vii Foreword It gives me great pleasure to write a foreword for this work that examines the importance and impact of connecting archives and special collection materi- als with students and classrooms. As a 20-year-plus library and information science professional, who has spent all of my career working with archival and special collections, my experience overseeing education programs in the archive at Brooklyn Public Library completely changed my perspective of what it means to do education in the archives. The program that fostered the work you will explore in this volume was founded in Brooklyn Public Library’s Brooklyn Collection in 2007, with gen- erous support from the New York Life Foundation, by librarians who wanted to create connections to the archives of Brooklyn history held in the collec- tion. Originally geared toward eighth-grade students and their teachers, the mission was to learn firsthand about researching the past and to use the library’s materials to draw connections between life today and the history of the borough. From that initial spark, ignited by librarians, the program grew past serv- ing eighth grade and expanded over the years to accommodate fourth through 12th grades. Educators from the archive visit participating schools in their classrooms throughout the school year to provide instruction on a topic and guidance for an end-of-year project, with a focus not just on history but also on how the skills learned in archives or special collections relate to students’ education. Connections were made from social studies, when learning about changing neighborhoods, to STEM subjects, when learning about the engi- neering used to build the Brooklyn Bridge. Students visit the archive to learn valuable research skills and have hands-on experiences with materials in the collection. Students learn not only to see a historical item, but also to
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