Category: Recently in Academic Libraries

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images of typed letters arranged in a grid

News and announcements 

🪑🥤🖥️ Drexel Libraries hosted a student-curated exhibition of everyday objects from university dorm rooms, “Dorm Objects 101.” Most of the objects on display, photographs, and labels came from about 70 students who took either a “Visual Culture” or “History of Modern Design” class. The university loaned standard-issue furniture to be included as well. Some of the photographs came from greek life scrapbooks and handbooks from the University Archives. What I love most of all, some of the student contributors also served as docents leading tours of the exhibition. 

🤖📚🤔 The “AI Framework” from ZSR Libraries at Wake Forest has to be one of the most thoughtful and insightful policies that I’ve seen come out of an academic library to date. The framework— which includes an Engagement Framework, a Values Statement, and a Guide to Using AI— was the result of an AI Engagement Task Force. As Dean Lauren Pressley writes: “The Values Statement names the foundation. The Framework translates that foundation into eight engagement principles. The Guide takes those principles into the texture of everyday decisions.” 

📚📚📚 The nearly 18,000 books once owned by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Cormac McCarthy are currently being cataloged by University of Tennessee Libraries. McCarthy was a Knoxville native. Processing the collections is expected to take around 10 months, but once it is publicly available, will be an invaluable resource for scholars of McCarthy’s works. Not all the books, however, went to UT Libraries. A couple thousand with annotations went to Texas State University at San Marcos.

📖🪡✂️ The Dartmouth Libraries Book Arts Workshop partnered with a geography professor to design a course in which students create a handmade book about a chosen city. Students used the medium to highlight social justice issues, like redlining and gentrification. This tactile approach increased student engagement with the research. As one student noted, “I had to be more thoughtful and intentional about what I wanted to communicate as a result, and I was conscious to try and design a progression of pages that—whenever possible—show before telling.”

📜🕵️🤖 Now this is a usage of machine learning that I can get behind. The University Libraries at Carnegie Mellon University partnered with their college of humanities and social sciences to create the Catalog of Distinctive Type, a digital resource that helps identify letterpress printers. By digitizing 20,000 individual letters from more than 240 printers in 17th century London, scholars can use machine learning to help identify unique characteristics (like errors in the type) that will help uncover the identity of unattributed works. (sen above)

Notable mentions 

printing plates housed in corrugated box with custom corners holding them in
Housings for Northwestern University Libraries printing plates 

On social 

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two golden chains

News and announcements 

✈️💰 Lemieux Library at Seattle University offers travels awards to students. This is for students who have been accepted to present at a professional or scholarly event, including academic conferences, film festivals, etc. Students can receive up to $1,000 for travel expenses. The students are also asked to present a  poster or give a presentation. It’s wonderful to see a library supporting students’ academic success in this way. 

🪡👨🏼‍🦳 The University of Arkansas’s Mullins Library is launching a new series called “Granny Camp,” which is designed to foster a learning of practical skills (e.g. sewing craft) and encourage intergenerational dialogue. They provide the space and the snacks, and guests are encouraged to drop in as their schedules permit. What an amazing way for a campus to engage with the local community!

📼📸 Tulane University has published a new collection on early 1970s New Orleans Mardi Gras Indians for public research. The collection includes reel-to-reel and cassette tapes, photo negatives, research notes, and other materials that were collected as part of a dissertation project. “While the materials are preserved and made accessible by [Tulane Libraries], cultural authority remains with the tribes and individuals represented.”

🗿🏺 The “Re/Make History: Crafting the Past with 21st-Century Technologies” exhibition at Penn Libraries invites students to seek inspiration from archeological artifacts and rare books in order to make contemporary works of art, including earrings, chains (seen above), sculpture, toys, and even chocolates. In one notable example, the program coordinator used ChatGPT to help imagine a 3D model of a 2D image, which was then further refined by hand and in consultation with other sources. It’s a wonderful example of combining technology, art, craftsmanship, and research.

🤖📚 You can’t escape library news about artificial intelligence, so here’s a lightning round: The University of Virginia has launched the Statement of Shared Practice for libraries who want to address AI training requests of their unique archival and cultural heritage materials. Northwestern University received a $500K grant to transform an extensive collection of environmental impact statements into a dataset that can be analyzed through a new AI agent framework. Stony Brook University Libraries is launching a new course on critical data and AI literacies. Oh, and they are putting AI into library robots. 

