“It’s Like Holding History in Your Hands”: Using Inquiry-Based Learning in an Interdisciplinary Special Collections Instruction Session

As undergraduate curricula move toward an active, interdisciplinary model, librarians and archivists are able to implement new, more inquiry-based activities into library instruction sessions. This opportunity allows students to develop their information literacy skills in an engaging and personal learning laboratory environment while benefiting from a rich classroom experience. This article discusses a collaboration between the library and an emerging academic program at a small professional liberal arts school that paired special collections and primary sources with an inquiry-based activity to maximize student learning, demystify special collections, and promote critical thinking.