Georgia Southern history professor archives Jesuit libraries in digital humanities project

January 10, 2019

Georgia Southern University history professor Kathleen Comerford, Ph.D., and master’s candidate Rudy Bond are working on converting relevant Jesuit archival documents, such as library inventories, into bibliographies for the European Jesuit Libraries Provenance Project. The purpose of the project is to find patterns and trends in Jesuit book ownership from the Jesuits’ founding in the 1540s up until their suppression in the 1770s. The project, which is ongoing, is the largest census of books owned by European Jesuit institutions. After collecting archival documents, Comerford expanded the project to include brief biographical information on the authors. The project has expanded by seeking out physical and digital copies of books found in library inventories, as well as books by authors found in the inventories, to collect provenance information. Bond runs Flickr and Instagram accounts for the project that feature pictures of Jesuit works. The photos feature markings and annotations that can be used to determine how often the books were used. Comerford is planning a short research trip to Barcelona in the summer and she hopes to expand the spreadsheet to include more photos and data. She has also added an undergraduate student with a history major, Jasmine Webb, to the project. Webb’s role will be to archive photos in Georgia Southern’s Digital Commons. Georgia Southern University, a public Carnegie Doctoral/R2 institution founded in 1906, offers 141 degree programs serving nearly 26,500 students through nine colleges on three campuses in Statesboro, Savannah, Hinesville and online instruction. A leader in higher education in southeast Georgia, the University provides a diverse student population with expert faculty, world-class scholarship and hands-on learning opportunities. Georgia Southern creates lifelong learners who serve as responsible scholars, leaders and stewards in their communities. Visit GeorgiaSouthern.edu.