✏️🗺️ File under: “coolest idea of the month.” UW Wisconsin-Madison Libraries is hosted a “study crawl” for finals. The day-long event encourages students to take study breaks across campus at multiple library locations. Along the way, they can earn merch and win prizes. This seems like an event that would also work well by including campus partners, like the writing center or student health services. 

Notable mentions 

On left, illustration of a man using his arm and leg to pull an another man's arm. On right, two illustrations of a man with head and chin wrapping.

Finally, a number of libraries celebrated Earth Month, including Duke University, CalTech, University of Utah, St. Thomas, Villanova, and Catholic University of America. And let’s not forget National Library Week: Wake Forest, University of Cincinnati, SMU, CSU Fullerton, and UMBC, just to name a few.

On social 

Librarians are the mavens of undoing misinformation. With the rise of AI generated content, I’ve seen a number of content creators take on the mantle of “truth-discerners.” But even users of traditional platforms still need help sussing out hype from reality. Which is why I enjoyed this video from Penn Libraries of librarians responding to study tips found on Reddit.

Maintaining the university archives is one of the most important roles that an academic library plays in its community. I’ve often said that if I wasn’t an outreach librarian and I could start over, I would want to be a university archivist. Which is perhaps why I enjoyed this video from the University of Maryland.

What could you discover with the right tools and the right experts? The University of Vermont is hosting a research fair to promote its services. So bring in a creepy cat! 

This never gets old. I knew what was going to happen and I still did it anyway and I still laughed. Thank you, Wayne State.

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Social media happens so fast. I mean, just a couple weeks ago, none of us had ever imagined what 12 tons of KitKats looked like. So in between the monthly “Recently in Academic Libraries” posts, I pull together regular updates on what AcadLibs are doing on social. Please enjoy these recent highlights. 

The Bass Library at Yale created (appropriately) a bass-based wayfinding strategy. The libraries at the University of Georgia was forcing students to compete in Beast Games to reduce late fees. While Drexel went all digital and emptied their shelves. At Beinecke Library, there is now a pool open to registered researchers. William & Mary was offering students the opportunity to check out library narrators. 

Fondren Libraries wants us to think the library whiteboards are all empty during finals.  UCSB replaced all its furniture with its famous red booths. The University of Albany Libraries has a new intern. And in what is perhaps my favorite post, Clemson Libraries did a reverse Uno on its noise levels.

Oh but wait, there’s more. Virginia Tech Libraries is getting a lazy river, cat cafe, and karaoke floor. UNF has a new self checkout station. Trexler Library has a fun way to get to level 1. The University of Oregon has pet checkouts. Similarly, Sacred Heart University has goats. Syracuse threw in some local university history into its post about school colors. And finally, Beloit has [research] rats. Happy April Fools to all who celebrate. 

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page from Ortelius showing map of the world

News and announcements

🌏🗺️ The University of Michigan Library is posting a 3-part history about its copy of Abraham Ortelius’s “Theatrum Orbis Terrarum.” The library’s copy is rare, being one of the first forty ever printed. It’s also in need of extensive conservation and repair, the process of which UM is documenting through its news blog and on video. The book will be completely disbound and washed, old “fixes” will be unfixed and repaired, then it will be rebound in new material. It’s great to see the library documenting the entire process.

📻🎙️ Self-archiving is one of the greatest kindnesses you can give to future researchers. Carolyn Armenta Davis recently donated her collection of self-taped radio broadcasts featuring Black classical composers to Northwestern Libraries. Davis is a polymath whose curiosities extend to architecture, health research, and television news writing. This sentence encapsulates the impact of Davis’s decision: “Davis asked WEFM to her record her show, and she was able to retain the tapes because she was an independent writer-producer who had secured her own sponsor, Commonwealth Edison. Without that effort, this piece of radio history would have been lost.”

🤖💬 Brown University Libraries has created a critical AI learning community for students, faculty, and staff to explore and critique artificial intelligence technology and its implications for learners and researchers. It aims to center issues relating to justice and power, and is open to folks of various experience levels, covering conversations on practical skills, critical thinking, ethical issues, and social impact. Personally, I find these communities of practice to be more helpful than AI task forces that rush too quickly to codify policies and best practices– like building the ship while sailing rather than stopping to examine why we’re even on these ships in the first place.

