Archiving, Collecting, and Honoring Stories with the American Diary Project

Since the age of 15, Sandra Haynes has been keeping a diary. She is currently on volume 281 and counting. An avid writer, with an interest in the history of diaries and significant personal collection of published diaries, Haynes discovered the American Diary Project as a suggested profile on Instagram.

“As I get older, I need an estate plan. I was interested in establishing an archive of diaries when I found this organization and realized that the hardest part was done, all I had to do was jump on board and volunteer,” Haynes said.

Every diary after volume 154 has been made by Haynes herself. Somewhere between artist books and more traditional diaries, the entire collection fills up a large bookcase. To see more of Hayne’s process and work, find her on Instagram @aliensreadmydiary.

“The weight of all of them combined, the weight of my memories weighs more than I do,” she shared.

Based out of a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, the American Diary Project repairs, preserves, digitizes and transcribes original manuscripts. They are then meta tagged, relevant material is flagged making the content searchable in a digital library, easily accessible to researchers and casual readers alike.

As a current student in the bookbinding program at the North Bennet Street School, with a background in accounting, Haynes serves as a valuable asset to the volunteer team applying for grant funding, as well as using her expertise to assist in repairs and transcription.

“What I really love about the American Diary Project is that they’ll take any American diary. These are primary documents rich in community cultural output,” she said.

If you or someone you know is interested in donating a diary to the organization, the process to do so is listed on their website, they are also currently seeking volunteers. If you would like to learn more, come chat with Sandra Haynes representing the American Diary Project at the Northampton Book Fair in the Northampton Community Arts Trust at 33 Hawley Street on the 22nd and 23rd of November.