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A Case Study of Guerrilla Virtual Reunification from the Morningside Hospital History Project: Privacy and Access, Independence and Sustainability
Bach, Shir
Bach, Shir
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Abstract
The Lost Alaskans Morningside Hospital History Project (MHHP) is a grassroots community archival project documenting the nearly 3,500 Alaskans who were institutionalized at a private psychiatric hospital in Oregon from 1904-1960. Through semi-structured interviews with volunteers and researchers, this article analyzes the MHHP’s online patient database as an experiment in guerrilla virtual reunification—digitally reuniting scattered archival records outside of institutional partnerships. The study highlights two pairs of competing archival virtues: privacy and access, and independence and sustainability. The research underscores how community archives navigate ethical, legal, logistical, and affective challenges in their goal of documenting marginalized histories. In particular, the article discusses the fragility of grassroots digital preservation and the special challenges in documenting and identifying institutionalized people.
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2025-10-10
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- Embargoed until 2026-10-10
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Bach, S. A case study of guerrilla virtual reunification from the Morningside Hospital History Project: privacy and access, independence and sustainability. Arch Sci 25, 52 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10502-025-09519-4