From Thursday’s New York Times on university librarians incorporating their rare book collections into undergraduate coursework:
“These objects are a link to the past, and they have a power that is undeniable,” Mr. Pollack says after class. “But these materials also are wonderful teaching tools that pose questions about how we know what we know.”
This represents a new way of thinking: rare books should be a hands-on experience.
“We’re not running a museum,” Mr. Pollack says.
Rare books and manuscripts, once restricted to scholars and graduate students in white gloves, are being incorporated into undergraduate courses at institutions like the University of Iowa, Smith College, the University of Washington and Harvard. Last academic year, almost 200 classes and student tours visited the rare-books collection of the University of Pennsylvania. That’s almost three times the number of visitors five years ago, according to Mr. Pollack.
Kudos to all involved.