📷🪏 Washington State University Libraries is participating in a series of events highlighting the history of farm workers in the Yakima Valley by creating a display of photographs from its collections for National Farmworker Awareness Week. NFAW is a week of action for university students and community members to honor farmworkers’ important contributions and to raise awareness about the issues they face. The library is working in collaboration with WSU CAMP, a federally funded program that helps first-year students from migrant and seasonal farm-working backgrounds transition to college each year.

Notable mentions 

Two pages from Matthew Paris OSB, Chronica maiora I, (ca. 1240 – 1255). The Parker Library, Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge.

On social

“Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls was one of my favorite songs growing up (as a teen, I was a massive Meg Ryan fan and the City of Angels soundtrack is nothing but bangers). So when the “Mom, what were you like in the 90s” trend started last month, I watched every single iteration. AcadLibs really took to this trend, using it as an opportunity to promote university archives and photos of really old tech (i.e., desktop PCs). Kansas State, Utah Valley University, Claremont Colleges Library, Loyola Marymount University, University of San Diego, Cal Sate LA, and Kenyon College, just to name a few. This meme was a perfect opportunity for university archivists to parter with the central university MarComm teams to collab over institutional history.

Purdue Libraries hosted a video contest that challenged students to answer the question: “What do incoming students most need to know about Purdue Libraries to succeed?” The winning video does not disappoint, showcasing real student anxieties and successes. You can also explore the other winners as well as past videos on Purdue’s website.

This photo carousel format from UC Santa Barbara is elegant and simple, utilizing high-quality photography and the experience of receiving an AirDropped photo. I could easily see other libraries using this format to highlight specific materials (e.g. “UCSB Libraries would like to share a book”). It might also work with silly, BTS photography (e.g. students doing weird things in library spaces), with each photo getting progressively weirder; or, posted chronologically to tell the story of a recent library event. 

Copley Library at University of San Diego took the “my boss left me a voice memo” format to promote a list of updates for their library, including spring break hours, an upcoming game night, and National Library Week. I hadn’t seen this meme in a few months, but it reminded me how useful it can be to highlight multiple announcements or CTAs in one video, even when those things may not have a single throughline.  

@copleyatusd

Check our website (link in bio) for up to date Spring Break hours. #universityofsandiego #librarytok

♬ original sound – Copley Library USD

Promoting VR creation services in a 2D medium like video is difficult, not just because you don’t get the full experience, but  because the learning curve for creating and utilizing VR is steep. But I love how Virginia Tech told a very human story of one student’s project. The video is just the right balance of enticing and informative, without being overwhelming. 

banner image: page from UM’s copy of Abraham Ortelius’s “Theatrum Orbis Terrarum”

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Social media happens so fast. I mean, just a couple weeks ago, none of us had ever considered posting all our staff’s baby photos online. So in between the monthly “Recently in Academic Libraries” posts, I pull together regular updates on what AcadLibs are doing on social. Please enjoy these recent highlights. 

Good video = good vibes

I’ll admit that I’m a sucker for a well-thought out video. It doesn’t need to be complicated or even that “cinematic,” but if it’s obvious that someone put some thought into it, I’m impressed. Two videos recently caught my attention, one from Grand Valley State University Libraries and the other from Temple University Libraries. The GVSU video is just a simple exploration of colors in library spaces, but charmingly executed. The Temple video is more complex, but does a good job of keeping the viewer’s attention with a mix of close up and medium shots, with regular cuts. 

Things NOT to do in a study room

I think this trend started with university level accounts, but this is one from Pollack Library at CSUF of the better ones I’ve seen. It’s fairly easy to execute with invisible wipes/cuts between each shot, and an easy way both to highlight library study rooms and (in a kind way) poke fun at some of the ridiculous ways in which students use them. We did one at my library as well last month. 

@pollaklibrary

Want better study rooms? We do too! Support us during TitansGive on March 11th and help us upgrade our study spaces for all students. The donation link will be in our Linktree! Disclaimer: Please don’t try any of these activities in the study rooms lol

♬ original sound – CSUF Pollak Library

Days of giving

I’ve said it before: If you’re not having fun creating social content, you’re not doing it right. Butler Libraries is obviously having fun with their latest Day of Giving videos. Though I guess if you have a giant pool in your library, you’re already having fun. (See also the follow up.)

Let’s keep the fun going

I literally gasped at the second story in Hampden-Sydney College Library’s “Library Confessions.”

