News Stories | River Campus Libraries

Cover art for the documentary Coded Bias

STEM Collections 401: Dissolving Bias

A new, ongoing River Campus Libraries project seeks to highlight and develop BIPOC STEM library resources.

Neilly Author Series: Erin Gruwell

A teacher and author, Gruwell has experience and expertise that will inspire you and help you become an agent of change.

Cross-section view of a manuscript devotional miscellany

Collection

Rare Rochester Tour (ʼ22–ʼ23)

The University of Rochester Libraries is putting on three “shows” for some of its most extraordinary and valuable materials.

Christopher Hoolihan in Miner Library holding open a very large, old book

Staff

‘I loved every minute’

The impassioned former head of Rare Books and Manuscripts for Miner Library is this year’s Metzdorf Award winner.

Staff

2022 Library staff awards

The University libraries recognized the individuals who most embodied the phrase 'above and beyond.'

Inside a white circle the phrase "Towers & Tabletops" in the style of "Dungeon & Dragons" with a small graphic of Rush Rhees tower

Event

Shall we play a game?

Grab a bag of Doritos and crack a Mountain Dew—the River Campus Libraries has a new game-playing series.

The entrance of Studio X, featuring its chromatic glass wall

Event

Ce-le-brate XR, come on!

Rochester’s hub for extended reality is holding a formal dedication and grand opening during Meliora Weekend 2022.

A librarian looking at materials with a student

Programs

Nurture by nature

The River Campus Libraries has created an environment that naturally fosters interest in librarianship.

Peter Conners sitting on a small set of steps

Neilly Series

Neilly Author Series: Peter Conners

A confluence of absurdity and pain pulls the accomplished nonfiction author out of his poetic hibernation.

A hand holds a manuscript page upright to show its age and wear, including tiny holes.

Collection

Commemorative codex

A 700-year-old manuscript is the first in a new University libraries collection that honors historian Richard Kaueper.

An illustration of two sailors in a dramatic conversation with each other. A ship sits in a harbor in the distance ship is

Collection

Aboard the R.C.L. Pinafore

Join an alumnus and a River Campus Libraries curator for an exploration of Gilbert and Sullivan.

Looking into POA through it's large glass wall at its entrance.

Spaces

P-O-Yay!

After 50 years, the Physics-Optics-Astronomy (POA) Library is getting a complete refresh.

Staff

Checking In with Kathy Wu

We caught up with the River Campus Libraries’ subject librarian, who picked up a new subject.

A collage of pins, bumper stickers, and other materials associated with Louise Slaughter

Collection

Behind—and beyond—a congresswoman’s politics

The University libraries received the Robert and Louise Slaughter Family Papers, adding to the previously acquired Slaughter congressional collection.

A dummy head on a stand with a microphone atop its head

XR@UR

Virtual partners

Studio X teamed up with Rochester researchers for a study on how the brain processes light and sound.

Collection

Preserve and protect

A war that has often targeted Ukrainian heritage has made the Department of Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation a cultural refuge.

Staff

iZone’s new ‘magnetic’ director

The River Campus Libraries taps a local entrepreneur to lead the Barbara J. Burger iZone into its next era of creative problem-solving.

A screenshot of the program Mediate, which features a woman's face.

Research

Digital justice through data dictionaries

A seed grant launches a project that has the River Campus Libraries helping to diversify the digital domain.

Big white block letters spelling out "Meliora" in front of Rush Rhees Library

Students

The 2022 Dean Team

There are many stars among the libraries’ student employees, but this year, only two reached the level of ‘Dean Team.’

Staff

Checking In with Jonathan Sauceda

As if starting a new job wasn’t already challenging, Sibley Library’s new head librarian did it during a pandemic.

Old-looking pieces of paper that full of cursive writing

Collection

May is for manuscripts

The University libraries creates a new annual observance to highlight handwritten materials.

