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Mann Library

Open until 10pm - Full Hours /
Lobby/Contactless Pickup: Open 24 Hours

Year: 2021

The New Mann Café is Now Open

The new Mann Café opened August 23 in the Mann Lobby!
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If you’ve been among the many Cornellians missing the smell of good coffee in the Mann Lobby over the summer weeks, we’ve got some great news to share. On Monday, August 23, the new Mann Café opened its doors (off of the Mann Lobby) to offer a welcoming array of hot and cold drinks. By Thursday, August 26, the café will be open and on track for a full service menu—and a lively gathering spot featuring refreshing beverages and healthy food will again be part of the upper campus landscape. There’s lots to be happy about with this new development. Among the features that has Mann Library staff particularly delighted:  

  • Coffee – The new Mann Café will serve locally roasted Copper Horse coffee, a top quality brew that’s become  popular among Ithaca’s java aficionados since it first entered the local coffee roasting scene in 2014.
  • Tea – Not to be outdone, the discerning tea lovers among us are loving the fact that the café will feature fine organic tea by Teatulia, a company committed to regenerative farming and investing in the health, education and livelihoods of the community working in their tea garden.
  • Menu – In addition to the standard grab & go fare for hungry-but-short-on-time customers, Chef Chloe Greenhalgh (who also serves as managing chef for Martha’s Café in MVR) has prepared a menu of hand-crafted breakfast, lunch and dinner food that has something for every type of foodie—from peanut butter & apple-blueberry butter bagels and breakfast burritos (egg or scrambled tofu) to hot ham & cheese panini and vegan (also hot) bbq jackfruit sandwiches.
  • Local Sourcing – Thanks to Cornell Dining’s partnership with the food service vendor Performance Food Group, whenever possible, ingredients for the food prepared on-site will be sourced from within a 250 mile radius of Ithaca.
  • Hours – The café will be open 8am-5pm for the first couple of weeks of the semester, but as the semester gets underway, it will then shift to extended evening hours (we’ve heard as late as 10pm, matching the hours of Mann Library…yay!!) —a boon to those late-working students we see in the library. After Labor Day Weekend, the café will be open seven days a week.
  • Forms of payment – In addition to credit and debit cards, as part of Cornell Dining’s network of campus eateries, the new Mann Café will accept Big Red Bucks for students, and Meal Choice for Cornell staff and retirees.
  • Last but not least, composting and recycling! As with all other dining facilities on campus, a well-honed system of sorting for composting and recycling will be in place, and we’re hoping y’all will use it well. (And by way of refresher for getting our recyclables right:  current guidelines from Sustainable Campus Cornell).  

In short, we say: What’s not to like about one more way that the Cornell campus community can enjoy some good food and drink together while also taking well-deserved pride in continuing to push the campus sustainability envelope? We hope to be running into you at this fun Ag Quad hot spot soon!

Start the school year off right with our September workshops!

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It’s a fact of life—blossoms bear fruit, not to mention seeds for further growth. And this life sciences library hopes to help all the new and returning Cornellians get their 2021 fall semester off to a blooming start with a fresh line up of workshops. Follow the links below to register for what we’ve got going on in September—we’re eager to help you get a strong start on reaping in the sweet rewards of a great school year!  

 

Public Computers Are Back at the Library

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Woohoo! Another happy milestone in Cornell’s progress back to the (post-COVID) future has been reached. Public computers are available again at Cornell’s libraries, Mann included. We’re pretty sure that’s welcome news to those of you spending this scorcher of a summer with us here in Ithaca—no more lugging that laptop around in the heat.   A couple of caveats to go with that good news, just so we’re all on the same page:

  • CU-Print software has NOT yet been installed on the public desktops. So if you anticipate needing to print while you are in the Library, you’ll still need to haul that laptop along. (We’ll be installing the CU-Print software as soon as CIT provides it.)

