Welcome (back), Cornell alumni and families! We are excited for a great weekend on campus, and hope you’ll join us at the library for a variety of family-friendly programming. Enjoy self-guided tours of our spaces and exhibits; view a selection of treasures from our special collections vault; and learn how to make natural dyes with everyday materials you have at home. And if that isn’t enough, we are also hosting the inaugural reunion lecture with Elaine Westbrooks, the Carl A. Kroch University Librarian, on why democracies need libraries.
Events – Saturday, June 10
Mann Library Open House
Cornell students have described Mann Library as the “the best place to discover 10 million new ideas,” and alumni on campus for Reunion 2023 are cordially invited to come learn why. Sun-dappled study corners, flexible hi-tech collaborative spaces, rich collections, rare book treasures, engaging exhibits that celebrate science and art, room to think and explore—you’ll find it all right here. Family friendly and interactive—join us!
10am – 2pm
Natural Dye Demo
Fiber artist Marcie Farwell, who also serves as the Gordon and Marjorie Osborne Textile Industry Curator at the Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation, will present a special demonstration of techniques and materials used for coloring textiles with natural dyes. Please join us for a closer look at one of the ways fiber and textile craft can tick both boxes as expressive art and practical science, with positive implications for planet Earth to boot!
11:30am – 2pm, 2nd Floor
Inaugural Reunion Lecture with the University Librarian: “On This Rock: Why Democracies Need Libraries”
In a time of intense political polarization, libraries in every state are facing an unprecedented number of attempts to ban books. Yet the Pew Charitable Trust has documented that Americans have consistently put their trust in libraries more than other institutions. Carl A. Kroch University Librarian Elaine Westbrooks will discuss how research libraries promote and sustain democratic activities by highlighting the role Cornell’s librarians play in providing citizenship education, stewarding facts, and building pluralistic and diverse communities—activities that fundamentally make our democracy more secure and stable for future generations.
2 – 3pm, Stern Seminar Room (Mann 160)
Exhibits – ongoing
Threading the Needle: Weaving Tradition into Contemporary Textile Art
Using needle and thread, warp and weft, 28 artists explore the meaning and self-expression behind textile creation to envision a future of textiles and “slow fashion” that brings storytelling back into the conversation and our own relationship with the textiles in our lives.
Mann Library Gallery, 2nd Floor
Sustaining Style: Towards Responsible Fashion
Booming fast fashion has made stylish clothing more affordable than ever before, but costs to the environment have been high. “Sustaining Style” explores ideas and innovations being investigated here at Cornell University and beyond to realize a more sustainable way of producing and using the clothes we wear.
Mann Library Lobby, 1st Floor