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k-pop album covers and photographs

News and announcements

🎤🎵 Stanford’s East Asia Library hosted a Love Data Week event exploring how data shapes K‑pop. Attendees explored Stanford’s K‑pop collection, learned how fan engagement and music metrics are analyzed, and enjoyed games, snacks, and song sharing. Organized by librarians and staff, the program highlighted data’s role in global music trends. The event featured a performance by XTRM, Stanford’s competitive K‑pop dance team, exploring community through shared musical interests. There was “enough K-Pop data to seal the Honmoon” said the libraries’ social media coordinator, Carrie Gao.

🤖🤔 Last fall, Gleeson Library at the University of San Francisco convened a taskforce to consider how AI is impacting higher education and library work at their institution. They’ve issued their final report. They offer a set of values to support ethical, responsible, and transparent use of AI in library contexts, as well as links to what other AJCU schools are doing around AI. One thing that makes the AJCU’s distinct (aside from the obvious Jesuit connection) is their dedication to “discernment.” Reading this report suggests to me that the ACJUs collectively could lead the way in developing a more critical AI literacy framework. 

🎮💻 The University of Chicago Library has opened a Steam PC Cafe pilot as part of its “year of games” initiative. Students can play games like Portal, Terraria, Subnautica, God of War, Half-Life, and more. There are also inclusive titles for patrons with visual impairments; and students can recommend titles to be added.

🚧📢 The Carrier Library at James Madison University is going through a massive renovation. The new building is scheduled to open later this year. The communications in and around the construction work has been a master class in effective storytelling, community engagement, and external marketing (psst: there will be an article about this in the next issue of Public Services Quarterly).

📚☕️ The UC Boulder University Libraries is partnering with local independent bookstores to build a more community-centric collection. “The Boulder Bookstore has excellent expertise for curating books for the Boulder community. Every time I visit, I see things that I think we should have in the library collection” said Literature and Humanities Librarian Rybin Koob. In addition to bringing in diverse perspectives, this partnership enables the library to provide titles that connect to the specific interests of the local community— some of which may not be accessible through traditional acquisitions workflows. See also: Clarivate phasing out print book purchases and the closure of Baker & Taylor.

📜👩🏻‍🎓 The special collections team at WashU Libraries is soliciting nominations for a student public historian internship. Interns work with university archival collections “to assist with reparative description in finding aids and contribute to the WashU & Slavery Project digital archive.” There is also the possibility of developing a small exhibition. What a great opportunity!

🏛️💰 I did not have “Pam Bondi” and “Epstein” on my bingo card of announcements about library funding. But at Long Beach State, U.S. Congressman Robert Garcia presented the library with a $2.1 million check to fund their new Research Center and Special Collections Archives. The funding will help develop an expanded facility with an improved reading room and exhibition space.

Notable mentions 

Student at sewing machine

On social

I first saw the “This is who…” trend going around among coffee shops in early February. This is where you post baby photos of your staff with captions like, “This is who manages the money.” Academic libraries started picking it up in the last week, with prominent examples being University of Wyoming, Stockton, Fondren Library, Utah Valley U, and the J. Willard Marriott Library.

UC Santa Barbara took the lead from Wimbledon to do their own version of the  “mic’ed up” series here and here and here. They’re doing it with their service desk staff to highlight the variety of questions folks ask at the library. 

https://www.tiktok.com/@ucsblibrary/video/7610230151829409037

If you’re looking for a fun way to highlight the University Archives, take a cue from UF Libraries and create a video walking tour. Especially fun if you have some niche campus lore to share.

If you’re going to host a film competition, you best make sure the call for proposals is solid piece of video work. William & Mary Libraries read the assignment.

Here’s a motif I think I might ask my student workers to try out: playing hide and seek in the library as a means to promote various library spaces. I could see this working for any size library, from single-room to multi-floor! From Wayne State Libraries:

Finally, I thought this video from FSU Libraries promoting the library’s impact on student employees was extremely well done. Good lighting, voice over, talent, and editing. Obviously a social-first approach, one that I don’t always see in university fundraising videos.

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Social media happens so fast. I mean, in just over a week, we went from simply touching grass to being grass. So in between the monthly “Recently in Academic Libraries” posts, I pull together regular updates on what AcadLibs are doing on social. Please enjoy these recent highlights.

