The argument for saving primary materials such as notebooks is strengthened by recent news that an old notebook in the archives of Choate prep school confirms the source for what may be the most famous quotation associated with President John F. Kennedy. Associated Press reporter Michael Melia in a boston.com article today explains how the source reference for Kennedy’s “Ask not” passage from his inaugural address was found. I heard Chris Matthews talking about this on “Hardball” yesterday because he revealed the discovery in his new book about JFK. Read the article here, and get the Globe if you want more.

If you have diaries, journals, and notebooks that tell us something about the Lowell story through the decades and you want to protect them for future generations, you should contact Librarian Martha Mayo at the UMass Lowell Center for Lowell History at the Patrick J. Mogan Cultural Center on French Street, near Boarding House Park.