Preserving Cordillera culture and history through the University of the Philippines Baguio Cordillera Studies Collection Library and Archives

This paper gives a short background on the Cordillera Region, the University of the Philippines Baguio Cordillera Studies Collection Library; and Cordillera/Northern Luzon Archives and its collection; and the preservation efforts being undertaken to ensure that information sources will be made available to researchers for a long time thereby assuring a memory culture of the indigenous groups of the Cordillera Region. Cordillera Studies Collection Library and the Cordillera/Northern Luzon Historical Archives are two separate offices in the University of the Philippines Baguio tasked to collect information sources on the seven major indigenous groups of the Cordillera. The Library has in its collection books, journals, conference papers, local newspapers maps and audio-visual materials showcasing the peoples’ colorful history rich culture, unique cultural heritage and often extant customs and traditions. The Library endeavors to aggressively collect all materials on the Cordillera and in whatever format these are presented. Meanwhile, the Archives’ mission is to acquire and make accessible to scholars historical documents. The collection includes the personal papers of Robert B. Fox, Sr., Laurence Lee Wilson, Howard T. Fry, Armando J. Malay, Augustus U. Saboy and Otto Johns Scheerer. Hand in hand with the acquisition of materials is the goal of preserving the photographs, field notes, letters, drawings, maps and other primary sources that are in the collection. Aware of the problem of deterioration, the Archives is embarking on a digitization project that aims to preserve the collection of the Archives. The collection that is in UP Baguio Historical Archives’ possession is a treasure trove that if not preserved, the information contained in these sources will forever be lost.