Bad Bunny memes

Moments of mass- /mono-culture are few and farther between these days, but leave it to libraries to take advantage of the ones that remain! A number of academic libraries, including Bass Library at Yale, UVU, University of Florida, Clemson, and Florida State University (seen above) used photography and stills from the Super Bowl to promote library services and collections. This year’s half time show did not disappoint and provided plenty of fodder for the meme cannons. 

Scrapbooking a campus tradition

If your campus has an annual tradition with decades of photos behind it (the more raucous the better), check out what Dartmouth Libraries did to highlight their annual Polar Swim. I love the scrapbook vibe (easily pulled off with a little background remove magic). Be sure to connect with your campus alumni organization or the main uni social for the collab opportunity (and remember: let the bigger account initiate the collab). 

Animated gif drop

Does this meme have a name? It’s giving Vine. From Penn Libraries.

Library cart ride along

Honestly, I’m surprised I hadn’t seen this format used by a library before now. So many academic libraries have golf carts for moving books around campus. It’s the perfect opportunity to create short, fast-paced content, provided you’ve got a witty host. The sound effects are fun. Very “Cash Cab” vibes. From University of Florida Libraries.

Be the main character

Currently, I’m working on a presentation about social media in academic libraries and one of my top recommendations is to “become your own main character.” Too many libraries treat their social like bulletin boards with no clear or consistent voice. Instead, I suggest they embrace the serial approach and feature a regular occurring cast. I think Emerson College Library is doing this well by featuring the same folks (Molly) in all their recent content. See also: University of Wyoming Libraries and William and Mary Libraries.

https://www.tiktok.com/@emersoncollegelibrary/video/7602718387294244127

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orange label for "Joy Drop" next to version created for UF Health Libraries

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 

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.

https://www.tiktok.com/@uillinoislibrary/video/7599711291049102623?_r=1&_t=ZP-93T6GEEiXio

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. 

@wolfgramlibrary

Sometimes you gotta lock out to lock in – we got you! Check out our new sensory kits #sensorykit #library #widener

♬ original sound – jacklevi121

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.

https://www.tiktok.com/@emersoncollegelibrary/video/7597875561997798686?_r=1&_t=ZT-93HEhTqtutq

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illustration of a 19th century cottage

Social media happens so fast. I mean, just over a week ago, we were still talking about #ConformityGate (aside: How are y’all doing? You ok? 🧇) and none of us were talking about the cottage. So in between the monthly “Recently in Academic Libraries” posts, I pull together regular updates on what AcadLibs are doing on social. Please enjoy these recent highlights.

Ins/outs 2026

The “Ins and Outs” trend really peaked last year, but I think it has a couple years left in it before it becomes old hat. We did it at my library and so did UC Santa Barbara, University of South Florida, and DeSales.

Another library’s treasure

I love exhibitions about discarded objects: left-behind water bottles, items left in the return bin, and in the case of UNC Library, objects found in library books. The gentle soundtrack and collage aesthetic is perfect for this time of year: cozy and comforting. For libraries that save found objects, this would be an easy post to replicate and one that might find a happy audience among college alumni. (But wait, did that say “send feet pix?”)

BRB, going analog

According to some cultural weathervanes, analog is cool again. As a librarian, older formats never lost their charm for me, but I’m delighted to see younger generations discovering the joys of physical media. Fresno State Library is highlighting its Media Lab with this post, as well as its collections of CDs and LPs. It looks like the students/staff in this carousel had some fun doing the photoshoot as well. Man, I had that Lauryn Hill album and I wore it out. 

Here’s your sign

This is a perfect start-of-the-year format for any library. If you’ve only got one library building, find 12 spaces or services to highlight. If you’ve got multiple campus libraries, even better. If you’re not an expert in astrology, consider consulting someone who knows a little more about the culture and practice around it. From Yale Library:

Oh so pretty

Carousels are having a moment. Again. Honestly, it feels like we’ve been coming back to the carousel format repeatedly over the past 2-3 years. Folks just love to swipe through photos. So what better time than the start of the new year to pull together some of your best library pics. This one from the University of South Carolina was my favorite, but see also: University of Cincinnati, Arizona State, UT Arlington, University of Alabama Arlington, Syracuse, Grand Valley State, Dartmouth, Cornell, and Colorado State (with sad music).

And finally…

This is your annual reminder to save all your b-roll this year so you can create recaps like this one from Kansas State University Libraries.

banner image: detail from the “The Cottage of Content, or, The Right Roads and Wrong Ways,” an 1848 board game published in London by William Spooner (source)

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Hip hop exhibit in airport. Collage of art and albums.

