Supporting Teaching with Primary Sources at Indiana University: An Ithaka S+R Summary Report

Abstract

Beginning in early 2019, Indiana University joined 24 other institutions from the United States plus two from the United Kingdom to participate in the Ithaka S&R study “Supporting Teaching with Primary Sources”. Indiana University-Bloomington (IUB) includes a vast network of over 50 galleries, libraries, archives, and museums that utilize primary sources to support the educational mission of the University. For the project, a local team of one archivist and one special collections librarian conducted interviews focusing on teaching with primary sources at IUB with the goal of identifying and developing recommendations for supporting this work at the local level. This report covers four general themes that were identified by the project team during the course of the study: The Importance of Teaching with Primary Sources, Learning to Teach with Primary Sources, Discovery and Access, and Physical Primary Sources and Collaboration.