This was a program of the Boston Regional Library System. I was only able to get to the end of this presentation, so I missed the--already-blogged!--segments from:
Earle Havens, Acting Curator
Rare Books and Manuscripts, BPL
http://www.bpl.org/research/rb/collections.htm
Beth Prindle
Manager, John Adams Library Project
http://www.johnadamslibrary.org/
I came in at the end of the presentation from:
Ron Grim, Curator and Roni Pick, Director
Norman B. Leventhal Map Center
http://maps.bpl.org/
This collection has many maps with birdseye views—users can zoom in on the maps to see buildings, ships, etc.
Marta Pardee-King, Curator of Social Sciences, BPL
http://www.bpl.org/research/socsci/index.htm
Many electronic resources are available from home:
http://www.bpl.org/electronic/index.htm
Using maps with students helps illuminate the events/locations (e.g., when the outline of Boston has changed)
Often the BPL has both scanned images and transcribed text from historic documents; helpful so students can understand the text, but also can see the original.
Marta showed examples and discussed ways to use these documents with students:
:
Textbooks from an older era
Images of people, both old and recent
Examples of changing vocabulary
Political commentary (e.g. cartoons)
Minorities are also represented
For genealogists/beyond the census: Ancestry and New England Ancestors (In library only), city directories, town histories
For a list of primary documents covered by the Massachusetts History and Social Science Curriculum Framework, see:
http://www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/hss/final.pdf
Appendix A
An issue brought up during Q&A:
Availability of the online materials/indexes means the use of the physical materials is increasing as well, as users are more aware of what exists in these collections, raising preservation issues.
Showing posts with label John Adams. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John Adams. Show all posts
Thursday, May 3, 2007
BPL - Encounters with History
Wow! Ancient books that belong to you!
Earle Havens, Acting Curator at BPL talked about the greatest technology, the book, and held up some rare specimans for the audience, including a page from the first printed Bible, the originals of Shakespeare's works, and a book that saved a life in the Civil War (the gunshot hit the book in the soldier's pocket).
Adams gave his library to the country, Jefferson sold his 6,000 books for $25,000 to refurbish the Library of Congress after a fire. Beth Prindle, Manager of the John Adams Library sees this as a testament to John Adams, the farmer's kid from Braintree, as a true founder of democracy. The Adams Project shows Adams permanent record of his interaction with the book. Hundreds of these books have the mark of the owner: underlining, prices, ownership, and "interpretive commentary" Adams argued with his books. "John Adams never saw a piece of paper, he didn't feel compelled to write on it."
Beth Prindle says: BPL is about access, so they developed two websites:
On the Timeline: Personal context in a chronological order with links to his works and artifacts; His face ages asyou precede on the timeline. World history is also linked to the site to give a framework.
When you hold the book, Beth says, you have a powerful experience of holding the book that Adams held, but by putting these books online, the access and research capibilities are harnessed by the Internet. BPL is offering both experiences. Beth also spoke of exhibitions in other locations and unique things that mark early American history. and how this added curatorial content adds to the enjoyment of history and more research possibilities.
http://www.johnadamslibrary.org
Beth said passionately: If no one knows you have it, what purpose is it?
I had a chance to do a bus tour to BPL this spring so I encourage you to visit the exhibit soon, but for digital excellence also check out the website.
Earle Havens, Acting Curator at BPL talked about the greatest technology, the book, and held up some rare specimans for the audience, including a page from the first printed Bible, the originals of Shakespeare's works, and a book that saved a life in the Civil War (the gunshot hit the book in the soldier's pocket).
Adams gave his library to the country, Jefferson sold his 6,000 books for $25,000 to refurbish the Library of Congress after a fire. Beth Prindle, Manager of the John Adams Library sees this as a testament to John Adams, the farmer's kid from Braintree, as a true founder of democracy. The Adams Project shows Adams permanent record of his interaction with the book. Hundreds of these books have the mark of the owner: underlining, prices, ownership, and "interpretive commentary" Adams argued with his books. "John Adams never saw a piece of paper, he didn't feel compelled to write on it."
Beth Prindle says: BPL is about access, so they developed two websites:
On the Timeline: Personal context in a chronological order with links to his works and artifacts; His face ages asyou precede on the timeline. World history is also linked to the site to give a framework.
When you hold the book, Beth says, you have a powerful experience of holding the book that Adams held, but by putting these books online, the access and research capibilities are harnessed by the Internet. BPL is offering both experiences. Beth also spoke of exhibitions in other locations and unique things that mark early American history. and how this added curatorial content adds to the enjoyment of history and more research possibilities.
http://www.johnadamslibrary.org
Beth said passionately: If no one knows you have it, what purpose is it?
I had a chance to do a bus tour to BPL this spring so I encourage you to visit the exhibit soon, but for digital excellence also check out the website.
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