By Katelynn Cole

Did you know Upper Arlington’s original school colors were orange and black?

Or that Thompson Park is located on land originally intended for Upper Arlington High School?

Or that the first teacher in UA, Mary Boyer, held her class in King Thompson’s basement, one of the city’s founders?

These are just a few of the interesting facts the UA Archives stores at the Upper Arlington Public Library, where the city’s history is preserved and made readily available to residents.

According to the archives’ Web site at www.uaarchives.org, “The goal of the UA Archives digital library program is to preserve original documents, photographs, maps and other media related to the history and culture of Upper Arlington, Ohio, while offering increased visibility and improved access to these valuable primary reference sources.”

The library initiated the UA Archives program in November 2002 and spent the next two years scanning and categorizing physical documents to put on their Web site. The Web site officially went live in September 2004, making it easier for the public to access many historical documents.

Now, the archives have another outlet to disseminate historical information to the curious. As with many businesses and organizations, the UA Archives are experimenting with various social media Web sites. The archives have a Facebook page, complete with trivia questions and photos; a Twitter page with more than 500 followers reading interesting facts; and a Flickr account with several historical photographs of the city.

“The main goal behind putting the UA Archives on Facebook and Twitter was to raise awareness about our online historical resources and our mission, and to give the community an opportunity to participate and become personally engaged in our community's history,” says Sara Klein, digital collections coordinator for the UA Archives.

Klein has posted decades-old yearbook photos to Facebook and, within just a few minutes, fans have identified former students, who have included Cameron Mitchell and Wendy Thomas (of Wendy’s restaurants fame).

“I try to post a mix of historical facts with broad appeal, and then relate them to our local collections,” Klein says.

Before the social media campaign began in the spring, these historical items were often inaccessible to people who may have wanted to research them. Some of these items include photographs, copies of all of the high school’s yearbooks, original maps of the city, old advertisements, copies of Norwester Magazine and information about daily life when the city was first founded. Now these items are available online.

“The thing I find invaluable about social media outlets is that they make our collection accessible to a broad audience, and they allow us to share our enthusiasm for history with people who otherwise might not have discovered the UA Archives collection,” says Klein.

Another goal of the of the UA archives is to give people, businesses and organizations in the community a chance to add anything of historical value they may have to the collection.

“We are always eager to add historically significant items in any format,” Klein says. Once added to the collection, they will be easily accessible online and a part of the city’s history forever.

“Libraries are all about helping people expand their knowledge and explore the world around them by improving access to information,” Klein adds. “Some of our tools may change, but our mission remains the same.”

Katelynn Cole is a contributing writer for Upper Arlington Magazine.