Librarians Kathy Wu and Sarah Siddiqui standing with data grant winners Jean-Joel Legre, Lipeng Chen, and Ruqui Wu in Lam Square

Research

Data granted, Part III

The River Campus Libraries removed barriers to research with a new round of data set grants.

A Rochester student using the Meta Quest 2. His arms are positioned like he's holding a rifle

Technology

Studio X, technically

A close look at the technology inside Rochester’s hub for extended reality.

Collection

BOAhemian rhapsody

Author, poet, and publisher Peter Conners chose Rochester to steward his writing and editing archive.

A magnifying glass sitting on a table next to some stacked books

Research

For humanities' sake

River Campus Libraries librarians aim to create a bibliometric system tailored for humanities scholarship.

Staff

Checking In with Moriana Garcia

We caught up with Carlson Science and Engineering Library’s STEM librarian on a new role at the River Campus Libraries.

Portrait of a bearded Avram Finkelstein in a plaid shirt from the waist up

Neilly Series

Neilly Author Series: Avram Finkelstein

An artist, activist, and writer with a unique perspective on the history of the HIV/AIDS crisis.

A black and white photo of the Rush Rhees Library's old reference desk which was in the space now occupied by Evans Lam Square

Services

RetrOA

A new deal between a library consortium and a publisher gives retroactive open access to 15 years of scholarly work.

The top portion of the statue of Athena located in the foyer area outside the Great Hall in Rush Rhees Library

Students

Research is the Rochester way

Research is part of Rochester’s DNA, and a new group of undergraduate students has been recognized for doing it exceptionally well.

A graphic of an unlocked orange combination lock over the top of a view of Rush Rhees Library from the Eastman Quad

Services

Meliora for all

New open access publishing agreements secured by the libraries have made Rochester research ever better—and more cost-effective.

Book cover for Reality+ which features a blue sky partially covered with clouds, some of which are pixelated

Voices of XR

Voices of XR: David Chalmers

The New York University philosopher is the author of a new book that contends virtual reality is reality, too.

Neilly Series

Neilly Author Series: C Pam Zhang

An electrifying new voice in literature tells a story about the American West that you’ve never heard.

Staff

Between two deans

Lauren Di Monte has been named interim vice provost and dean of the University of Rochester Libraries.

Lindsay Cronk, flexing and wearing a hoodie that says Libraries are radical. And so are you.

Staff

Checking In with Lindsay Cronk

We catch up with the ‘radical’ assistant dean working to better the library profession in a new interview series.

Black and gray concentric circles behind "Up Against the Wall" written in black and "Art, Activism, and the AIDS poster" written in pink

Collection

Reading AIDS

In honor of AIDS Awareness Month, we look at the book and upcoming exhibit Up Against the Wall.

Large letter blocks spelling out MELIORA in front of Rush Rhees Library on the Eastman Quad

In Review

Editor’s Picks 2021

The editor of the libraries’ newsletter, Tower Talk, has a gift for you: a curated list of stories.

A view of the entry to Studio X featuring glass that creates a "rainbow" effect

Spaces

Learnin’ in an XR wonderland

Studio X, Rochester’s new XR hub, is more than a beautiful sight. It’s quickly becoming a significant part of the University’s infrastructure.

UR seal located on a panel in the Hawkins-Carlson room

Staff

The next Neilly Dean

The University of Rochester Libraries is getting its first new dean in 10 years.

Masked students in Rush Rhees Library and a sign saying everyone must wear a face mask

Staff

Miss Marple’s ambassadors

A River Campus Libraries staff member earned recognition for an outstanding pandemic performance.

Collection

Bonfire of the pleasantries

A manuscript letter from a renowned Confederate spy is the latest addition to William Henry Seward Papers.

Staff

Proof of excellence in librarianship

Evidence-based practice librarian Lorraine Porcello was the unanimous evidence-based choice for the 2021 Messinger Award.

