So why are we all doing it separately?

When organizations align their missions, share platforms, and work toward a common strategy, everything changes. Costs go down. Access goes up. Small institutions gain support. Larger ones deepen their impact. And the public gets what it deserves: open access to the full story of who they are.

Because here’s the truth — access work is ecosystem work.

Digitization, indexing, and hosting require time, infrastructure, and expertise. But they’re not just technical. They’re human. They require outreach, funding, education, and engagement. They also require alignment across sectors. And they thrive when people from different institutions, backgrounds, and communities come together with a shared goal: to make history public, permanent, and free.

Access to information is being deliberately restricted, making this work urgent and partnership essential.

Whether it’s cooperative fundraising, aligning grant funding, splitting project costs, promoting each other’s collections, or co-developing community engagement strategies, collaboration is the key… and it sends a message.

It says: we are stronger together. That truth matters, especially now.

When institutions band together, they create not just a network of information but a defense against the erosion of the historical truth. A coalition of access. A frontline against forgetting.

Because history belongs to all of us. And access can—and should—be facilitated by all of us.

When truth is politicized, access becomes almost a form of resistance. When records are hidden or erased, digitization is an act of protection. When communities are told their histories don’t matter, collaboration is a statement of solidarity.

Now is the time for institutions to step up—not alone, but together.

Providing digital access to the rich history of your community is a collective effort that requires engagement and support from all corners. This isn’t just about scanning documents or hosting files. It’s about standing up. It’s about ensuring that all communities—not just the affluent or well-connected ones—have access to their own narratives, their own proof, their own past.