This week during my time at CCEPS, I met with Lisa to help me with my processing plan for the Hoover Collection. I am learning the skills of the archivist: I put photos and newspapers into mylar sleeves, I learn some of the terminology and methods for cataloging sources and learning how to create a digital archive. Additionally, I got to look through more source material of early texts about geology and science in the Hoover Collection. One book I found was from 1696 on the theory of the creation of the earth. During this time, scholars in the Royal Society tried to reconcile religion with new developments in geology. One could not separate religion from science during this time. The other book I read was from 1654 on meteors. Again, understanding the sky was seen as investigating God, or “heavenly bodies,” itself. It is not exactly clear to me why Hoover collected this book because it is closely related to astrometry than to geology which is why I wanted to look at it myself. Fascinating to see scholarly views on religion and science from this time.
