Episode 093: Taylor Stoermer, Harvard University & Colonial North America

by Liz CovartAugust 2, 2016

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What can the collections of the Harvard University Libraries teach us about our early American past?

It turns out, quite a lot.

Taylor Stoermer, a Visiting Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, takes us through the Harvard Libraries’ new digital and free-to-use history archive: the Colonial North American Project.

About the Show

Ben Franklin’s World is a podcast about early American history.

It is a show for people who love history and for those who want to know more about the historical people and events that have impacted and shaped our present-day world.

Each episode features a conversation with a historian who helps us shed light on important people and events in early American history.

Episode Summary

In this episode, Taylor Stoermer, a Visiting Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, leads us on an exploration through the Harvard Libraries’ new digital history archive: The Colonial North American Project.

During our exploration, Taylor reveals what the Colonial North American Project is and details about the records in contains; The history of the Harvard University Libraries and John Hancock’s relationship with the university; And, how we can best navigate the Colonial North American Project when we want to explore its holdings.

What You’ll Discover

The Colonial North American Project
The number of collections the Harvard University Libraries has digitized
The history of the Harvard University Libraries
How the history of the Harvard University Libraries has shaped the materials it has collected
John Hancock and his relationship with Harvard
How to navigate and use the Colonial North American Project database
How to maximize your ability to search the Colonial North American Project
Myth of the digital archive
The role women played in Harvard’s day-to-day operations
Records about women in the Colonial North American Project database
Strengths of the database’s collection
Why a Harvard student joined the British Army in the middle of the War for Independence
Harvard University Libraries’ digitization process
How historians use and create metadata
How the Colonial North American Project renders digitized materials

Links to People, Places, and Publications

Time Warp Question

In your opinion, what might have happened if John Harvard had not bequeathed his 400 book library and £779 sterling to “New College” or “the college at New Towne” in 1639? How would the history of the university and what we know about early American history because of its library collections be different?