Spaces

Hot Library Fall: URMC edition

Edward G. Miner Library’s Reading Room is sporting its first new look in more than 30 years.

Neilly Series

Neilly Author Series: Ian Manuel

He was sentenced to life in prison. Now, he’s an activist, poet, and author.

Cover of a Chinese ebook that features a car driving on a highway in a mountainous area and a general pink tone

Collection

哇塞, 中文书! (Hooray, Chinese books!)

The River Campus Libraries added more than 3,000 ebooks to its Chinese collection.

View of the meet-up space in new Gleason

Spaces

Hot Library Fall

The River Campus Libraries had some work done over the summer and is ready to show it off.

Neilly Series

Neilly Author Series: Dorothy Wickenden

The New York Times bestselling author tells a familiar story through the eyes of three friends, advocates, and “agitators.”

A graphic that features an assortment of yellow gear and a person on a ladder next to a large light bulb

Students

Innovation Challenge III: Sustainable Futures

Rochester students took on the challenge of addressing current problems that local organizations face.

Staff

The nominator has become the recipient

In the run up to her last Metzdorf Award ceremony, Dean Mavrinac’s nomination pen was turned against (and for) her.

Inclusion

Somewhere next to the rainbow

The University Libraries created a new inclusive symbol, inspired in part by one staff member’s association with the pride flag.

Photo of Ashlee Huff in front of railing in the quad

Staff

‘An asset to the River Campus Libraries’

In a year where most were stretched thin, one River Campus Libraries staff member demonstrated award-worthy flexibility.

Photo of Kristen Totleben - a woman with dark shoulder length hair, glasses and a blue shirt

Staff

We have met the editor, and she is me

On a search for a research journal editor, a River Campus Libraries librarian ended up finding herself.

Services

DiscoverUR

University Libraries has given its search function more robust software and a new identity.

Students

Karp Library Fellows 2: The New Batch

Here it grows again—the Karp Library Fellows Program welcomes its second cohort.

An illustration of a woman wearing 3D goggles trying to interact with what she's seeing

Spaces

X = Mavrinac

Studio X, Rochester’s hub for extended reality, is taking a name that honors a ‘transformational legacy’

Collection

The Collector

Some heroes fight crime; this one fights AIDS—and arthritis.

A gold representation of the University's shield from the entrance to Rush Rhees

Staff

Librarians emeriti

Two University of Rochester Librarians have retired with high honors.

"Up Against the Wall: Art, Activism, and the AIDS Poster" in a whit block over a black and gray target pattern

Exhibit

8,000 ways to learn about AIDS

A new book offers a glimpse into a collection of more than 8,000 HIV/AIDS education posters and a 2022 exhibition.

A person diving into an indoor pool in front of a crowd on bleachers

Grab your swimsuit; we’re going archiving

On a hot summer day, nothing beats a taking a refreshing—and illuminating—dip into the University Archives.

Spaces

Hard Hat Summer

The River Campus Libraries has broken out the construction tape for three of its spaces.

A certificate for Dean's Student Library Service Award winner made out to "All-Star Student"

Students

The 2021 Dean Team

In the past year, all student employees gave all-star efforts, but three students really shined.

An assortment of old LGBTQ materials; "The Empty Closet" is prominently displayed

Collection

Pride Month’s alright for fighting

Rare Books and Special Collections explores Pride Month’s roots in protest and fighting back (without fists)

Exhibit

The ladies' Lady

Robbins Library has a new digital exhibit that highlights female adaptations of the Lady of Shalott.

Foreground: a sign saying everyone must wear a mask. Background: Students wearing face masks studying in Evans Lam Square

Staff

RE: Living COVID-19, Parts IV–VI

An oral history of a weird, scary, and unprecedented time in the University of Rochester’s history, told from libraries staff

A computer monitor with a note on it that says it's not a study space

Staff

RE: Living COVID-19, Parts I–III

An oral history of a weird, scary, and unprecedented time in the University of Rochester’s history, told from libraries staff

Headline: National Poetry Month Image: A person floating above the ground with a ball in a residential area

Collection

Party your assonance off

April is National Poetry Month. Celebrate rhythm, rhyme, assonance, anapest, and alliteration through collections of poets’ papers.

