Library Calendar
Wednesday, August 26, 2026
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250 Years of Documenting Democracy
RecurringExplore 250 Years of Documenting Democracy, a three-part exhibit presented by Government Information Services in the Main Library, with displays in Room 220, the Library Gallery, and the cases near the Main Stacks entrance.

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Under the theme, "Learning from a Library Luminary: Global Reach, Local Touch", the 6th ATU Library Mentorship Series features Barbara J. Ford, former Director of the Mortenson Center at UIUC, who will share her remarkable career journey, passion for mentoring young professionals, and extensive work in advancing international librarianship and global collaboration.

Thursday, August 27, 2026
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250 Years of Documenting Democracy
RecurringExplore 250 Years of Documenting Democracy, a three-part exhibit presented by Government Information Services in the Main Library, with displays in Room 220, the Library Gallery, and the cases near the Main Stacks entrance.

Friday, August 28, 2026
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250 Years of Documenting Democracy
RecurringExplore 250 Years of Documenting Democracy, a three-part exhibit presented by Government Information Services in the Main Library, with displays in Room 220, the Library Gallery, and the cases near the Main Stacks entrance.

Wednesday, September 2, 2026
Thursday, September 3, 2026
Friday, September 4, 2026
Saturday, September 5, 2026
Sunday, September 6, 2026
Monday, September 7, 2026
Tuesday, September 8, 2026
Wednesday, September 9, 2026
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Join us for a lively and timely talk with award-winning author and Illinois’ alumna Devi Laskar on her new novel Midnight, At the War. Set in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, an event which had a profound impact on U.S. engagement and policy in the Middle East and South Asia, Laskar’s novel is informed by her own experiences as a journalist in the 1990s and early aughts.

Thursday, September 10, 2026
Friday, September 11, 2026
Saturday, September 12, 2026
Sunday, September 13, 2026
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Inspired by the Human Library®, have a conversation with international neighbors and celebrate the diverse origins of everyone in our community! Neighbors at this event will be sharing various aspects about their personal stories and heritage cultures. Adults and kids are welcome to learn about different countries’ culture, language, cuisine, and more!

Monday, September 14, 2026
Tuesday, September 15, 2026
Wednesday, September 16, 2026
Thursday, September 17, 2026
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Join Lynne M. Thomas, Ruthann Mowry, and Quinn Ferris, for a roundtable discussion of the historical context, acquisition and intensive conservation process for Sir Isaac Newton’s manuscript translation of an alchemical text, Opus Galli anonymi, (ca. 1650), held in the Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

Friday, September 18, 2026
Saturday, September 19, 2026
Sunday, September 20, 2026
Monday, September 21, 2026
Tuesday, September 22, 2026
Wednesday, September 23, 2026
Thursday, September 24, 2026
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Exhibit Opening — “I could people the hours with creations”: Celebrating Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
Please join us for an opening reception to celebrate the acquisition of the first edition of Frankenstein and explore the life and career of Mary Shelley. Exhibit curator Lynne Thomas will give brief remarks, and refreshments will be served.

Friday, September 25, 2026
Saturday, September 26, 2026
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The Youth Literature Festival is a free, family-friendly celebration of reading, storytelling, and creativity hosted by the University of Illinois College of Education.

Sunday, September 27, 2026
Monday, September 28, 2026
Tuesday, September 29, 2026
Wednesday, September 30, 2026
Tuesday, October 27, 2026
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The techniques for making texts have changed across multiple media and historical contexts since antiquity, but a regular feature of the work of authors and scholars through all those changes is the reliance on helpers or amanuenses. Dr. Ann Blair (Harvard) will discuss the factors that have made them both invisible and occasionally visible, and the kind of work they did.

Thursday, November 12, 2026
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This event will highlight the collaborative project involving Emblematica (U of I), a digital library of emblem books, and Compositor (U of Birmingham), a database of printers’ ornaments. Dr. Hazel Wilkinson hypothesizes that “emblem-literacy” caused historical readers to engage with ornamented books in ways previously unaccounted-for in scholarship.

Thursday, December 10, 2026
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Come and celebrate the semester’s end with hot apple cider, sweet and salty treats, and relaxing RBML-themed activities. Make a button, fill in a coloring sheet, collaborate on a big puzzle, and snag a fresh print of our annual holiday linocut card! This event is part of the library's Reading Day De-Stress Fest; it is open to the public and refreshments will be served.

