Framingham State University, in partnership with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, will hold a special Community Collecting Initiative on Saturday, May 13th, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Athletic Gym, featuring Boston Red Sox Hall of Famer Luis Tiant.

“Latinos and Baseball: In the Barrios and the Big Leagues,” is a multi-year collecting initiative to identify artifacts that reflect the social and cultural influence of the game in Latino communities. This unique event invites the Latino and wider community to share artifacts related to their personal baseball experiences, or to their favorite Latino baseball players.

The event will be followed by a special celebration of FSU’s official designation as a Smithsonian Affiliate in the Christa McAuliffe Center for Integrated Science Learning from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Framingham State is one of just six Smithsonian Affiliates in Massachusetts and the only one located at a college or university.

“We are truly honored to be recognized as an official Smithsonian Affiliate and thrilled to host our first event in partnership with the Smithsonian Institute,” says FSU President F. Javier Cevallos.

The collecting event invites the Latino and wider community to share artifacts related to their personal baseball experiences, or to their favorite Latino baseball players. Framingham State University’s digital archivists will scan or photograph the community’s baseball memorabilia and add the images to an online collection in Framingham State University’s digital repository http://digitalcommons.framingham.edu/. Examples of items to bring to the event include: photographs, ticket stubs, programs, baseball cards, jerseys, trophies, baseballs or baseball gloves.

Two members from the Smithsonian will be available to share stories of artifacts that have been collected through other community events.

Other Highlights of the event will include:

• A chance to meet Boston Red Sox Hall of Famer Luis Tiant
• View historical memorabilia provided by the Boston Red Sox and speak to the Red Sox curator, Sarah Coffin, to learn about their history
• Share your favorite baseball memory
• An opportunity to view Framingham State’s own historical collections on Alumna Christa McAuliffe, the First Teacher in Space, and on our founding as the nation’s first public college for the education of teachers

For more information about the event, see our guide - Framingham State University’s Community Collecting Event: http://libguides.framingham.edu/latinosandbaseball