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Mann Library

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Spring 2025 Chats in the Stacks

We’re excited to announce the schedule for Mann Library’s spring semester book talks! All our Chats in the Stacks book talks will start at 4:30pm and will be held in-person in Mann Library Room 160 as well as livestreamed. You can find all recordings of our past Chats in the Stacks on our YouTube channel

 

Thursday, February 20, 4:30pm

Mann Library, Room 160 and livestreamed

Biochar for Environmental Management: Science, Technology and Implementation

What is the importance of biochar to the health of the environment and what impact can a book about the topic have on the way soils are managed in the 21st century? In a live, hybrid Chats in the Stacks book talk, Cornell professor of soil and crop sciences Johannes Lehmann will address both questions as he discusses “Biochar for Environmental Management: Science, Technology and Implementation,” co-edited with fellow leading figure in the field, Stephen Joseph, professor of material science and engineering at the University of New South Wales. Now in its third edition (Routledge, 2024), “Biochar” is a systematic, comprehensive, and global examination of using black carbon produced from biomass sources to both improve soil health and sequester carbon. Lehmann will discuss lessons learned from publishing the book’s  third edition, and touch on general recommendations for considering book publications for research. 

 

Thursday, March 27, 4:30pm

Mann Library, Room 160 and livestreamed

George Masa: A Life Reimagined

Japanese-born photographer George Masa adopted Southern Appalachia as his home. Through his advocacy, dedication, and stunning photography, he helped ensure that large portions of the Great Smoky mountains would become a national park. Similarly, Masa labored long and hard to scout and mark the southern portion of the Appalachian Trail through the Smokies while inspiring others with his quips, “more walk, less talk” and “off your seats and on your feets.” Join us for a live, hybrid Chats in the Stacks book talk with Janet McCue, Associate University Librarian Emerita, for an exploration of George Masa: A Life Reimagined (Smokies Life, 2024) the first comprehensive biography of Masa, which McCue coauthored with documentary filmmaker Paul Bonesteel.

 

Thursday, April 24, 4:30pm

Mann Library, Room 160 and livestreamed

Community Development and Schools: Conflict, Power and Promise

Schools hold promise and potential as critical community-development actors, but they face many challenges, according to Mildred Warner, Director of the Polson Institute for Global Development and professor in City and Regional Planning and the Department of Global Development. Join us for a live, hybrid Chats in the Stacks book talk with Warner on her recent publication Community Development and Schools: Conflict, Power and Promise (Routledge, 2024) coedited with Jason Reece and Xue Zhang.

Spring 2025 Workshops @ Mann Library

Library workshops are a great way to level up your research skills, and did we mention they’re free?? Whether you prefer to attend in-person or virtually, we have options that will work for everyone’s schedule. We also have a wide selection of pre-recorded workshops that can be viewed asynchronously at your convenience: mann.library.cornell.edu/workshops. And you can always request a workshop by filling out our Workshop Request Form. This semester we’re excited to offer a selection of new offerings, including Introduction to Covidence and Python for All, as well as some of our most in-demand workshops, including Intro to QGIS and Power Searching. See the list below or view all available library workshops at spaces.library.cornell.edu/calendar/CULworkshops

Evidence Synthesis Workshops

Introduction to Systematic Reviews (hybrid)

Friday, February 21, 1-2:30pm

Are you interested in working on a systematic review, scoping review, or meta-analysis but don’t know where to start? The library can help! In this workshop, we’ll show you how to get your evidence synthesis project off the ground with the most up-to-date guidance and time-saving tools.

NEW! Introduction to Meta-Analysis (hybrid)

Friday, February 28, 1-2:30pm

Meta-analysis is a statistical procedure for combining the results from multiple studies in an effort to synthesize their findings. Potential benefits include increased power (over individual studies), improved estimates of effect sizes, and the ability to resolve uncertainty when research disagrees. Meta-analysis has become a popular tool for researchers in many fields. In this workshop, we will provide an introduction to the theory and statistical methods behind meta-analysis. Presented by the Cornell Statistical Consulting Unit.

