News

New era, new Olin: Library unveils sweeping interior renovations
A major renovation of Olin Library’s main floor and lower levels, completed in summer 2025, has given the venerable campus building a long-awaited overhaul of …

Crowning glory: McGraw Tower’s renovations are complete
After more than two years of renovation and restoration, McGraw Tower is finally free of scaffolding. Above all—literally and figuratively—is a brand-new roof. “Everyone—from the designers …

Library’s ‘plant-based’ exhibit opens Sept. 18 with talk, reception
Plants—as objects of admiration and scientific study and materials for creative expression—are the focus of a new Cornell University Library exhibit, Plant-Based: Botanical Innovations from …

Olin Library holds reopening celebration Aug. 27
From when Olin Library first opened in 1961 until the mid-’90s, only library employees were allowed in the stacks, and a numbered call board above …

Library student workers receive prize for outstanding service
Cornell University Library recently honored student workers with the Fuerst Award in recognition of their outstanding and dedicated service to the Library during the past …

Firebrand Books archives spark collaboration with Ithaca College scholars
The Firebrand Books archives at Cornell University Library have been drawing scholars from far and wide who are interested in learning more about the history …

Kheel Center to celebrate “ILR at 80” during Reunion Weekend exhibit
An exhibition celebrating the history and evolution of the ILR School, from its founding in 1945 to the present day, will be on display in …

Librarian named one of Library Journal’s Movers & Shakers in the innovators category
Maddie Reynolds Ph.D. ’21, outreach and information services librarian for Cornell University Library and the Cornell Prison Education Program (CPEP), has been named one of …

Trust, data, and emerging technologies
On April 2, 2025, more than 400 Cornell community members gathered to examine individual and collective responsibility regarding how data are stored, used, interrogated, and …

Symposium launches archive of Venezuelan migrant testimonies
“First, thank God for allowing me to write and transmit these words, thank you for letting me take this pen.” So began the testimony of …

Library puts rare James Baldwin collection on exhibit
New York City-based publisher and book collector George Bixby spent a lifetime tracking down the works of writer and civil rights activist James Baldwin – …

Kheel Center honors student archival research
Rosie the Riveter—the image of a bicep-flexing, young white woman who came to symbolize the empowerment of American women factory workers during WWII—sparked the curiosity …

NYS invasive species illuminated by art and science exhibit
Students, scientists, and artists have joined forces to present a Cornell University Library exhibit designed to spread awareness about non-native plants and insects threatening ecosystems …

Librarians as teaching partners, libraries as laboratories
2024 was a busy year for Cornell University Library’s teaching librarians. In the fall semester alone, they taught 428 instruction sessions for various courses and …

Rare transcript, photos of MLK Jr. union speech discovered
Claire Deng ’22 was doing a survey of archival papers last summer at a library in the ILR School when she came across something unexpected. …

Cornell University Library leaders connect with peers in Iceland
Cornell’s first University Librarian, Daniel Willard Fiske, sailed to Iceland in 1879 and, already familiar with its storied literature, grew deeply enamored with its people …

Behind the stacks: The silent pillars of Cornell University Library
The following story is republished from Cornell’s Human Resources website. Cornell University Library is a complex web woven by individuals who each play a critical …

Panel discussion shares Indigenous perspectives on education
Researchers from Cornell Human Ecology (CHE) and the University of Buffalo discussed the history of Indigenous education — plus modern-day challenges and opportunities — during …

Library card for all Cornell University Library visitors now free!
Not a current Cornellian but want to borrow books from Cornell University Library without having to pay for a visitor’s library card? No problem! For …

Indigenous women in home economics featured in exhibit
A new exhibit in the lobby of Mann Library highlights the contributions of the first Haudenosaunee women in the College of Human Ecology, who benefited …