Most of us (and probably all Gen-Zers) carry around digital phones that can record video, capture photos, call, text, post on social media, and recall memories in an endless scroll… So, it’s a curious thing that students at Middlebury College recently put together an exhibit that highlights actual, hardcopy, paper scrapbooks that previous Midd students have put together over the past century.

“I think with growing up in the digital age we’ve lost the art of keeping and preserving physical memories,” said curator and designer of the exhibit “Scrapped!” Ambar Vasquez-Mitra. “Sure having the ability to take and store pictures on your phone is useful and convenient, but what happens when you lose those files to some tech issue or lose the device itself? Those images are gone forever. It was only a generation ago that we were keeping family albums with pictures from decades ago it would be nice to continue these memories even with technology.”

Vasquez-Mitra, along with fellow student Yvette Fordjour (’26), library preservationist Joseph Watson and the Davis Special Collections staff, have put together an exhibit that provides insight into student life, popular culture and milestones from decades past. The exhibit opens on Friday, Feb. 21, with a reception at 3 p.m., in the Davis Family Library atrium.

“The art of scrapbooking, which dates back to the Middle Ages, has evolved into an innovative and personal way of preserving memories,” reads the exhibits description. “At Middlebury, students have embraced this craft for well over a century, with the earliest scrapbooks in the archives dating back to the late 1800s.”

THIS SCRAPBOOK BY Elizabeth Parker, class of 1930, features letters, programs, photos, dance cards, and a cigarette.

These scrapbooks offer a tangible, physical record of experiences that invite reflection on what Middlebury students once deemed worthy of preserving.

While exploring the pages of these scrapbooks, the exhibit shows themes of community, celebration, and self-expression on campus that have transcended time and reflections of the changing ways in which the definition of a “Midd Kid” has been captured and reinvented.

“[I was surprised] how close to home the materials felt,” said New York City resident Vasquez-Mitra. “There were many events, inside jokes and memories in these scrapbooks that I myself had lived through or seen around me and I was surprised to see the similarities.”

Today, as it ever was, a “Midd Kid” means “being passionate,” said Vasquez-Mitra, “whether it’s about academics, athletics, clubs or community.”

Through these distinct and shared experiences, Vasquez-Mitra and the curating team invites viewers to think about the timeless nature of memory-making and the creativity each generation uses to tell its story.

Of course, Vasquez-Mitra uses social media and digital pictures to make her memories. “But,” she acknowledges, “in all honesty, [it’s] not the best way to preserve memories long-term.”

RUTH HESSELGRAVE, CLASS of 1918, created this scrapbook.

Vasquez-Mitra, who plans to graduate this spring, is a History major and Museum Studies and Portuguese minor who works in Special Collections as a Student Associate and Oral History Intern. She has been working on this exhibit since this past October, and has figured out that there’s something special about a tangible memory.

“I’ve been collecting ephemera/mementos from my college experience: tickets, posters, pictures, which are currently in a collage on my dorm wall,” she said. “Once I graduate I hope to turn it into a scrapbook of my own Midd experience.”

So maybe we don’t scrap the scrapbooks just yet. Head over to the Davis Library and check out what memories are actually made of — the exhibit will be on display through the spring.

For more info visit middlebury.edu/library/news. Watch a video behind the scenes here.