Teaching with special collections is transformative. By integrating medieval manuscripts and rare printed books from Saint Louis University's Special Collections into a class assignment or course, students learn through direct experience the historical contexts in which information, ideas, and literature were created, read, preserved, disseminated, and transmitted through time.
Whether it is a thirteenth-century manuscript Bible, a seventeenth-century printed volume of Jesuits in Japan, or a Victorian newspaper, these texts and artifacts of intellectual and cultural history speak vividly of their times.
- Pedagogy with more impact using primary sources
- Critical skills shaped and honed through original artifacts
- Education made more empowering by holding history in one’s hands
Saint Louis University library faculty subject specialists are ready to provide classes and tours, or to help you fashion an assignment, class, or course based on original materials from our collections. Our reading rooms are available for your classroom teaching. Please contact us to discuss your instructional needs.
Classes or tours should be scheduled at least two weeks in advance. Please let us know the course title and topic, the number of students, and the length of session desired, and send a copy of your syllabus.
Students must register to use the collections, and should familiarize themselves in advance with our guidelines for reading room use and proper handling procedures for rare materials.
To arrange an instruction session or to discuss assignment, class, or course design using Saint Louis University Special Collections materials, please contact one of our subject area specialists:
- Rare Books Division
Jennifer Lowe, Rare Books Librarian Pius XII Memorial Library, Rm. 307314-977-5070 - Vatican Film Library (Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts)
Gregory Pass, Director, Vatican Film Library Pius XII Memorial Library, Rm. 110314-977-3090