Step Into the Story – Shape Tomorrow’s History

Har-Ber Village is launching a focused effort to preserve historic family and congregational Bibles that illuminate daily life, faith, genealogy, and community in Northeast Oklahoma. Many of these volumes show cracked bindings, brittle paper, loose pages, and leather deterioration from decades of handling and storage. Working with professional conservators and following AIC best practices, we will clean and mend pages, resew or reback bindings as needed, consolidate leather, create custom archival housings, and photograph key pages (title, inscriptions, family records) for responsible digital access. Select Bibles will return to rotation in the Chapel and exhibits; digital surrogates and interpretive labels will support school programs and research without risking the originals. Community members can “adopt” a Bible, sponsor a treatment, or underwrite archival supplies and digitization. Success will be measured by the number of volumes stabilized, housed, and documented; images and records made available online; and the educational programs that use these materials. This project safeguards fragile primary sources while expanding access—honoring the families who kept these books and the stories they carry for future generations.