  • Planning to use an Adobe product on one of our public computers? Adobe software licensing now requires users to log in with an Adobe ID.  Adobe IDs are free and instructions for creating or updating an Adobe ID can be found here: https://helpx.adobe.com/manage-account/using/create-update-adobe-id.html. If you run into problems with that or need further instructions from Cornell, you can contact the IT@Cornell help service at https://it.cornell.edu/support.

More good news about services and facilities at the Library will be coming over the weeks ahead. Stay tuned via our news page–and do drop by the library when you get the chance. We’ll be happy to see you!

Service Interruption Reminder

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A quick but important reminder for on-campus Cornellians and other library visitors—Cornell University Library is in the final stages of transitioning from our 20-year-old library management system to an new, open source system with modern functionalities and improved sustainability.  Please remember that borrowing services such as on-site checkouts, new requests for contactless pickup, retrieval from the Annex, and library-to-library delivery will be unavailable from Monday, June 21 through Thursday, July 1. 

 

Need a book? If you anticipate needing an item from the Mann Library collection or any other library collection on campus between June 21 and July 1, please come check it out in person before next Monday, or plan on visiting us after July 1. You will still be able to place scan requests for articles and book chapters. 

 

Have a book to return to the collection? Items that are returned after June 21 will be processed as soon as possible, but may still appear on your account until July 16. No fines will be incurred. Items with due dates between June 14 and July 12 have been automatically renewed so that nothing needs to be returned during the service outage. The new due dates will be reflected in My Account. 

 

If you have any questions or extenuating circumstances for borrowing a book from the Mann stacks between June 21 and July 1, please contact us at mann_circ@cornell.edu. For questions about items from the stacks at other libraries, you can get more information and contact info at: https://www.library.cornell.edu/pause

Written in Petals: The Language of Flowers in Victorian Europe

bit.ly/written-in-petals
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White lilies for grief. Snowdrops for hope. Daisies for innocence. Red roses for love, yellow for friendship. Floriography – sending messages with flowers – is an ancient art, rooted in the symbolism of China, Egypt, and Assyria.  In 19th century Europe a floriography-centered literary genre blossomed and a publishing industry that produced poetry, dictionaries, essay collections and often exquisite botanical art flourished. Drawing from a collection of gems donated to Mann by garden writer Isabel Zucker ’26, this new online exhibit at Mann Library provides a tour of the Language of Flowers as a cultural phenomenon that flourished during the Victorian era. As this display reminds us, what we humans see in nature—in this case flowers—reveals much about how we see and relate to ourselves.

Viewable online at exhibits.library.cornell.edu/written-in-petals

Hot Summer News: Updates on Services at Mann

Original artwork by Daisy Wiley
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A hot summer is underway on the Cornell campus, but cool Mann Library is open! Here is an overview of our summer services, including important information about service interruptions with Cornell University Library’s transition to a new platform for online library services (including the library catalog, equipment loans, and new acquisitions). 

Borrowing from our stacks

  • BorrowDirect and Interlibrary Loan are now officially paused until July 1.

  • The request service for contactless pick-up of books from Mann (and all Cornell libraries) will pause from June 17 until July 1.

  • Various circulation services such as on-site checkouts, new requests for contactless pickup, retrieval from the Annex, and library-to-library delivery will be unavailable from June 21 until July 1.

  • For up-to-date information about these interruptions, please see cornell.edu/pause

Equipment loans at Mann

  • Again, because of the Library’s transition to a new catalog, equipment loans at Mann are unavailable until July 1.

Study spaces and lockers

  • Individual and group study rooms are available to book via our website, but as a reminder, rooms are limited to grads and undergrads.

  • Use of all other study spaces in the library building no longer requires a reservation, and our doors are open to all who wish to enter during our normal hours of operation (no card swipe access required). For Mann’s summer hours, check out our hours page.

  • Fully vaccinated students, faculty and staff are no longer required to wear masks in campus buildings or social distance.

  • Unvaccinated Cornellians and all non-Cornell visitors must continue to wear masks and follow Cornell’s social distancing requirements when in Mann Library spaces. We are following Cornell University-wide rules in this regard; to see those, we encourage you to visit Cornell’s Public Health Requirements pages at https://covid.cornell.edu/students/public-health-requirements/.

