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Year: 2024

Screening and Conversation on “Divisible: A Redlining Documentary”

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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

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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

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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

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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. 

Indigenous women in home economics featured in exhibit

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Jose Beduya, Cornell University Library

 

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 from home economics programs but were constrained by inadequate financial support, cultural stereotypes, and gender bias. Titled “Redressing Histories of Early Hodinǫ̱hsǫ́:nih Women at Cornell, 1914–1942,” the exhibit is part of Human Ecology’s centennial celebrations this year. It opens on Nov. 4 with a panel discussion, “Indigenous Perspectives in Higher Education: Reflecting on the Past to Inform the Future,” at 4 p.m. in Mann Library 160, followed by a reception in the lobby. 

 

“Redressing Histories” features five women from the Haudenosaunee Confederacy—an alliance of six sovereign Indigenous nations—who participated in extension and educational programs in the former College of Home Economics at Cornell (now the College of Human Ecology) between 1914 and 1942. 

 

Among the women featured is Henrietta Guilfoyle (née Hoag), the first Haudenosaunee woman to graduate with a four-year degree from the College of Home Economics in 1940. Guilfoyle will be recognized posthumously as one of the college’s trailblazers during a poster unveiling during the exhibit opening.  

Henrietta Hoag Class of 1940 (Onöndowa’ga:’, Beaver Clan) from The Cornellian, 1940. From the library's Rare and Manuscript Collections.
Members of the Onondaga Conservation Club standing in front of Temperance Hall on the Onoñda’gegá’ Nation, 1919. From the library’s Rare and Manuscript Collections.

Despite the obstacles they faced, the Haudenosaunee women found ways to adapt, said curator Lynda Xepoleas Ph.D. ’23, who previously created an online version of the exhibit.

 

“These women organized themselves. They developed their own clubs,” said Xepoleas, who is now an assistant professor in the School of Fashion Design and Merchandising at Kent State University. “They found ways that allowed them to interpret and negotiate the types of education or knowledges that were being shared with them by Cornell’s home economists.” 

 

With funding provided by the Graduate Summer Archival Research Fellowship in Human Ecology in 2022, Xepoleas conducted her extensive research on the early Haudenosaunee students by sifting through university records in Cornell University Library’s Rare and Manuscript Collections. 

 

In particular, Xepoleas came across old photographs and hundreds of correspondence by Indigenous students among the papers of Erl Bates, a physician and advisor in Indian Extension in the former New York State College of Agriculture at Cornell University (now the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences) during the early 1900s. 

 

“I went and looked at Erl Bates’s papers, and, yes, they’re his collection, but they also include letters written by Haudenosaunee peoples voicing their own opinions,” she said. 

 

Xepoleas explained that she aims to aims to redress archival erasures and absences by amplifying the voices and lived experiences of historically marginalized and underserved groups like the Haudenosaunee. 

 

“The work that that we’ve done really shows you how instrumental archivists and librarians are in mediating access to collections that allow scholars to research and share more just and diverse histories,” she said.

 

Human Ecology archivist Eileen Keating supported Xepoleas in her research, and, as a member of the colleges’ centennial planning committee, later invited her to curate the exhibit and moderate the panel discussion. 

 

According to Keating, the work of highlighting Haudenosaunee women of the past will in turn become part of the archives to inform generations of researchers.

 

“Lynda’s online exhibit, the event poster, and the panel event—which will be filmed—will all be preserved in the University Archives and will be available for future scholarship,” Keating said. “I keep reminding people: You’re making history now.” 

 

“Redressing Histories” is co-sponsored by Cornell University Library, the College of Human Ecology, and the American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. 

Open Access Week 2024

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The theme of International Open Access Week for 2024 (October 21-27) will continue with last year’s focus on “Community over Commercialization.” This theme contributed to a growing recognition of the need to prioritize approaches to open scholarship that serve the best interests of the public and the academic community. Taking the unprecedented step to build on this theme for a second year highlights the importance of this conversation and presents the opportunity to turn more of these deliberations into collective action.

 

Events Celebrating Open Access Week 2024
Open Access Week is an international event and there are many online sessions open to all. For a full list of events visit: www.openaccessweek.org/events. Here are some selections, including events hosted by Cornell University Library:

 

In Conversation with Open Mind, a No-fee Open Access Journal in Cognitive Science Online Event (Registration Required)

Monday, October 21, 1 – 2pm

In celebration of International Open Access Week 2024, please join us for a conversation with Open Mind, MIT Press, MIT Libraries, and Harvard Library. Although a young journal in the field, Open Mind has a history of leading the field in open access publishing. With funding from the MIT Libraries the MIT Press moved Open Mind to a diamond open access publishing model in 2022, eliminating all article processing fees for scholars and providing free access for readers and researchers alike. Building on these efforts, Open Mind will be cofunded by Harvard Library and MIT Libraries now through 2027. Open Mind is the first journal to be supported by the Harvard Open Journals Program, announced earlier this year to advance and sustain no-fee open access scholarly publishing. For this conversation, panelists will discuss the journal’s flip to no-fee OA, stabilizing and sustaining the journal through cooperative funding, the benefits and challenges of no-fee OA publishing-and why it is worth pursuing.

