New England Immigration Stories by Students
by Maureen Mann, MLS Elementary Library Media Specialist Wellesley Public Schools & member of the Outreach & Education Committee The University of Massachusetts Lowell (U-Mass Lowell) has created two timely resources for K-12 educators to enhance immigration studies. As the Biden administration works to redefine pathways to citizenship for our southern borders over the coming months, these…
New Collections Added in December & January
As the decade turned on an unprecedented pandemic year, Digital Commonwealth continued its work, adding the following collections. Map lovers will rejoice at the newly added offerings of assorted city streets, plans and projects over the decades. Boston Public Library Boston Redevelopment Authority Collection (130 items) Boston Public Library Norman B. Leventhal Map Center Collection…
Along the Elevated: Photographs of the Orange Line
Clockwise from top left: Washington Street, Roxbury from a moving elevated train; Along the El; Elevated subway supports, Jamaica Plain; Chinese jump rope, Chinatown, Boston. All images from Along the Elevated: Photographs from the Orange Line at the Boston Public Library. From 1901 to 1987, the MBTA’s elevated Orange Line ran between Chinatown, the South…
The Florence Johnson Herbarium: Interview with Sharon Hawkes
Jean Maguire, member of Digital Commonwealth’s Outreach & Education Committee, recently interviewed Sharon Hawkes, Director of the Nahant Public Library about the Florence Johnson Herbarium Collection. Could you please tell us a little about the history, acquisition, and contents of the Florence Johnson Herbarium collection? Florence “Miss Flossie” Johnson was a school teacher here in Nahant…
New Collections Added in November
Of special and timely interest in November’s New Collections are photographs from an exhibit, A Seat at the Table, held in 2019 at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute. This colorful and compelling exhibit was inspired by the pioneering firebrand Shirley Chisholm’s call for greater involvement of women, people…
New Collections Added in October
Boston Public Library Ellen F. O’Connor Collection (1,904 items)* Ellen F. O’Connor was an art teacher in the Boston Public Schools system, teaching at the Prince School and later West Roxbury High School. In addition to her work as an educator, she was a passionate participant in…