Culture and Belonging: Shared History Informs Community Culture and Belonging

Historian and archivist Dr. Marty Olliff is the Director of the Wiregrass Archives at Troy University’s Dothan Campus. Like other archivists, he seeks to identify, preserve, and make available the records of the local community. Those records inform community formation and preserve the corporate or institutional memory that typically walks out the door when an archivist is missing. We learn a great deal about how to proceed in the present and future based on our past experiences. We are tied to our communities because we share a worldview, but perhaps the healthiest communities have permeable boundaries that allow membership to change as needed.