NEW! Introduction to Covidence (virtual)

Tuesday, March 18, 12-1pm

This workshop will introduce Covidence, a tool for managing systematic reviews and complex literature reviews. Covidence sorts your literature review into distinct phases, allowing you and your collaborators to sift through a large number of records and locate what’s relevant in an efficient and unbiased manner.

Power Searching: Developing a Search Strategy for Your Literature Review

Thursday, March 20, 12-1pm

Whether you’re new to searching academic databases or want help designing the most comprehensive search strategy possible, this workshop will help you get the most out of searching for academic literature. 

Research Data & Open Scholarship Workshops

NEW! Python for All: Democratizing Coding Mastery with AI Chatbot Support (virtual)

Tuesday, February 11, 12-2pm

We will utilize AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Bard, and Co-pilot to support the process of learning to code. Using Python as our teaching tool, participants will acquire skills that are transferable to other programming languages. We will explore how AI chatbots can be invaluable resources for understanding, writing, and refining code, as well as for facilitating transitions between different coding languages.

NEW! CLI Basics: A Beginners Crash Course

Are you new to the command-line interface or looking for a refresher? Look no further! Join us for an introduction to essential commands and tasks. We’ll dive into topics covering navigating and creating directories and files, using text editors for basic file editing, moving and removing files, and utilizing tools like pipes and grep.

Creative & DIY Workshops

NEW! Making with Data

Wednesday, March 12, 5-6:30pm

Data physicalization, the practice of making tangible objects that encode and visualize information, can bring new dimensions to research by promoting deeper relationships between the practitioner and their data, as well as between the viewer and the data visualization. This workshop will introduce participants to data physicalization through the framework of data feminism.

Communicating Your Research Through Comics

Wednesday, April 9, 12-1pm

Looking for a fun and unique way to communicate your research? Come and learn how to use comics to visually communicate scientific information – for conference posters, papers, and more. This is open to all skill levels, no experience drawing or graphics programs necessary!

Software Workshops

Introduction to Citation Management with EndNote (virtual)

Wednesday, February 26, 12-1pm

Make your research life easier by learning how to manage your citations using a program like Endnote desktop. In this one hour hands-on workshop, learn how this free program organizes your citations and PDFS and formats citations & bibliographies in your Word documents with your preferred output style.

Intro to QGIS

Thursday, March 13, 2:30-3:30pm

This workshop will cover basic tasks using QGIS: loading data, changing the styles used to display the data on a map, installing plugins, using processing tools to do basic analysis, and exporting a finished map image.

Welcome back, students!

We’re pleased to welcome Cornell students back to the library for the spring 2025 semester on this chilly Tuesday morning! As always, please be sure to check our full hours page for the most up-to-date information on library hours. To see the hours for other libraries on campus, visit the Libraries page on the Cornell University Library website. We’re also thrilled to share that the breezeway between the Mann Library Lobby and the Plant Sciences building is once again open, making access to buildings across the Ag Quad much more convenient this semester!

 

A few other reminders as you get back into the semester routine:

  • Have a question? Get in-person help at our 1st floor Help Desk from 9am to 4pm, Mon – Fri, or you can chat online with an information professional at library.cornell.edu/get-help/ask/ (or click the “Chat with Us” widget on any Cornell University Library webpage)
  • Physical course reserve items are available in the atrium area of the 1st floor of Mann Library. You can find out what’s on reserve at the library by visiting our course reserves page, mann.library.cornell.edu/reserves. Please check your course Canvas page for items that may be available electronically.
  • Reserve a study space at mann.library.cornell.edu/find-a-space. You can reserve individual or group study rooms, our Sensory Study Space, or the Mann Privacy Pod for private conversations and/or teleconferencing.
  • Connect with one of our experts at mann.library.cornell.edu/staff-profiles. Or request a consultation with a Mann librarian.
  • We have multiple 24/7 study spaces: the Mann Lobby, Stone Classroom (Mann 103), and the CALS Zone (Mann 112) are all available 24/7 via card swipe access.
  • Find out about our current and upcoming events & exhibits at mann.library.cornell.edu/events-calendar
  • The CALS Zone offers daily drop-in advising, group workspaces, and free coffee and snacks while continuing to serve as a 24-hour study space. Check the CALS Zone website for the weekly academic and career advising schedule.
  • Keep an eye on our news page for upcoming information on our spring workshop schedule and Chats in the Stacks book talks.

