The IU Libraries University Archives is committed to supporting the research and teaching mission of Indiana University. We are available to consult with members of the faculty on the pedagogical value and use of primary sources in the classroom, the development of assignments, and conduct instruction sessions utilizing primary sources such as diaries, photographs, correspondence, student publications, administrative records, and ephemera. Our collections present endless opportunities for student discovery and original research.
All instruction sessions at the University Archives emphasize active learning for archival and primary source literacy.
Our suite of services include (but are not limited to):
- Consultations: These might include individual course planning sessions with faculty, or research consultations with students
- Research Guides: Course or subject-specific
- Digitization: On-demand services for large class assignments (advance notice required)
- Instruction sessions at the University Archives: Sessions can range from a single class visit introducing students to the collections and how they can be utilized for research; subject-specific sessions, which offer an in-depth look at collections relating to the course; to multiple, subject-specific visits over the course of a semester with a scaffolded set of learning objectives often building to a large end of semester assignment. All sessions incorporate active hands-on learning components utilizing University Archives collections to foster student engagement and discovery.
To brainstorm about relevant University Archives holdings for your course, and/or to schedule instruction session(s) please contact Outreach and Public Services Archivist, Carrie Schwier. In your email, please include your course syllabus (a draft is fine) and two to three times you are available to meet with an archivist.
Instructional Resources:
- IU Libraries’ Primary Source Immersion Program and Information Literacy Course grants
- Guidelines for Primary Source Literacy (Developed by the SAA-ACRL/RBMS Joint Task Force on the Development of Guidelines for Primary Source Literacy, approved 2018).
- Anne Bahde, Heather Smedberg, and Mattie Taormina’s Using Primary Sources: Hands-on Instructional Exercises (Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited, 2014). (E-book)
- Eleanor Mitchell, Peggy Seiden, and Suzy Taraba’s Past or Portal? Enhancing Undergraduate Learning through Special Collections and Archives (Chicago: Association of College and Research Libraries, a division of the American Library Association, 2012).
- Library of Congress – tools and tips for utilizing primary sources in classrooms of all levels.
- DocsTeach - Teaching tools from the National Archives, includes ready-to-use activities as well as tips on how to create your own.
- TeachArchives.org - Based on an award-winning project at Brooklyn Historical Society, this site includes sample exercises used in real courses.
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