Within the Hall House’s library section we have some extremely useful sources of information such as city directories for Jamestown, New York for sporadic years from 1875 all the way to 2016. Or one of our most recent donated items which was numerous copies of the Mayflower Silver Books as these items trace the descendants of the Mayflower pilgrims. Or just simply the three volume set of The History of Chautauqua County. However, another beneficial resource that people might take for granted, but not realize that we have within our library collection are a wide variety of High School yearbooks. For example, we have a selection of High School yearbooks from Falconer, Cassadaga Valley, Maple Grove, Jamestown, Chautauqua Lake, Southwestern, Randolph, Panama, Sherman, and Frewsburg.
One of the main reasons a museum library has yearbooks within its collection is due to the concept of cultural preservation. This means the yearbook can cover the cultural, social, and historical context of a particular time and place. To expand on that it means we can understand for a specific year see the popularity of sports with the school students or see how popular other clubs within the school were viewed due to the number of members in a club. This information within a yearbook also can tell us about what were some of the common trends in fashion based on what people wore then which could help a museum in understanding what clothing was popular for a certain time in history.
Another reason that museum libraries have yearbooks is because these yearbooks can provide community history within them. As within yearbooks there are some cases as to where there is information about local events that occurred during that year and how they dealt with it. A perfect example of this would be to see a yearbook from 1940-1945 to see how the yearbook documents student responses, activism, or changes in community priorities. As when we see this information it can be used to preserve the memory of how communities adapted to and were shaped by larger historical forces. Such as, seeing how many members of the student body decided to enlist in the military after the attacks on Pearl Harbor by Japan. And how as a result the community around them attempted to support them by helping create gear that the soldiers would eventually wear or rationing their goods in order to assist with the war effort.
One final rationale that museums have is just simply genealogy. While this may seem simple in theory a lot of people take these yearbooks for granted as they can contain information about where their ancestors or family members went to high school. Yearbooks are also often collected in museums because yearbooks commonly include lists of classmates, friends, and extracurricular activities. This information given can be extremely beneficial and helpful as these connections can help genealogists build a broader family tree by revealing relationships and potential networks that may not be documented elsewhere. Or in some circumstances yearbooks can lead genealogists to other records, such as newspaper articles or local histories, further expanding their research. And even in some circumstances yearbooks could break a brick wall or apparent dead end of research.
Inclusion of yearbooks in museum collections makes sure that these rich narratives and historical documents remain accessible and available to the masses. They also help foster a deeper understanding of local heritage. As repositories of memory and identity, yearbooks play an extremely crucial role in celebrating and preserving the stories that define communities which make yearbooks indispensable assets for both scholars and the public alike.
