While there are many libraries that function as Archival facilities, there are some libraries that hold archival materials unique to the library’s community.  Community Archives, which is  defined as “a documentation of a group of  people that share common interests, and social, cultural and historical heritage…”(Society of American Archivists, 2022) serves to preserve the lived experiences of individuals and groups who may have been overlooked in history or, who may have been forgotten at one point in time.

      The term Community archives are most commonly  made in refence to preserving the voices of marginalized communities that have been excluded from the historical record (archivistasenespanglish, 2020). The SAA also notes that community archives are often created by members of the group being documented (Society of American Archivists, 2022) and are usually preserved outside of traditional archives.  While members of various communities have worked to shed light on groups who have been overlooked historically, I would also make the argument that community archives can be extended to smaller cities, towns, and rural areas that have also been overlooked in terms of its development and the people who have shaped and contributed to those communities. Such is the case Portage, a small city in southwest Michigan. 

     The City of Portage is a small city with a population of approximately 49,224.  The city was incorporated in December 13, 1963 with the collaboration of a nine member Charter commission and the accompanying assistance of the 43rd Governor of  Michigan, George Romney. The unique tale of the development of Portage is tale of a city that was greatly overshadowed by its larger counterpart, Kalamazoo–a city with a population of 76,106 and approximately 8 miles from Portage. In the 1960s, the city of Kalamazoo sought to annex Portage, but Portage fought an aggressive campaign against  annexation of the larger city by way of petition and eventually became its own city. 

     The city of Portage is filled with unique histories dating from the Potawatomi settlements prior to the 1840s, to the rich celery industry that was brought to the region by the Dutch in the 1860s, to the establishment of its notable bicentennial park in the 2000s. The small city tells many tales of those who previously inhabited and contributed to its formation and its residents wanted to ensure that their stories were not overlooked. The Portage District Library was established in 1976 and as part of  its construction, Library Director Frank Hemphill  made the decision to include the Heritage Room in its structural development. The room consisted of a growing collection of historic documents, books, diaries, and letters of community founders, photographs, oral history, recordings and other precious artifacts that would be preserved and made available to the public under the care of a city historian. (Massie, 2016, p.65-66). 

    In April of 2021, the Portage District Library closed its doors for renovation. In addition to expanding the the building and establishing a makerspace, creating additional study rooms and upgrading its existing infrastructure, the Heritage Room was relocated to the the main level of the library.  The Portage District Public Library reopened in May of 2022.  With its new relocation within the library building, the Heritage room still remains the city’s repository for the history of Portage (Portage District Library, 2022) and still maintains numerous books, documents, photographs, and artifacts relating to Portage, Kalamazoo County and South West Michigan (Portage District Library, 2022). The Heritage room is open during library hours and is staffed by part-time local historian, Steve Rossio.