Notes from the Field highlights practical lessons from the front lines of teaching with primary sources in thematic series of open peer-reviewed articles. These short articles explore the theory and practice of teaching with primary sources, broadly relating topics to educators and practitioners from all types of institutions, teaching all kinds of students. Currently, Notes from the Field offers articles in two series: Practical How-To and Reflective Practice.
Reflective Practice Series
The Reflective Practice Series provides a space for thinking about our teaching in a broader context. Articles may relate to successes and failures in the classroom, or any other aspect of teaching with primary sources and how it relates to cultural heritage fields at large.
Advantages and Affordances of Online Special Collections Instruction
By Rachel Duke and Rory Grennan, Special Collections & Archives, Florida State University Libraries In Spring 2020, many special collections instructors immediately discovered the detriments of meeting learners online. Aside from variances in technical aptitude among instructors and learners, we lost ...Ancient Art in the Archives: Studying Artifacts During the COVID-19 Crisis
By LaraAnn Canner, Curator of Music Special Collections at Old Dominion University Libraries Noelle Jessup sketching ancient Cypriot vase.(Photograph courtesy of LaraAnn Canner, November 5, 2020) I have been told in the past that archivists need to be jacks-of-all-trades within libraries. Never ...Teaching with Artifacts: Virtual Instruction with Future Engineers
By Brooke Guthrie / Instruction sessions with artifacts are hands-on, interactive, and some of my favorite sessions to teach. At Duke University’s Rubenstein Library, where I work with the History of Medicine Collections, artifacts are used alongside rare books, manuscripts, ...
More from the Reflective Practice Series…
Practical How-To Series
The Practical How-To Series offers advice and instructions that are directly applicable to any classroom environment. From document camera usage to communication strategies, learn more about how your colleagues approach their work in the classroom.
Webinar Planning during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Using the Special Collections in Remote Learning
By Melissa Chim / Working from home during the pandemic has raised questions regarding the use of physical primary sources in a remote environment…Call for Contributions to Notes from the Field: Summer 2021
Notes from the Field, a publication of the TPS Collective, is now accepting blog post submissions about teaching with primary sources for two series of peer-reviewed blog posts!Teaching without Walls
By Ron McColl / The pandemic and the institutional mandates accompanying it have posed unique challenges for special collections librarians and archivists who teach with primary sources. At West Chester ...