History in Motion: Preserving Community History through the Santa Barbara Community Archives Project
Presenters:
Laura Jean Treat Liebhaber (UCSB Library)
Veronica Luke (Origins Archival)
Jessica Law (UCSB Library)
Join us for a presentation by UCSB Library Special Research Collections and Origins Archival,a post-production services company located in Hollywood, and learn how these two organizations are working to preserve local history through the Santa Barbara Community Archives Project (SBCAP).
Curator Laura Jean Treat Liebhaber will discuss the importance of home movie preservation, drawing from her the work with the community-based archiving initiative SBCAP. Archival Film Manager Veronica Luke will share how she and the team at Origins Archival digitize films to preserve community memories that might otherwise decay, remain unseen, or ultimately be lost. This discussion will offer valuable insights into the meticulous process behind this essential work and include digitized home movies saved through the project.
Laura Jean Treat Liebhaber is a Curator at UCSB Library Special Research Collections where she oversees the Film & Television, Santa Barbara & Local History, and Oral History Collections and co-directs the Library’s Santa Barbara Community Archives Project (SBCAP). For more than a decade Laura has dedicated her professional work to advocating for the preservation of regional motion picture histories, particularly home movies and local television. Laura holds an M.S.I.S. from the University of Texas at Austin’s School of Information. She is a Board Member of the Association of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA).
Veronica Luke is the Archival Film Manager at Origins Archival, a motion picture digitization and restoration company based in Hollywood, California. Her interest in film preservation and archival practices began with her internship at historic film distributor and experimental cinema archival Canyon Cinema, in San Francisco. She has dedicated the past five years to learning film preservation practices, and is continuing in her pursuit of a M.L.I.S from the University of California, Los Angeles starting in Fall 2025.
Jessica Law is Associate Director of Development for UC Santa Barbara Library, where she oversees annual giving, grant writing, and community engagement efforts. She also contributes to the Santa Barbara Community Archive Project (SBCAP). She brings a background in museums and collections, with prior roles at the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery at the University of British Columbia and the Kennedy Museum of Art at Ohio University.
JCafé is a social program for the 65+ Jewish community, offering a delicious deli lunch followed by an engaging class, film, or lively discussion! For just $10, enjoy a deli buffet, drinks, and dessert. JCafé takes place every Tuesday from 11:30am-1:30pm.
If you have any questions, contact Ashley Belinfante at abelinfante@sbjf.org. If you are interested in leading a class or lecture, we'd love to hear from you! We are currently welcoming ideas and volunteers.