News and announcements
🍊☀️ The University of Florida Libraries gave us a peek into the design process for their current centennial campaign. Utilizing the university’s primary brand but combining it with imagery that was reflective of the library (e.g. the facade window of Smathers Library), the UF Library Comms team created a look that was immediately recognizable. Moreover, they dove into their Jerry Chicone Jr. Citrus Label Collection to identify Florida-specific imagery that could highlight their six on-campus branches (as seen above). I love getting to see behind the curtain!
🚌🐎 Eight study rooms. Eight different themes. UC Davis Library recently remodeled its group study rooms to include more art, mostly utilizing recycled and reclaimed materials. All this was done through donations and less than $8,000. Some of the themes include: university traditions and athletics; animals and the university farm; bikes; buses; water towers; and the history of the library itself.
📚🤝 One of North Carolina’s oldest Black-led nonprofits, the Durham Colored Library, will merge with the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Duke University. Even though the DCL’s branches were integrated into the county library system following desegregation, the non-profit continued to organize events and literacy programs. This merger builds upon a pre-existing relationship between DCL and Duke and is additionally bolstered by a grant from the Mellon Foundation to build new events, storytelling, and training programs.
👩🏫🔍 Kate Carter and Natalia Kapacinskas are the 2025 recipients of the Rooks Early Career Librarian Fellowship at University of Houston Libraries. Carter will be exploring the lived experiences of open education librarians. Kapacinskas will be looking at autoethnographies published by librarians living with chronic illnesses and disabilities.
❤️📊 Love Data Week is coming soon! Folks at RIT Libraries have a suite of events lined up, including one that will discuss AI poisoning, or the act of inserting code that disables (or at least hobbles) unwanted data scraping. See also: plans from other AcadLibs, including Fresno State and Wayne State.
📺🎞️ USC Libraries has an amazing TV program, Lost LA, that is co-produced with its local PBS station. Episodes frequently feature the collections of the USC Libraries (though, they also feature other regional libraries as well). The show is now in its 8th season. The current season, which just dropped in January, has episodes about auto racing, science fiction, true crime, and colorful plants.
🎉🚀 The University of Nebraska-Lincoln, in celebration of its 80th anniversary, is inviting undergraduate students to imagine (and share) their vision for the future of academic research libraries. Students can submit artwork, videos, music, and creative writing projects (among other formats) and have the chance to win cash prizes. What I love about this the most is that one day (say at its centennial event in 20 years), the library can look back on these predictions and see what students of the past thought the future would look like.
Notable mentions
- Northeastern University is back with a third year of reading challenges to promote its Libby collection.
- Washington Statue University is removing its reference stacks. Related: they also have a new Synth Lab! (Seen above)
- The University of Central Florida Libraries is hosting “make your own planner” workshops.
- Not to be outdone, LSU Libraries is hosting a vision board workshop.
- Looking for a movie to watch based on your zodiac? Florida State University has you covered.
- UC Santa Barbara celebrates the 20th anniversary of its UCSB Reads program with an exhibition.
- L. Renée is the 2026 Mountain Artist in Residency awardee at West Virginia University Libraries.
- Explaining academic librarianship to 3rd graders, from the University of Cincinnati Libraries.
- The University of Georgia Libraries has an exhibit on the Olympics in Atlanta.
- University of Mississippi teaches ukulele (and there’s a LibGuide!).
- Stony Brook continues to build out its AI staffing.
On social
Honestly, the best luck I’ve had with getting students to fill out surveys is still the old fashion way: set up a table and catch people as they walk by. But I do like how the University of Illinois threw in a little whimsy to encourage students to fill out their surveys.
Perhaps this is only relatable to people who live perpetually online (or who follow beauty industry content creators), but this makeup haul-inspired special collections highlight from Boston College Library is a delight.
New goals for 2026? Ohio State University Libraries can help. This mix of gentle background music and b-roll footage, combined with the occasional library staffer smiling and waving is a perfect timeline cleanser.
This was actually the first time I saw this trend. I suspected something was up, but I’ll be honest, it still caught me by surprise when the fourth wall was reversed. From Hampden-Sydney College Library (who is regularly putting out fun content. Give them a follow!)
From Widener University’s Wolfgram Memorial Library, this was an elegant way to promote their sensory kits.
Finally, so… many… libraries… went to the cottage this past week, including Emerson College Library, Connecticut College Libraries, Tisch Library at Tufts University, and Hilbert College. I really shouldn’t have cancelled my HBO subscription last year.