Rare Book & Manuscript Library Events
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 in the RBML from 3-5 pm on Thursday, September 24, for the opening reception of our new exhibit. Curator Lynne Thomas will present brief remarks, and refreshments will be served. This exhibit will remain on display through summer 2027.
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.