From all your friends at Mann Library: We hope you have a healthy and productive spring semester! Stay warm out there!

Winter Break Hours 2024-25

It’s almost winter break, which means that Mann Library hours will be slightly different over the next few weeks, so be sure to plan accordingly!

 

  • We will close at 5pm on Tuesday, December 24, 2024.
  • Mann Library will be closed from Wednesday, December 25, 2024 – Wednesday, January 1, 2025. We will reopen at 8am on Thursday, January 2, 2025.
  • Please note that our 24/7 spaces and our contactless pickup area will also be closed during this time period, so remember to pick up your requested items before 5pm on Tuesday, 12/24!

When we reopen on January 2, we will have adjusted hours for the winter intersession:

  • Monday – Friday, 8am to 5pm
  • CLOSED Saturday and Sunday
  • We will also be closed on Monday, January 20, 2025 for the MLK Jr. holiday.

Our regular semester hours will resume on the first day of classes for the spring semester, Tuesday, January 21, 2025. You can find the schedule of Cornell University staff holidays on the Human Resources website, and the Cornell academic calendar on the University Registrar website. The full listing of Mann Library hours can be found on our hours page.

 

From all your friends at Mann Library, we wish you a peaceful winter break and a happy new year!

End-of-semester Stressbusters

It’s the homestretch of the semester, and Mann Library and the CALS Zone are partnering up to bring some much-needed stressbusters programming to the Ag Quad. Stop by for treats and coffee, some canine cuddles, or a fun arts & crafts activity when you need a brain break! 

 

Hot Chocolate Bar
Tuesday, December 10, 4-6pm
CALS Zone (Mann 112)
Hot Chocolate Bar + CALS Sock Giveaway with Dean’s Community Leadership Council!

 

Pet-a-Puppy (Guiding Eyes club)
Wednesday, December 11, 12-1pm
CALS Zone (Mann 112)
Feeling stressed? Some canine cuddles are just what the doctor ordered!

 

Hot Chocolate Bar
Wednesday, December 11, 2-4pm and Thursday, December 12, 12-2pm
CAL Zone (Mann 112)
Hot Chocolate Bar with Dean’s Community Leadership Council

 

Snacks in the Stacks
Friday, December 13 and Wednesday, December 18, 10am
Mann Help Desk
Stop by our desk on the first floor of Mann Library starting at 10am for some complimentary coffee and healthy (and not-so-healthy) snacks.

 

Butterfly Break
Tuesday, December 17, 3-5pm
CALS Zone (Mann 112)

Take a break from studying and come get crafty with us! Make butterfly pushpins and enjoy the beauty of butterfly science.

 

Late-night Hours

Attention night owls! Mann Library has extended hours during study week and finals. From Tuesday, December 10 through Wednesday, December 18, Mann will have the following hours:

  • Monday – Thursday, 8am to midnight
  • Friday, 8am to 8pm
  • Saturday, 10am to 8pm
  • Sunday, Noon to midnight

We return to our regular semester hours on Thursday, December 19. And don’t forget that the lobby, Stone Classroom (Mann 103), and the CALS Zone (Mann 112), are open 24/7! So even after the library closes, you still have a variety of study spaces to choose from.

 

See our full hours online: mann.library.cornell.edu/full-hours. You can find the hours for the Mann Café, or order online, via the Cornell Dining website.

World Soil Day Celebration: Community Art Event with Soil Painting

World Soil Day Celebration: Community Art Event with Soil Painting

Thursday, December 5, 2024 11am to 3pm

Mann Lobby
 

Join us for a community art soil painting event to celebrate World Soil Day 2024. Drop by the Mann Library lobby between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. to paint a “soil creature”–representing some of the life forms to be found in healthy teeming ecosystems beneath our feet– using paints made from soil. These mini artworks will be compiled into a community art installation that will be on display at Mann Library for the rest of the semester.  Come celebrate soil life with us!