  • Public computers are being re-installed in our spaces shortly. We will update this page when they are available for use.

  • Lockers are currently not available for use.

As the summer proceeds and Mann continues to get reset for a normal fall semester at Cornell, we’ll be posting updates about our spaces and services. So check back often for the skinny. And stay cool and hydrated in the meantime. It’s been a sizzler of a summer so far—and July is still ahead!

Ag Quad Quest 2021

Image by Eveline Ferretti
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ALL THE TOKENS HAVE NOW BEEN CLAIMED AND THE SCAVENGER HUNT IS NOW OVER. THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO PLAYED!

 

Game’s on for the last few weeks of the spring 2021 semester on the Cornell campus. All you crazy-busy students out there, we know what a stressful stretch it is for you. While the social distancing requirements of the pandemic year are still crimping our style for planning good stress-busters, we do have one trick up our sleeves—an actual scavenger hunt on the Ag Quad.

 

Some of you may be thinking: no way can I add one more thing to my plate right now! To you we say, please know we are taking this slow (as in totally at your own pace) and easy (as in, we’re not in this to stump you, but to make the finding fun and fast).

 

Clues for different treasures will be posted every few days here on this page (starting with the first two for this week below); join in at any point whenever you find yourself wanting to take a break from the books, computer screens, lab assignments or whatever else may be paining your petuzzi right now. We’ll be clueing you into about 6 different hiding spots over the next two weeks; find one treasure, or find them all. Our biggest hope with this is to give you more good reason to hope outside for some quick, spirit-uplifting, mind-refreshing, idea-boosting, treasure-rewarding fun.

 

Any questions, give us a shout at mann_outreach@cornell.edu. And check this page again often—new clues posted every few days. Lots of prizes to go with them—from highlighters to mugs. We hope you enjoy, and we wish you the very best of luck, with the scavenger hunt, your finals, and everything!

 

Treasure 1

You’ll find this cache on the Ag Quad when you find the European cousin of a tall American beauty that was once abundantly present from Maine to Mississippi—until a nasty, early 19th century blight brought her to functional extinction in her original range in the eastern U.S.

Additional hints: This tall leafy specimen is about to bloom and provides cool shade for enjoying your lunch on the Ag Quad, if you don’ t mind stone-hard seats.   Be sure to look up to find a tag in memory of a beloved former Mann Library Director. Still stumped? We’re pretty sure this nifty cartographic tool will give you what you need to find the spot: http://bit.ly/ag-quad-treasure1 Update: All the tokens for Treasure 1 have been found!

 

Treasure 2

To find our 2nd prize for Mann’s Ag Quad Quest 2021, get to spot that’s on higher plane on the Ag Quad (as, you’ll need to climb some outdoor stairs!). You’ll know you’re close when you see the name of a former CALS Dean. But you’ll be nearer still when you turn around and get close enough to almost touch a couple of Mann Library windows. 
Additional hints: This evergreen woody producer (names rhymes with Jupiter) makes a great but prickly hiding spot. Update: All the tokens for Treasure 2 have been found!

 

Treasure 3

Find the Excelsior seal on the Mann Library building. The younger of the two elms* standing guard beneath this lofty architectural touch harbors the cache. (*Email us the scientific name of the tree for a bonus prize!) Update: All the tokens for Treasure 3 have been found!

 

Treasure 4

Take a break at this private little spot close to Mann Library and you’ll learn a little about the SITES Accredited Garden that it’s part of. Enjoy a moment on the comfortable bench, and before you leave, be sure to check the boxwood behind you for your next treasure! Update: All the tokens for Treasure 4 have been found!

 

Treasure 5

The Ag Quad is graced by the presence of some towering older oak trees—with a  few smaller teenagers coming into their own as well.  Find the young white oak tree that’s tagged in honor of Mann Library special projects librarian Wallace Olsen, whose early work at Mann helped develop our Core Historical Literature of Agriculture, and you’ll have snagged your next treasure. Update: All the tokens for Treasure 5 have been found!

