The first, "Lighting the Way: A Preliminary Report on the National Forum on Archival Discovery and Delivery," was released in November 2020, synthesized information about the Forum design and structure, provided evaluation and analysis of the activities, and identified emerging themes and areas for potential focus. The most consistent themes centered around the ongoing need for a community focused on archival discovery and delivery. Additional areas of interest included removing barriers and addressing cultural issues with archives and special collections, developing a national “virtual reading room” for controlled online access to digital materials, developing a community of practice around user studies in archives, incorporating decolonial and anti-racist practices, and contributing to shared technical infrastructure. The work to prepare this report was central informing next steps for the project given the COVID-19 pandemic, and directly impacted the planning of the project's Working Meeting.

Cite as: Matienzo, Mark A., Dinah Handel, Josh Schneider, and Camille Villa. "Lighting the Way: A Preliminary Report on the National Forum on Archival Discovery and Delivery." Stanford University Libraries. November 2020. https://purl.stanford.edu/rt078dm2196

The second report, Facilitating and Illuminating Emergent Futures for Archival Discovery and Delivery: The Final Report of the Lighting the Way Project, summarizes the work and outcomes of the entire project, giving context on project and event design, outcomes, and evaluation. Through analysis of participant and project advisor feedback, the outcomes of individual facilitated activities, and the contributions to The Lighting the Way Handbook, the project team identified a set of insights across the project that resonate with larger professional trends, as well as four recommendations to sustain the work undertaken by the project. The report concludes with a set of next steps for the project team and their collaborators to build on those recommendations.

Cite as: Dinah Handel and Mark A. Matienzo. Facilitating and Illuminating Emergent Futures for Archival Discovery and Delivery: The Final Report of the Lighting the Way Project. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Libraries. November 2021. https://doi.org/10.25740/jm302fq5311