Online Initiatives

Innovative, cutting-edge projects are underway that seek to maximize the strength of the Catholic collections at Boston College Libraries and elsewhere as well as the unique digital capabilities in order to provide the wider scholarly community with open access to unparalleled online services. If you wish to learn more about collaborating on these projects, please email librariescatholicresearch@bc.edu.

The Catholic Historical Research Anthology

Launched and managed by BC Libraries’ Digital Production Department, the Catholic Historical Research Anthology, is an open-access, curated, and growing compilation of newspapers, journals, and books to facilitate the study and understanding of the Catholic Church. While titles complement the archival collections at the Catholic Religious Archives, the database intends to encourage widespread engagement with important but underutilized sources. It also includes the histories of the institutions, people, and religious congregations identified in the Catholic almanac project. Collaborative partners include archdiocesan archives and other rights holders to publications.

Interactive Catholic Artifacts Collection

Currently in the pilot stage, the Catholic Almanacs Project is a digital project that involves extracting data from the nineteenth-century Catholic Almanacs and structuring it for making maps, data visualization, and other forms of data manipulation. With guidance from the Digital Scholarship Group, BC students have been doing much of the work, using XML encoding to convert the almanac’s information on institutions, priests, and women religious into data points (learn more).

Instructional 3D Catholic Artifacts

This collection of 3D models broadens access to some of the more unique three-dimensional objects housed in the Catholic Religious Archives and other similar collections at Boston College. The artifacts, created with photogrammetry, structured light, and infrared modes, allow close and interactive examination for scholarship, teaching, and general curiosity. Collaboration is underway with the Roche Center for Catholic Education at Boston College as well as with teachers and archivists to develop 3D and other digital materials for use in high school classrooms.