Houghton Library staff are happy to host class visits with hands-on exploration of our collections, provide student consultations, or help you develop out-of-class learning experiences for your students.
Whether you are looking to bring your students to Houghton Library for a single visit, develop a semester-long project with us, or anything in between, we’re here to support your students’ learning.
Request Class Support
The first step to integrating Houghton Library into your course is submitting a request. If you have questions about what kinds of support we can offer, you can also get in touch with us for more information.
Staff and space are in high demand throughout the semester, so please make your requests early. Four weeks is our minimum notice, but the sooner you get in touch with us, the more likely we are to be able to accommodate your request. We are happy to host repeat visits, but cannot host more than 4 total visits per course.
Class visits provide opportunities for students to make active use of our collections and staff expertise. If you have additional class business to accomplish on the date of your visit, like lectures or slide presentations, we ask that you use your regular classroom for those activities.
You'll be asked for the following information when you submit a class request:
- goals for your students' work with our collections
- course title and number
- instructor contact information
- number of students in the class
- possible dates and times for your class visit, in order of preference
Houghton's Printing Studio
Our printing studio can accommodate small groups of students for interactive demonstrations on the invention of printing and other hands-on workshops customized to your teaching goals.
Things to Keep In Mind When Selecting Materials
We recommend no more than 12 items per visit. Fewer items can allow students to engage more closely with the materials than an overwhelming display. Large classes or certain activities may require more items—talk with the librarian or archivist working with you on your class if needed.
If you would like to select the materials for your class visit, please request them at least 2 weeks in advance. This gives us time to prepare materials and, when necessary, select substitutes for items that are too fragile or otherwise unavailable.
Preparing Your Students
- Make sure your students know where to meet on class day. We typically meet in the Houghton lobby before going to our classrooms. Printing workshops meet in the lobby of Lamont.
- Students are welcome to bring in cell phones and laptops. We provide pencil and paper for taking notes. If you expect your students to need other material in our classrooms (like notebooks or course readings), talk to us in advance.
- To protect our collections from accidental damage, students will be asked to put most of their personal belongings (including all bags, laptop cases, and jackets) in lockers. Food and drink are also not allowed in our classrooms.
- Due to the nature of our materials, special collections libraries typically have different security measures than other libraries students may have worked in. Our classrooms have cameras and the lobby guards will ask to inspect all materials brought in and out of Houghton.