Neilly Series

3 'Serious' Questions with Catherine D'Ignazio and Lauren Klein

Neilly Author Series speakers D’Ignazio and Klein talk past jobs, hidden talents, and making things ‘suck’ less.

A virtual bust of George Floyd in front of a colorful mural in the Portland, Oregon

Voices of XR

‘Create and conquer’

An upcoming Voices of XR speaker is entertaining, empowering, and educating through XR

Students

Community + Innovation = Meliora

Rochester students partnered with the community to combat the effects of the current health crisis

Ed Hajim standing in front of the sign bearing his name near the Hajim quad

Neilly Series

3 ‘Serious’ Questions with Ed Hajim

The Neilly Author Series memoirist talks about his ‘score’ in 2020, golf at Augusta National, and his heroes.

Ruth Scott cutting a ribbon for a ribbon cutting event for West Main Street Alliance

Black History

Black History Month with RBSCP

Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservations has collections that will help you celebrate and explore Black history in Rochester.

Looking up at bookshelves that fade into to clouds and sky

Students

When the walls disappear

There’s a point in a student’s education when the library takes a new form. That point is usually grad school.

Illustration of a student laying back facing a crescent moon with Rush Rhees Library in the background

Students

Dream University Challenge

In physically distant times, students attempt to build the ideal virtual campus meeting space.

Collection

Coming 2021: ExhiBits

A new collection-sharing format offers more with less

Five gold stars in a row with a person's finger on the fifth in line, as if they're giving a rating

In Review

Editor's Picks 2020

Tower Talk Editor Matt Cook presents his annual must-read list

Specks of golden light, forming strands, emanating from a bright source

Research

Data granted, Part II

A new round of library grants gave students access to critical data that kept their research moving forward.

A human-looking figure at peering into the opening of a labyrinth

Research

Pro tip: Use PRO

For students who want to do research at Rochester, Pathways to Research Opportunities (PRO) is a must.

Voices of XR

3 ‘Serious’ Questions with Carl Domingo

Prior to joining Studio X for Voices of XR, Domingo talks zombies, hackathons, and increased access to video games

Confetti rains in front of marble Meliora panel in Hawkins Carlson room

Staff

‘Dream Team’ receives 2020 Messinger Award

For the first time in its history, the award will recognize two library staff members for going above and beyond the usual expectations.

Neilly Series

Neilly Author Series: Paul Lauter

He was fired, busted, published, and tenured in the 1960s. He gives the details in his new book.

A page from the Complete Harley 2253 Manuscript, courtesy of the British Library

Medieval

Meet the METS

A pioneering Rochester project has spent the last three decades making Middle English texts more accessible.

Neilly Series

3 'Serious' Questions with Emily Bernard

The Nashville-born author talks about being alone in the pandemic, Zoom intrigue, and Fisk University.

Some boxes from a comic strip Professor Ryan Prendergast created for a class

Open Resource

Digital ideas found here

Rochester instructors have a new resource for discovering digital tools and strategies

Exhibit

'We want more, and we will have it'

A new digital exhibit explores the ways women have influenced the City of Rochester

Students

COVID-19 Challenge accepted

Students were challenged to solve pandemic-related problems in just 10 days

Open Resource

'Open' in case of pandemic

A collection of case studies offer a glimpse into the world--and benefits--of 'going Open'

Sustainable Scholarship

An ACT of kindness

A Libraries-led coalition seeks to make textbooks less of a financial burden

Coffee mugs on a glass table in Wegmans Hall are transformed into an AR classroom exercise that simulates a sprawling, real-life chemical plant.

