Every other fall semester, Dr. Michael Martin of the Fort Lewis College History Department teaches a class on archival theory and practice, as part of the public history emphasis for history majors. For this course, the Center's Delaney Southwest Research Library archival collections are used as "a living lab". In this demonstration, students from the Fall 2015 class will discuss the process of organizing an archival collection, and will present their outlook on preserving history for the future. This program is open to both the campus and regional communities to see how the Center fits into Fort Lewis College academics, and how students are getting hands-on lessons in the preservation of history. The state of Colorado is highly favorable to public history because of the importance of tourism and heritage tourism to the state. Colorado’s gambling tax produces over $10 million dollars a year for the State Historical Fund, which dispenses funds for educational programs and historical projects. Fort Lewis College is in a unique position to train public history students because of the proximity to many museums, including tribal museums and preservation offices, national parks and historical sites. The Center of Southwest Studies’ Delaney Research Library collects, preserves, organizes and makes available research materials for not only the academic programs at Fort Lewis College, but for the general public and researchers regionally and from around the world.