 

For these final two quests, you’ll need to leave the Ag Quad proper, but not by much. We suggest you maybe look for these as you head up behind Bradfield Hall to the Dairy Bar for some Cornell ice cream—you deserve the treat!

 

Treasure 6

Honey locust trees are frequent favorites in urban landscapes—and the leafy giants that are guarding this next treasure spot have helped turn what would be a very hot outdoor corner of the Mann building into a cool oasis. While you enjoy the dappled shade, look around for an inspiring word that rhymes with “respect” and it won’t take you long to find the cache!

Additional hint: Find the right honey locusts using the mapping tool on this page of our Trees of Cornell exhibit. Update: All the tokens for Treasure 6 have been found!

 

Treasure 7

The sign by this next treasure spot may have you thinking of lunch, but really it’s all about sustainable landscaping. Find the bioswale in question, and you’ll be very close. Look around to find the thing that pill bugs, worms, salamanders and other delightful  (hey, we’re into the life sciences!) creepy crawlies like to hide under and you’ll find your cache.

Additional hint: Visit this page to find out Cornell’s bioswales (what they are, what they do, where they’re located) and other campus features on the Sustainable Landscapes Trail. Update: All the tokens for Treasure 7 have been found!

Library Workshops in April

Check out our April workshop line-up
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April is the cruelest month? We beg to differ, Mr. Eliot. Join us for any of our workshops and we’ll help you put the muddy, rainy early spring in a whole new light. Plus, Earth Day! Some highlights:

And of course, rain or shine, questions big or small, we’re here for you–just ask a librarian!

Bear and Owl Say: “Get the Most Out of Your Library”

Original artwork by Daisy Wiley
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Hey students, what can the Library help you with during a hybrid semester at Cornell? A lot! Just take it from the bear and the owl—who’ve stepped us as stars of our comic strip series, created to fill you in on all the ways you can make the Library work for you.

Our newest installment outlines all the goodies (books, study spaces, printing services, loaner laptops and other equipment) that on-campus students and researchers can find at the Library. We present it side-by-side with our earlier issue—also not to be missed!—featuring tips on getting the most out of the library from a distance—whether with a device (computer, tablet or mobile phone) located here in Ithaca or from a perch anywhere else in the world. One way or the other, virtual or in-person, the Library is here for you when and where you need us. Bear and owl are here to tell you exactly how that works.

Chats in the Stacks Spring 2021

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The Cornell University Library Chats in the Stacks is a series of book talks featuring recent publications by Cornell authors. This semester, all the book talks will be virtual, so you can enjoy them wherever you are! See the schedule below for Mann Library.

 

January 29, 2021 4pm

Fault Lines: Fractured Families and How to Mend Them by Karl Pillemer

What makes family estrangement so painful? Why do these rifts arise in the first place, and how can we overcome them? Based largely on Pillemer’s groundbreaking, ten-year Cornell Reconciliation Project—the first national survey on estrangement—Fault Lines (Avery, 2020) combines science-based repair tools with the personal experiences of hundreds of people who have mended family rifts. 

 

April 2, 2021 4pm

The Constants of Motion with Roald Hoffman

In his poetry, chemist Roald Hoffmann explores philosophy and science, weaving worlds of sound and meaning from the simple building blocks of words. In his latest book of poetry, Constants of the Motion (Dos Madres Press, 2020), Hoffmann delves into personal experiences, including a desperate childhood shaped by the Holocaust and a search for consilience in the tranquil beauty of the Santa Cruz Mountains.

 

April 15, 2021 4pm

Our Changing Menu: Climate Change and the Foods We Love and Need by Michael Hoffmann, Carrie Koplinka-Loehr, and Danielle Eiseman

Climate change is a recipe for disaster. Whether you’re a home cook or a master chef, backyard gardener or professional grower, the yields, flavors, nutritional content, and cost of what you eat are already being impacted, according to Our Changing Menu: Climate Change and the Foods We Love and Need (Cornell University Press, 2021), a book that celebrates the power of food and tackles what is arguably the greatest challenge of our time.