An analysis of Teaching with Primary Sources by the Library of Congress, Via PAICE

Knowing my desire to become either a professional archivist or historian, it is no surprise that I chose a tool that deals with primary sources, one of the most utilized resources in the field. Historians use primary sources from archives similar to mathematical proof to try and propose a historical concept. The sooner one is exposed to primary sources and how to use them, the sooner one might consider a history or archivist career.

What is the Teaching with Primary Sources program?

The Teaching with Primary Source Program (TPS) is a federal grant which allows libraries to create and access digital primary sources from the Library of Congress, and other materials with a network containing other schools and institutions using TPS. The TPS Consortium, which is the name of the network all schools in the TPS program share, allows for educators to share curriculum, primary sources, and other learning material. While your institution needs approval for the grant to access TPS and the TPS Consortium, an accepted grant for the program will allow access from $35,000 to $100,000 to help implement TPS fully into the classroom.

How can it be used in the classroom to be useful?

Beginning with the TPS Consortium, this network allows for various departments and programs to find specific lesson plans, curriculum, and other materials that can be used in lessons. These additional resources should make any lesson more intriguing, as well as less difficult to plan. Again, teaching is a communal effort, and the TPS Consortium aids in fostering this community of educators.

Students meanwhile will have a great benefit with the TPS. As a history major, the process of trying to collect primary sources is grueling considering how difficult they are to find. With TPS, a student would be able to easily access the Library of Congress and the various primary sources it contains. These sources in turn makes the whole process be centralized in a location where an educator can easily find the source to properly asses the student’s work of analyzing said source.

In short, by creating a network using the Library of Congress and its archive-like structure, both educators and students can enjoy developing a further understanding of archives and history.

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