The Central Libraries Special Collections are still here! Not on site, but working on behind-the-scenes activities like compiling statistics, building out new context for our incredible collections, and more! Just think of us as being… well, you know…just in the next room!
We miss seeing you at the library, but we’ve pulled together some of our favorite online rare sites for you to look at until we see you again!
St. John’s Bible
Baylor’s St. John’s Bible volumes are housed safely in the Rare Book Room. If you are interested in learning more about these amazing volumes, Notre Dame’s McGrath Institute for Church Life is offering a free online class “Journey with The Saint John’s Bible”. A few Baylor Libraries folks have already started and highly recommend this beautiful and inspiring journey. Sign up here: Journey with the Saint John’s Bible .
I Miss Seeing Rare Books
One of our favorite sites for online rare book content is the British Library webpage. In their digital collections you can see a wide array of digitized objects or visit their ‘Endangered Archives Program’ to see how they are helping to save valuable cultural objects. British Library Digital Collections
If you are looking for learning opportunities, check these online resources out. They include some ‘how to’ activities for children (or adults!). BL Online Learning Resources
Or you could follow along and dive into one of their blogs which I personally find brilliant and highly recommend to you all. The most recent blog links you to a page with 3D interactive historic globes. So cool.
BL Blogs
Another rare books site is Early Printed Books created by Sarah Werner, a book historian and digital media scholar based in Washington, DC. This includes a wealth of information on books between the years 1450-1800.
While it is a teaching/learning resource, those of you interested in this time period will enjoy digging around.
You can browse the ‘featured content’ section to read through various topics; browse images by use of tags (e.g. look at ‘Initial Letters’); find pedagogical exercises; and more!
Early Printed Books
But What About Archives?!
Yes! There are many sites with rich and unique archives. Our National Archives offer some online resources for educators and anyone interested in our nation’s historical documents. Check out the free webinars or the ‘Know Your Records Program’ videos.
National Archives webinars
Enjoy these resources and we hope to see you soon! Beth, Andrea, and Frank
If you are interested in more information about the collections, please send us an email at RareCollections@baylor.edu, or call at 254-710-3679 (Beth Farwell).