepr.org.