1. About this handbook and the IRIS collections¶
The Thinking Like a Community Handbook is your guide to the NCW Collections, home to hundreds of oral histories, stories, and other content IRIS has gathered between 2003-2021 that add meaning and understanding to our collective experience in the region. Our focus is on good stewardship and the collaboration that fosters the sustainability of our lands, communities, and economy.
Together, the handbook and collections are intended to help residents of all ages, newcomers and old-timers alike, explore and learn about the region through the experiences of local people, generate new ideas and approaches that build on past successes, and connect with others who have similar goals. It is designed to serve as an educational hub for students and professionals and for anyone coming into this place who wants to help shape a healthy future here. We welcome you!
1.1. How the collections are organized¶
Links to the NCW Collections home page and the subcollections including the oral histories in Gathering Our Voice, stories and events in the Success Story Exchange, and videos, reports and curricula in Food Systems, appear throughout the guide. Essays by local residents about personal encounters and connections to the region that appear in the Thinking Like a Community blog are also catalogued here. Users can search the combined collections by the categories below or by projects, counties, towns, people and place names, e.g., Mary O’Brien, Waterville Plateau.
1.1.1. NCW Collections categories¶
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Throughout this handbook look for the images below to find opportunities to sample a featured project, share your story, and contribute to keep this story bank going and growing.
The handbook contains suggested activities, sample essays, featured stories, and tools for structuring classroom, research, and community study of the collections.
For ideas about how you can use the content in this collection to create your own legacy of success see the Thinking Like a Community Activity Sampler and the Activities & Resources section at the end of the handbook.
In general, if you want to learn more about the history and context of the region, search the Gathering Our Voice collection. Transcripts for most interviews are included in the collection and are available as downloads. Search the Success Story Exchange to learn more about current efforts to enhance the health of our region. You can download individual stories or bundle stories around a given place, theme, or category. Research, recommendations and outreach materials aimed at strengthening our wild and farmed food systems are in the Food Systems collection.
All together the content archived here has been developed and gathered with the help of many organizations and individuals across the region. You will see the names of the many interviewers, transcribers, and authors who have contributed to the collection as you explore the archive. You will also find links to many of IRIS’s partners and sponsors throughout this handbook. Providing access to the stories is a collaborative effort of the North Central Washington Library, the Washington State Library, and IRIS.
1.1.2. A work in progress – how to contribute¶
While the process of making the IRIS collections accessible has been years in the making, it is our expectation and hope that it will always be a work in progress. It is designed to grow over time as we review and complete interview transcripts, refine cataloging, and add more content including that from other organizations. Similarly, we hope it will grow as users share examples of how they are using the stories and other information archived here to foster the practice of “thinking like a community.” See Link feedback & suggestions.
To learn how you can help gather stories, transcribe or edit interview transcripts, contribute photos, lesson plans, or help in other ways please look for the HELP WANTED sign throughout the collections or visit the Link Contribute page.