Group Visits to the Reading Rooms
A student works with Pullman materials while on a class visit. September, 2011.
The Newberry has an active instruction and outreach program that works with classes at all grade levels as well as community groups, professional organizations, genealogical societies and groups, and others. Due to the need for social distancing in the library, we are not currently able to accommodate group visits or accept group visit requests for the reading rooms.
We will continually monitor updates from public health officials as we prepare to ensure a safe environment for visitors in the Newberry’s reading rooms, exhibition galleries, and event spaces. Please check the Newberry website for future updates.
If you are interested in inquiring about potential future group visits, understanding that we cannot schedule any at this time, please contact:
Class visits: Will Hansen at (312) 255-3527
Genealogy group visits: Matt Rutherford at (312) 255-3671
Although group visits have been suspended for the time being, we remain committed to supporting your research, teaching, and learning though access to our collections and digital resources online:
Our reference librarians are available to provide guidance to our collections and digital tools. Email reference@newberry.org with questions related to your research or class topic. We’re happy to make recommendations about how to incorporate the Newberry’s collections into your curriculum from home.
Genealogists and local historians can explore Chicago’s past in this interactive digital resource that offers a rich assortment of digital images, events, people, guides and directories, searchable by location.
Access more than 1 million high-res images from our collection online. Under our open access policy, these images are available for any scholarly, creative, or commercial endeavor you can dream up. We want our collections to inspire curiosity, discovery, learning, and creativity everywhere.
Digital Collections for the Classroom
Newberry Digital Collections for the Classroom are thematic collections of primary source documents selected from the Newberry’s extensive holdings. They are designed for easy incorporation into classroom teaching and support many of the skills emphasized by the Common Core State Standards.
Newberry Digital Exhibitions include images of collection items featured in our major exhibitions with in-depth discussion and contextualization.
Join our corps of online volunteers to help transcribe letters and diaries from our archival collections. These primary sources, written by everyday Americans from the 18th through 20th centuries, chronicle daily life as well as the local and national events that have upended it, like the Great Chicago Fire and US Civil War.
Join our curators and librarians as they speak in-depth about their favorite collection items and share digital learning tools live on Twitter. We’re archiving the videos here on our website so you can watch them whenever you like.
Attend virtual public programs and watch listen to past lectures and discussions featuring scholars, poets, artists, journalists, dancers, and others putting the humanities into practice today. (Information about upcoming events is included in the Newberry e-news.)
The Newberry’s librarians have compiled bibliographies, checklists, collection descriptions, and links to articles about our holdings to assist you in your exploration of the Newberry’s rich collections. Our Research Guides provide a starting point for researchers with collection highlights, useful reference works, and tips for searching our catalog.
Thank you for your patience and understanding. We look forward to welcoming your group as soon as we can.