The Archive has been a resource
Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2025 3:53 am
Danielle Diebler, a volunteer with the League of Women Voters of San Francisco for nearly a decade, said she was pleased to find the Internet Archive as a venue. It is conveniently located, near public transportation, outfitted with the technical support needed to live stream and record—and free to the nonprofit.
“It’s great to have a funky building that can host us,” Diebler said. “And it introduces people to a venue or service they might not actually have been exposed to—educating people on what the Internet Archive does.”
Indeed, to the League, helping digitize its historical documents.
With an in-person gathering, Diebler said, citizens have the opportunity to walk up to candidates and ask questions—something that is not possible over Zoom.
“It’s such a big election this year with so special database on the ballot,” she said. “It’s even more important to have accessible resources and understand where candidates stand on important issues.”
Emily Capage, organization administrative associate with the ACLU in San Francisco, who partnered with the League on the forums, said it was important for voters to have a place to learn about the candidates.
“People don’t often get to see them face to face. It’s our right to be able to learn and be educated,” she said. “Local politics matter. It affects our day-to-day lives more than larger national policies.”
For the money and politics event in October at the Internet Archive, Joe Rivano Barros was invited to speak. He is a senior editor of Mission Local, an independent news site based in the Mission District, and has been tracking who is funding the various ballot initiatives. “People just don’t know or get information from the campaign itself,” he said. “We shine more light on money and politics.”
There’s something about an in-person event, where people make an effort to attend, that elevates the quality of the conversation, he said. “The Internet Archive is great because it’s vast and has the tech all set up,” Barros said. “They’ve been very generous.”
“It’s great to have a funky building that can host us,” Diebler said. “And it introduces people to a venue or service they might not actually have been exposed to—educating people on what the Internet Archive does.”
Indeed, to the League, helping digitize its historical documents.
With an in-person gathering, Diebler said, citizens have the opportunity to walk up to candidates and ask questions—something that is not possible over Zoom.
“It’s such a big election this year with so special database on the ballot,” she said. “It’s even more important to have accessible resources and understand where candidates stand on important issues.”
Emily Capage, organization administrative associate with the ACLU in San Francisco, who partnered with the League on the forums, said it was important for voters to have a place to learn about the candidates.
“People don’t often get to see them face to face. It’s our right to be able to learn and be educated,” she said. “Local politics matter. It affects our day-to-day lives more than larger national policies.”
For the money and politics event in October at the Internet Archive, Joe Rivano Barros was invited to speak. He is a senior editor of Mission Local, an independent news site based in the Mission District, and has been tracking who is funding the various ballot initiatives. “People just don’t know or get information from the campaign itself,” he said. “We shine more light on money and politics.”
There’s something about an in-person event, where people make an effort to attend, that elevates the quality of the conversation, he said. “The Internet Archive is great because it’s vast and has the tech all set up,” Barros said. “They’ve been very generous.”