XR@UR

Augmented reality lets students operate a chemical plant

Students learn about engineering by exploring AR

Workshop

Digital Summer School

A new workshop series helps instructors teach in a virtual classroom

Technology

'I am your density'

Newly implemented technology will measure and report patron density in some library spaces

A view of iZone's booth seating and a COVID safety sign from the piazza

Spaces

iZoned for study

When New York State approved research libraries to open, iZone got the call

'Dear COVID diary'

Journal entries are among the ways people are helping to archive COVID-19

Illustration showing the cost of publishing

Sustainable Scholarship

A brave new world of scholarship

Rochester librarians are pushing for a shift in scholarly publishing

Staff

'An invaluable colleague'

The staff has spoken. Melinda Wallington is the 2020 RCL Staff Service Award recipient

Programs

Karp Library Fellows

A new library fellowship has students giving as much as they are getting

A screenshot of a Zoom call with librarians from Carlson Library

Outreach

The Outreach Bunch

In the move from in-person to online education, outreach librarians shined

Illustration of how interlibrary loan works

Services

COVID and ILL

No access to physical collections? Interlibrary Loan (ILL) says, ‘No problem.’

Community

A Mover & Shaker

Library Journal recognizes Sherwood as a ‘Data Literacy Leader’

Miranda Mims inventories boxes of Louise Slaughters official Congressional papers

Community

From Archivist to Director

Miranda Mims will be providing the vision for the department’s future.

Construction site for Rush Rhees Library addition

Exhibit

Happy Additionday, Rush Rhees

A new digital exhibit celebrates the 50th anniversary of the addition to Rush Rhees Library

Ephemera

Can I see your pandemic pass, please?

During plague-times, you needed proof that you're healthy. The Edward G. Miner Library has it.

George Eastman statue wearing a COVID-19 mask

Quaran-time capsule

A University Archives project seeks to collect stories on life during the COVID-19 outbreak

Joanne Shenandoah next to a representation of the carillon chimes

Pop-Up

Celebrating Women, Music, and Culture

Two March events will feature Joanne Shenandoah and the carillon

Winners of the Research Initiative Award

FURL

I'll Be There for U-R-L

Friends have provided the libraries with support for almost 50 years

TinkerSpace

Tinker, Solder, Program, Code

Rochester’s TinkerSpace is what Meliora is all about

Students

A Seat at the Table

Students have a voice in the libraries’ policies, initiatives, and future.

Middle Ages

'Here we are now. Can you train us?'

A new Rossell Hope Robbins Library exhibit explores adolescent life in the 14th and 15th centuries

iZone

Lead the Future

The Rochester alumnus, fresh out of the publishing process, talks about what makes book-writing difficult, why anyone can do it, and why he did.

News

Editor's Picks: Tower Talk 2019

We asked Tower Talk Editor Matt Cook to choose some stories worth seeking out

History

Potree in Motion

The Digital Scholarship Lab’s Josh Romphf and Blair Tinker share how they help visualize the data and the tools they use to do it

Spaces

'No-Sleepover' at Gleason, Part II

Tower Talk Editor Matt Cook stayed up with Gleason to see what never closing looks like

Gleason library in full swing in the middle of the night

Spaces

'No-Sleepover' at Gleason, Part I

Tower Talk Editor Matt Cook stayed up with Gleason to see what never closing looks like

Research

Data Granted

A new program is helping to keep student research from hitting a wall, through grants that enable the purchase of critical data.

Cover of Elaine Marieb and Katja Hoehn’s textbook Human Anatomy & Physiology

Open Resource

Open for Learning

A biology professor has turned his class resources into "freesources" by making the shift to open education

A screenshot from the video game Hollow Knight

Event

Game Knight

A virtual quest to better understand the use of medieval motifs in video games.

