Inspiration

Threading the Tapestry of History

Sarah (Larlee) St. Germain ’17, circulation manager

In 1663, a printer named Samuel Green produced a groundbreaking artifact: the first Bible printed in the Western hemisphere. Over 300 years later, the “Eliot Bible” is still in the care of Green’s family— lovingly curated by his nine-times great-granddaughter, College archivist Sarah St. Germain ’17.

St. Germain’s personal connection to this crown jewel of the Vining Rare Book Collection highlights why she so values history and dedicates her career to preserving stories from the past. “Having those first-person narratives is really fascinating,” says St. Germain. “It allows you to connect with someone who lived hundreds, sometimes thousands of years ago, and you realize that we all have similar motivations, hopes and needs across the generations.”

Tucked in a corner on the second floor of Jenks, the history graduate—now pursuing a master’s in library and information science at Simmons University (which, she notes, “happens to be a stone’s throw from Gordon’s original Frost Hall on the Fenway”)—manages 10 collections and digital archives.

Often collaborating with departments across campus, St. Germain preserves legacies and introduces students, faculty and researchers to the hearts, minds and ambitions of figures from Gordon, Barrington College and beyond. Flipping through pages of a 16th-century Martin Luther pamphlet or a doodle in A. J. Gordon’s Bible, visitors encounter real people from the past.

“Being able to interact physically with history gives you a new perspective,” says St. Germain. “It becomes real. It becomes tangible. It’s no longer just a photo in a book or an imagined idea; it’s there and you can touch it. For me, it puts everything into perspective and makes me feel more connected with the past. Like we are a small part of a larger tapestry.”

View the archives: https://library.gordon.edu/college-archives