Preserving a different kind of dental record

When Ben Alkaly was hired as the director of communications at the UCLA School of Dentistry in July 2022, one of the first things he noticed was all the "stuff" - a stack of publications in one office, a box of black-and-white photos in another, manilla folders everywhere.

"Early in my tenure, I had to write the obituary of a former dean who sadly passed away," Alkaly recalled. "Not finding any high-resolution, previously scanned images to accompany the story, I took a deep breath and dove into a huge, random assortment of photos. I was prepared to spend half a day thumbing through our archives but somehow unearthed Dean Cherrick's 1988 portrait within the first couple minutes of my search."

When the school's development team asked him to rehome two large filing cabinets of materials labeled "Communications," Alkaly knew something had to give. And he knew just who to contact. Having previously served as a communications manager for the UCLA Library system, Alkaly had been a frequent visitor to Library Special Collections, where he became familiar with the treasure trove of Bruin history in the 75-year-old University Archives.

"Sharing content from the University Archives, whether in a social media post or longer-form web piece, was among the most gratifying aspects of my job at the library," Alkaly said. "UCLA pride runs deep, and I got to fuel some of that passion by surfacing photos of Bruin luminaries or iconic campus spots and just watching the comments roll in."

In early 2023, Alkaly reached out Jennifer Osorio, director of UCLA Library Special Collections, with a request to absorb decades of the school's written and visual history into the archives. After all, he noted, the library'sdentistry materials were limited to a small box of publications - spanning its 1964 opening through 1989 - and a selection of scanned images.

Later that year, Andrea Hoff, UCLA's newly appointed university archivist, visited the school to assess the scope and scholarly value of what was sitting in all those dusty boxes. She also shared a pearl of archivist wisdom that Alkaly's communications team put into action: Using the Timeline JS platform to build an interactive chronology of the school's first 60 years.

In the end, the relocation plan was approved, and the transfer of the school of dentistry's historical materials will happen early this fall, just after the school hosts its 60th anniversary celebration.

UCLA Newsroom spoke with Hoff and Alkaly about their project and the future of Bruin record-keeping, in all forms.

Andrea, you're approaching one year as UCLA's university archivist. What are some collecting priorities early in your tenure?

Andrea Hoff: I believe that the archives should reflect the community that they serve and represent. Everyone should be able to see their story in the archives. To that end, I've been familiarizing myself with the collections in University Archives to see what gaps we can fill. Like many university archives, we have done a terrific job of capturing the voices and research contributions of our faculty. UA has traditionally been the domain of "official" university records. This has meant that student voices have not always been well represented from the archives. So, my top priority is to increase the representation of students in the archives. I'm especially interested in collecting materials from student organizations. As always, I will continue to place a high priority on collecting university records from the various administrative and academic units at UCLA.

Over this first year, what is one gem that you uncovered from UCLA's past that really resonated with you?

Andrea Hoff: I recently discovered some posters that students created during the Vietnam War protests here on campus in the 1960s. They were created using a serigraph process, so the colors are extremely vibrant and beautiful. I love these because they are works of art that express the voices of students during a difficult time in our history.

Upon receiving a request to add materials to the Archives from a campus unit like the school of dentistry, explain the process for determining if it's a good fit.

Andrea Hoff: Our mission is to create collections that will be used for teaching and research. To that end, the records must have historical or administrative value. I also check to ensure that records are in good condition - that is, there is no mold or damage that cannot be remediated - and verify that they are not duplicative, meaning that they are not already within our holdings. The records from the school of dentistry tell an important story about the founding of the school, which is an integral part of UCLA history. There is only one other university in the UC system that has a school of dentistry, so it is something that makes UCLA unique.

Ben Alkaly: I'm certainly grateful that Andrea and her colleagues saw value in preserving our school's records, and not just because of the office space it will free up! I would hate for these irreplaceable items to degrade, become damaged or disappear on my watch. It's reassuring to know they will be cataloged, stored in a secure, climate-controlled space and made accessible to anyone with interest in the UCLA School of Dentistry.

Similar to the question posed to Andrea above, did you have a "that's so cool" moment while sifting through all those dental records?

Ben Alkaly: I did the last of my pre-sorting - deciding what would go to the library, what we should keep and what belonged in the recycling bin - just before the Summer Olympics started in July. I happened upon an article from the California Dental Association Journal in 2000 profiling its past president, Dr. Russell Webb. I learned that in between earning his two UCLA degrees ('68, D.D.S. '78), Dr. Webb was a member of the U.S. water polo team and won a bronze medal at the 1972 Munich Games. This serendipitous discovery led to a social media post that really resonated with our community.

Andrea, we imagine the past two-plus decades have seen an exponential increase in digital and online-only archival material, coupled with a decrease in physical ephemera. How is the field evolving to preserve histories in a tech-centric world?

Andrea Hoff: We are indeed seeing a lot more born-digital material in the archives. Digital archivists are able to archive websites, email and many other formats. It requires a specific set of technical skills and tools to archive digital material, but the principles and the need for archivists to preserve and make the materials accessible remains constant. Many people think that once materials have been digitized, then they are preserved, but that could not be further from the truth. If anything, digital materials require more intervention and maintenance than paper-based materials, so the work of digital archivists is extremely important.

Ben Alkaly: This project got me thinking about how to preserve the school's more recent history, which from around 2002 onward is mainly digital and resides on a shared drive. Access is limited to a select few employees at our school, but is that the best place for such files? I certainly won't be making a second big archiving ask of the UCLA Library so soon, but perhaps Andrea can give me and my communications peers embedded in UCLA's schools and colleges some valuable guidance on born-digital material preservation.

An archivist is not a professional hoarder but rather an enthusiastic sharer. Andrea, what are ways you educate the UCLA community about the richness of our shared archives and make them accessible for scholarly activity?

Andrea Hoff: I'm always looking for opportunities to engage the UCLA community with the archives. As far as scholarly activities, we support researchers in Library Special Collections in many ways. We use the collections in classes. We provide research consultations to scholars all over the world. Our digital collections are another great resource for scholars. In addition, we feature a lot of our materials in exhibits and host events and workshops where scholars can share their work with the UCLA community.

When the school of dentistry's records are sorted, cataloged and made available for paging,what are some future uses you envision?

Ben Alklaly: Among the world's elite universities, UCLA is relatively young. And at 60, the school of dentistry is young both among campus entities and as a leading center for oral health education. I was here in 2019 and early 2020 when the campus was abuzz with centennial celebrations. My hope is that when UCLA marks its 150th anniversary and bicentennial, these materials will help weave dentistry into the campus narrative, as a major contributor to the university's ongoing research, discovery and innovation.

Andrea Hoff: Once these archives are processed and cataloged, they will be available to researchers within the next few years. I'm always excited when we can help celebrate a milestone for a particular school or department using materials from the archives. It's fascinating to look back on the past and see how far we've come and think about what lies ahead. I hope these archives activate that excitement and inspire curiosity about the past and the future.