Ricky Punzalan appointed to Library of Congress American Folklife Center’s Board of Trustees

The Librarian of Congress has appointed University of Michigan School of Information associate professor Ricky Punzalan to a six-year term on the American Folklife Center Board of Trustees. 

Punzalan, an expert in archives and digital curation, is passionate about ensuring archives and research data is most helpful to the communities it impacts and serves. 

“I’m excited for this opportunity,” says Punzalan. “It’s an honor to be appointed and I think what prompted them to ask me to join the Board is my scholarship on digital access and advocacy that encourages relationship building between institutions and  communities.” 

He has been appointed alongside platinum-selling recording artist Natalie Merchant and musician and MacArthur Fellow Martha Gonzalez. He was nominated by Dr. Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress. 

“Ricardo Punzalan is an expert in community archives and digital curation, and his expertise on community-based, participatory research projects will bring added value to the Library of Congress’ work with the American Folklife Center’s diverse collections,” Hayden says. “We believe his field research and experience working within communities will also allow him to provide invaluable advice on our work with Mellon-funded Community Collections Grants and beyond.” 

Punzalan has long advocated for archival work that not only advances academic exploration, but also enhances the wellbeing of communities. One of his current projects, ReConnect/ReCollect, seeks to decolonize the Philippine collections at U-M and make them more accessible to local, national and international Filipino communities. 

U-M’s Philippine collections were acquired during the U.S’s colonial period in the Philippines. 

“Archivists have long framed access to their collections around scholarly use,” Punzalan says. “In my research and work, I’m making an argument toward building capacities for access beyond scholarly use. 

“The goal is to ensure we are more closely attuned to the needs and perspectives of communities rather than assuming our collections are readily accessible.” 

Punzalan is most looking forward to helping provide advice and oversight to the American Folklife Center. 

UMSI professor of information and interim dean Elizabeth Yakel is looking forward to seeing Punzalan’s contributions to the board. 

“This is a well-deserved honor recognizing Punzalan’s expertise in promoting respectful access to anthropological archives and increased access by Indigenous peoples to their records in archives in general,” she says. “His work on creating dialogues between communities and cultural institutions will be an asset to this board.”

RELATED

Learn more about the Library of Congress and The American Folklife Center. 

Read “UMSI faculty leads a project to decolonize U-M Philippine collections.”

Learn more about Punzalan’s research and projects by visiting his faculty profile.