Founded by two educators, education, teaching and scholarship has been a core function of the East Side Freedom Library’s work. Students, teachers, professors, and often entire classes gather here to access knowledge, through our unique and substantial library collection, and also through the artifacts, stories, programming and community interactions that happen here in a way not found in other spaces. This includes a History Day help resource that has helped create award-winning and nationally recognized projects.
Co-founder Peter Rachleff often says that the way we teach history in this country is inadequate and it is no wonder more students and members of our society do not value it more. Our work changes that experience for students and the community. At ESFL, we provide a space for a kind of community scholarship that combines traditional scholastic resources with the powerful marginalized narratives that are central to telling the truest story of this society in which we live.
Our work includes:
- National History Day Mentoring
- Classroom Visits and Tours of ESFL
- Special Topic Presentations