Spring 2016 – Favorite Library Moments!

Believe it or not, another fantastic semester at UW-Madison has come to a close! Here are some of our favorite moments from the past few months.

1. Anna Deavere Smith/Lit Fest/Shakespeare

LitFest 2016 was a huge success. UW-Madison welcomed actress and playwright Anna Deavere Smith to Memorial Union’s Shannon Hall to give a lecture to an audience of almost 300 people. Thanks to the Distinguished Lecture Series for leading this effort, in collaboration with the Libraries. We’re more excited than ever about the Year of Shakespeare!

1. Mills grant

The Mills Music Library received a $230,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities for the digital preservation of historical sound recordings.

1. Kohler exhibit

Graduate students from the School of Library and Information Studies produced and displayed an exhibition in the Kohler Art Library called bodyPARTS bookARTS, which explored themes and perceptions of the body and its assorted parts. The exhibition is in the Kohler Library until June 5.

1. Holding History

The third Holding History event, Shakespeare-themed, was held in March. Students from a wide variety of backgrounds and majors came together to share research they had done using the rare books in the Department of Special Collections.

1. Silver Buckle Press

UW-Madison Libraries launched a collaboration effort with the Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum to preserve and expand the historic Silver Buckle Press and its collection. Thanks to this partnership, Silver Buckle will remain available for students, researchers, and members of the Madison community while being housed at Hamilton.

1. Libraries Transform Campaign

The UW-Madison Libraries are taking part in the American Library Association’s Libraries Transform Campaign. The purpose of the campaign is to increase awareness of the changing role of libraries and the ways in which libraries on campus are transforming to meet the needs of their users. In addition, library staff are working to highlight the ways in which libraries have a potential to transform the people who use them.

1. Dogs on Call

Dogs on Call paid a visit to Steenbock Library in April to soothe midterm exam panic. They will be returning for finals week, as well.

1. Book Madness

While the Badgers made an impressive run in the NCAA Tournament, the UW Libraries had some March Madness celebrations of their own. Librarians chose 64 books and pitted them against each other in four brackets. Roald Dahl’s Matilda was crowned this year’s champion.

1. Blind Date with a Book

This past Valentine’s Day, librarians Beth Harper and Paloma Celis-Carbajal worked together to gather recommended reads from library staff, gift-wrap them, and put them on display with notes such as “check me out!” and “take me home!” In addition to adding an atmosphere of fun to the normally serious libraries, it helped break down the tendency of people to make flash judgments based on a book’s outward appearance. In other words, it gave literal meaning to the phrase “don’t judge a book by its cover.”

1. Gearing up for next year

As always, we’re busy gearing up for the future! Get ready for some exciting events in fall 2016. (spoiler alert: one of them is the arrival of Shakespeare’s First Folio).