Service

Teach with Special Collections

Collaborate with us to create learning experiences that deepen engagement with primary sources and material culture.

Partner with us to create active learning experiences using Harvard Library’s special collections and archival materials. We work with classes and groups of all levels and affiliations, in person or online – you don’t need to be a Harvard community member. 

Tell us about your learning goals and we’ll help you identify the collections and activities that best support them.
 

Request a Session

Discover, Engage, Collaborate

Whether you’re looking to bring a class or group to one of our libraries for a single visit, want to develop a semester-long project with us, or anything in between, we’re here to facilitate your learning and curiosity. We can:

  • Lead interactive sessions with materials from one or more libraries, with customized materials and learning outcomes
  • Suggest sources and activities to support learning objectives
  • Help you create assignments or projects using our collections
  • Keep materials on hold in our reading rooms for students
  • Create guides to specific collections, including tips for navigating search and discovery
  • Visit your class or group for orientations and discussions
  • Offer individual consultations with learners of all levels

Engaging with archives and special collections makes the people, places, events, and time periods you’re exploring come alive. Our staff and collections can help you build observational and critical thinking skills, spark discussion, identify gaps in students’ knowledge, complicate historical narratives, and provoke new research questions.

3 students flip through various rare books as part of a class at Houghton Library
Students work with special collection materials at Houghton Library as part of a class on the Declaration of Independence.

Contact Us 

For more information or to schedule class support, please complete our request form. The further in advance you submit your request, the more support we’ll be able to offer you. 

After you submit your request, you’ll hear from us confirming your request and outlining next steps.