News and announcements

✈️🎧 Emory University’s Rose Library is hosting an exhibit (seen above) at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. “Beyond the 50: Continuing Hip Hop’s Legacy” is a two-year exhibit honoring Atlanta’s EarWax Records and its role in hip hop history. The exhibit features a replica storefront, posters, stickers, studio equipment, and other archival materials from Emory and EarWax founder Darryl “Jasz” Smith. According to the post, Emory Libraries and the Atlanta airport may work together again on future exhibitions. Love this! 

💰📚 In its 5 years, the e-textbook program at Illinois State University’s Milner Library has saved its students more than $10 million. By providing free, accessible e-books for course use, the program reduces students’ financial burden and improves learning outcomes and equity. Faculty praised its impact, calling it “a godsend.” This sentence in particular caught my attention: “We found that an investment of $10,000-$14,000 a semester yields a total potential student savings of around $200,000 to $260,000.” Now that’s ROI. 

😆✍️ The Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries at Vanderbilt University now house the Roy Blount Jr. Papers, a collection of correspondence, writings, and research from the acclaimed humorist and 1963 Vanderbilt graduate. The archive offers insight into Blount’s career as an author, journalist, and cultural commentator (and frequent panelist on “Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me!”). These materials will provide a unique resource for exploring American humor, language, and identity from someone who has been around to write about some of the most notable moments in recent history. 

🛠️💡 Binghamton University Library has a new MakerLab, equipped with 3D printers and scanners, laser cutters, vinyl cutters, and VR tech. The lab supports academic projects across disciplines from art to engineering. MakerLab Coordinator Chungmin Park aims to expand partnerships and foster creativity, helping students turn ideas into tangible designs. Open since August, the lab encourages innovation through technology-driven coursework and student-led projects.

🪕💿 Indiana University Bloomington’s Archives of Traditional Music team honored folk music legend and IU alumnus Joe Hickerson with an exhibition and a lively folk sing-along celebrating his life and work. The Joseph C. Hickerson collection houses treasures like Camp Woodland and Catskill Folk Festival recordings, some featuring Pete Seeger and Hickerson’s own “Drive Dull Care Away,” alongside stories of his role in shaping “Where Have All the Flowers Gone” into a peace anthem. The exhibit remains on view at Cook Music Library through fall.

Notable mentions 

Three clay figures in front of neon sign that says "Marston Makerspace"
  • The University of Florida Libraries reviewed some of its best fall semester events, including a makerspace night (seen above), open house, and daytime concert. 
  • Touro University Libraries created a fake news LibGuide.
  • Falvey Library at Villanova explores printable toys sourced from magazines like The Chicago Ledger.
  • Many libraries support a food pantry for students, but Mercer University Libraries supports one for pets, too! 
  • Speaking of pets, UC Davis Library has an art collection dedicated to dogs.
  • The University of Arkansas Libraries are inviting students, faculty, and staff to attend virtual reality drop-in sessions.
  • If you find a hidden horse in the stacks of Southern Methodist University Libraries, you’ve stumbled upon a scavenger hunt.
  • For those one-of-a-kind materials in special collections, UW Libraries has created an “out of scope” exhibit.
  • NC State University Libraries received a grant to support a game development contest (plus another grant to develop data training for grad students). 
  • Stony Brook University Libraries has launched an AI steering committee (this follows their creation of a “Director of Artificial Intelligence” position)

On social

The University of Oklahoma Libraries is sending nothing but good vibes in this Instagram post. This type of affirmative post would be easy for any university library to create; just substitute your own high quality photography!

Instagram has fed me this post by William & Mary Libraries more than once and I stop to look at it every time. The use of b-roll video with the color filter and minimal movement is absolutely gorgeous. To say nothing of all the fun events for finals week.

Now THIS is how you promote a database. Courtesy of Tulane Libraries.

Cook or be cooked. The always-on-trend UVU Library continues to deliver relatable content. Well, relatable to students in any case! 

https://www.tiktok.com/@uvulibrary/video/7579704395324050702?_r=1&_t=ZT-92I0XWFK3ZX

Need a sentimental, hand-made gift just in time for the holidays? The folks at ASU Libraries have you covered. The close-up, step-by-step video style showcases how easy and accessible the library’s makerspace is.