The Community Archiving Workshop (CAW) model is an open-source workshop designed to jumpstart the preservation of audiovisual collections. Usually one day, the workshop pairs trained archivists with collection caretakers and community volunteers to provide training in audiovisual collections care as they work together to accomplish a goal for an audiovisual collection. Often the workshops focus on inventory and assessment of a collection. Workshops may also include digitization, digital file organization, film inspection, and other activities.
Mission
The CAW model jumpstarts audiovisual preservation in community-held collections by bringing together audiovisual archivists and community members to work collaboratively to inspect and inventory a collection- providing the necessary groundwork for its preservation.
Foundation of the CAW model
The CAW model has its roots in the Activist Archiving workshops organized by Mona Jimenez, a professor emeritus with the Moving Image Archiving and Preservation Program (MIAP) at New York University. In 2010, Jimenez worked with the Independent Media Interest Group of the Association of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA) to hold the first workshop in conjunction with the AMIA conference. The goal was to support archiving in the communities in which the AMIA conferences were held.
The CAW model is adaptable for all collections and can be organized within any community.