 

Screening and Conversation on “Divisible: A Redlining Documentary”

Screening and Conversation on Divisible: A Redlining Documentary

Tuesday, December 3, 2024 4:30pm to 6pm

Mann 102

 

Please join us for a screening of Divisible, a documentary that focuses on the history and current impacts of redlining in the United States, highlighting the specific case of Omaha, Nebraska to illustrate how discriminatory housing policies continually affect people nationwide. The screening will be followed by a conversation with Associate professor Neil Lewis, Jr. of the Communications Department who is featured in the documentary, Associate professor in the department of Government Jamila Michener, Director of the Cornell Center for Racial Justice and Equitable Futures and Senior Associate Dean of Public Engagement at the Brooks School, and Lizzy Barrett, Filmmaker and Founder of Equity Media and Senior Video Producer for the Voter Formation Project. 

Mann Library Hours – Thanksgiving Break

Mann Library will have adjusted hours for the Thanksgiving Break. We will close early on Wednesday, November 27 and will remain closed through the holiday weekend until we reopen on Sunday, December 1. We will resume our regular semester hours on Monday, December 2.

 

In summary, our hours during the Thanksgiving weekend will be:

  • Wednesday, November 27 – 8am to 5pm
  • Thursday, November 28 – CLOSED
  • Friday, November 29 – CLOSED
  • Saturday, November 30 – CLOSED
  • Sunday, December 1 – 12 to 6pm

You can find our full hours for the remainder of the semester on our hours page. Wishing you and yours a wonderful holiday weekend, from all your friends at Mann Library!

New Exhibit: Mohawk River Project

Teionontatátie, “a river flowing through a mountain,” was once the dominant means of travel and fishing by the Haudenosaunee people. Named after the Mohawk tribe in English, the river is now one of the most modified rivers in the United States, and has been polluted by industrial waste, abundant raw sewage overspills, nitrogen, and road salt. 

 

The Mohawk River Project exhibit features the works of Anna Davidson, senior research associate and lecturer in Natural Resources, and her graduate student, Anna Mehlhorn, that stem from leading a capstone course that intertwined art, science and culture in the study of the Mohawk River. Davidson and her students traveled to various communities along the watershed soliciting their concerns, hopes, data, and other messages about their river. Several of the pieces in the exhibit, including a 15-foot canoe, are covered in the messages from these participants, including Mohawk River Watershed Youth Climate Summit members, Indigenous people of the Mohawk River Valley, scientists working on the river, Cornell students, and seventh graders from the Middle School in New York Mills, a town increasingly prone to flooding and deeply affected by hurricane Irene. 

 

As a performative act for environmental justice, on September 15-16th 2024, Davidson canoed these messages down the Mohawk, then the Hudson, finally arriving at the NY State Capitol where the canoe was exhibited for lawmakers. 

 

The canoe and other pieces are now viewable in Mann Gallery, second floor of Mann Library, during all open hours of the Library now through January 26, 2025.

Library card for all Cornell University Library visitors now free

Jose Beduya, Cornell University Library

 

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 free, any visitor—including alumni, local residents, and anyone visiting from in and outside of New York State—can now request a library card from Cornell University Library. 

 

Renewable yearly, the library card enables visitors to check out circulating materials, including books, DVDs, CDs, and other physical media. Borrowed library materials can be renewed online or on site and returned in person or by mail, but they must be picked up on site.

 

There are two ways to request the free visitor’s library card: 

  • Fill out an online form and get notified when the library card is ready for pickup at the Olin Library service desk. 
  • Sign up for the library card at the Olin Library service desk and get it on the spot. 

Cornell University Library implemented the change to a free library card for all visitors in September 2024. Before then, visitors have been welcome to use Cornell University Library’s spaces, equipment, and collections on site, but only New York State residents could get free visitors’ borrowing cards for statutory unit libraries such as Mann Library and Catherwood Library. All other visitors had to pay a small fee to have a library card with borrowing privileges for all library locations on campus.

 

Making the visitor’s library card free is part of Cornell University Library’s efforts at expanding access for individuals from all walks of life, according to Michelle Hubbell, the library’s financial and user management coordinator. 

 

“After eliminating overdue fines, it seems natural to continue to eliminate any fees that can be seen as a barrier to entry into and use of our libraries,” she said. “Hopefully, it also helps project a welcoming environment to our visitors.” 

 

Explore Cornell University Library’s website to get information on how to visit and to learn more about library locations and hours