Large letters spelling out MELIORA in the quad in front of Rush Rhees Library

Meliora Weekend

Libraries (Meliora) Weekend

A guide to having the ultimate libraries experience during Meliora Weekend

iZone

iZone among 'most impressive' of 2019

The creative problem-solving space is among 13 libraries being recognized for its design

"Censorship leaves us in the dark"; above "Banned Books Week"; next to a light bulb reading a book

Awareness

Do not read this

River Campus Libraries is shining a light on censorship by highlighting ‘controversial’ reads for Banned Books Week

Exhibit

To Reach Our Farthest Star

A new exhibit puts University leadership in context as Rochester prepares to inaugurate Sarah Mangelsdorf as its eleventh president

A side-by-side image of Queen Victoria and Susan B. Anthony

Lecture

A tale of two contemporaries

How much could a 19th-century British monarch and an American women's rights activist have in common? More than you might think.

System

Have you met Alma?

The University of Rochester Libraries welcomes a new library system.

William’s 600-page manuscript, De universo (On the Universe)

Middle Ages

One scholar’s universe is another scholar’s treasure

Students and the faculty are marveling at a 15th-century manuscript on the cosmos. And it's not just because it's close to 600 years old.

Research

Lauren Di Monte is protecting Rochester's scholarly rep

A conversation on disambiguation, bibliometrics, and University of Rochester research-related initiatives

The "cover sheet" from a volume of sheet music for "Farewell Song of Frederick Douglass"

Collection

An ARLIES winner

The River Campus Libraries was recognized at the fourth annual ARLIES Film Festival

Metzdorf Award

Trustee named Robert R. Metzdorf Award recipient

Friends of the University of Rochester Libraries select Trustee Evans Y. Lam as the 2019 Metzdorf Award recipient

Carillon

Keep calm and carillon

A celebration to the instrument that creates the iconic sounds of the River Campus

A blue network of lines and bright points that could be the inner-workings of AI; at the center there's an outline of a human head and brain

Data

Visualizing data in the Arts

An event held in collaboration with The Humanities Project showcased the connection between data visualization and art

A red heart icon nested within lines of computer code

Data

Love Data Week

The libraries shared and showed their love of data through a series of events and workshops

Part of the cover of John A. Williams' novel Captain Blackman

Collection

Writing of consequence

The enduring and growing significance of the John A. Williams Papers

Photo of renowned Zimbabwean mbira player, oral historian, and ritual specialist Sekuru Tute Chigamba

Humanities

Sekuru’s Stories

A digital humanities project featuring the renowned Zimbabwean mbira player, oral historian, and ritual specialist Sekuru Tute Chigamba.

Medieval

Visions of the Crusades

Rossell Hope Robbins Library hosts a conversation on two powerful medieval women in an edition of the Helen Ann Mins Robbins Lecture Series

Students gathered around a laptop on a table

Open Resource

The Disappearance of Daniel Bennett

The River Campus Libraries teamed up with regional peers to create a literacy escape room

Exhibit

Lewis Henry Morgan at 200

Celebrating the bicentennial of a founding figure in anthropology and archaeology

In Memoriam

Remembering Catherine Carlson

A tribute to an impassioned advocate of education and the libraries, thoughtful philanthropist, and a devoted wife

Acquisition

History meets art

A new acquisition unite abolitionist Frederick Douglass and renowned artist Meleko Mokgosi

iZone's Norris Piazza, looking toward the study booths

Celebration

Rush Rhees Library's newest 'place to be'

Among the highlights of Meliora Weekend was the formal dedication of the Barbara J. Burger iZone

Award

Julia Maddox is the 2018 Messinger Award recipient

The award recognizes the iZone director's leadership in bringing the iZone's vision and mission to life.

iZone's Norris Piazza looking toward Kessler Amphitheater

Spaces

Barbara J. Burger iZone opens

Rush Rhees Library welcomes a new home for inspiration, innovation, and imagination