Instructional Support and Tours

Instructional Support 

Our team is ready to collaborate with instructors to create interactive, personalized, and hands-on experiences with our rare books and archival materials. We can design a class that meets the specific needs of the course based on our regular workshops that give students an opportunity to develop their research skills and learn how to work with primary sources.  

Introduction to ARCS

Archives and Special Collections offers short tours to various groups introducing them to our general services, the collections in our care, and any relevant historical context needed to understand the records’ creation. 

A   condensed version of the workshop is available on YouTube.

Introduction to archival research

Archives and Special Collections offers an introduction to archival research workshop. You will learn how to begin your research, how to navigate the different types of archival services, how to read a finding aid, how to use online databases, and how to cite your sources. This workshop is offered at the beginning of each academic semester, in French and in English and on demand for groups.

A condensed version of the of the workshop is available as a video here and in PowerPoint here.

Introduction to rare books

Archives and Special Collections offers an introduction to rare books workshop. Discover the basics of how to consult and use rare books; how to find them in our catalogue, how to read and handle them, as well as some information about formats, paper and decorated paper, binding, printing types, the provenance, printers, etc. Designed as an overview to demystify the world of old books.

If you are in an instructor and would like to bring your class to ARCS, please send us an email at [email protected].

When you contact us, please let us know the following:

• Proposed date and time of the class
• Class size
• Goals for what students will learn from the presentation
• Themes or subject areas you wish to cover and suggestions of specific material you would like to display
• If the class will also involve an archival assignment, an outline or plan for this project (We can help you with this).