Free and open to the public. Available online via Zoom. Registration required.

 

Talk to an Expert @ Klarman Hall Atrium (In-Person Event)

Tuesday, October 22, 12 – 2pm

Find our table in the Klarman Atrium. We can answer questions about open access publishing, your rights as an author, and how we support OA at Cornell University.

 

CUL Task Force on Investment in Sustainable Scholarship Update Online Event (Zoom TBA)

Thursday, October 24, 1pm – 2pm

The Task Force on Investment in Sustainable Scholarship for Cornell was convened last year to propose strategic directions in various areas of scholarly communication. Co-chairs Jim Del Rosso and Kizer Walker will give a brief progress report on the work of the Task Force and present a set of high-level sustainable scholarship principles drafted by the group for discussion during the talk.

 

Rereading a Heroic Legacy: How AIDS Built the LGBT Equality Movement Online Event (Registration Required)

Thursday, October 24, 2-3pm

In celebration of Open Access Week, the University of Chicago Library will host a webinar on October 24 featuring author John-Manuel Andriote discussing why he chooses to prioritize community over commercialization by granting open access to his book, Victory Deferred: How AIDS Changed Gay Life in America. To mark the book’s 25th anniversary, Andriote as the rightsholder has chosen to turn Victory Deferred into an open access book for anyone around the world. He explains, “The value of Victory Deferred to the LGBT and broader American community—in its many accounts and insights from firsthand interviews with heroes and pioneers in the HIV-AIDS epidemic and the LGBT equality movement—exceeds my own commercial interests in the book.” Please join us for a discussion of why open access to an award-winning title matters societally and intellectually, especially in the face of continuing oppression against the fight for equality.

Free and open to the public. Available online via Zoom. Registration required.

 

Talk to an Expert @ Mann Library Lobby (In-Person Event)

Friday, October 25, 12pm – 2pm 

Find our table in the Mann Library lobby. We can answer questions about open access publishing, your rights as an author, and how we support OA at Cornell University.

 

To learn more about how Cornell University Library supports open access throughout the year, visit our Open Access Week 2024 guide.

Library Hours – Fall Break 2024

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Happy Fall Break! We hope you have a restful and restorative break, and maybe even get a peek at the northern lights tonight! If you choose to spend part of your break here at the library, please note that Mann will have adjusted hours from Friday, October 11 through Monday, October 14.

 

  • Friday, October 11, 8am to 5pm
  • Saturday, October 12, 1 to 5pm
  • Sunday, October 13, CLOSED
  • Monday, October 14, 8am to 5pm
We will return to our normal semester hours on Tuesday, October 15. You can always find our most up-to-date hours information on our hours page: mann.library.cornell.edu/full-hours

Ada Lovelace Day 2024

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Ada Lovelace Day: Women in Science Wikipedia Edit-a-thon

Tuesday, October 8, 2024 11am to 5pm

CALS Zone (Mann Library 112)

 

In honor of Ada Lovelace Day, an international celebration of the contributions of self-identifying women in in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), Mann Library is hosting a Wikipedia edit-a-thon, which will honor and highlight under-recognized women in STEM and related fields.  You can pitch in for just half an hour (or stay for the whole day!) by writing an entry, adding a footnote, translating text, uploading images, or by looking up information for others.

 

All are welcome—no matter your gender and regardless of experience with editing. Unfamiliar with Wikipedia and Wikidata? We’ll walk you through the editing process. But if you’re eager to get more hands-on experience prior to October 8, we have a couple of workshops this week to help you get started!

 

Introduction to Wikidata Editing

Wednesday, October 2, 2 – 3pm

Stone Classroom (Mann 103)

Wikidata is an open, collaborative database that is used by many information organizations such as Google, the Library of Congress, and Cornell University Library to enhance search results in their systems. In preparation for the upcoming Ada Lovelace Day edit-a-thon, this workshop will include a brief overview of Wikidata and a hands-on demonstration of editing basics. 

 

Introduction to Wikipedia Editing

Thursday, October 3, 3:30 – 4:30pm

Stone Classroom (Mann 103)

Interested in improving the open educational content of the online encyclopedia, Wikipedia? This session will get you started with the production side of Wikipedia, providing an overview of the basics of editing for new and beginning editors through a real-time, hands-on editing session. You don’t have to be an expert to contribute! Just come with an open mind and a willingness to contribute to public information.

Fall 2024 Chats in the Stacks

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We’re pleased to share the schedule of our fall semester book talks! All our Chats in the Stacks book talks will be held in-person in Mann Library Room 160 and livestreamed, and will start at 4:30pm. You can find all recordings of our past Chats in the Stacks on our YouTube channel. 

 

Thursday, September 26, 4:30pm

Mann Library, Room 160 and livestreamed

The Future of India’s Social Safety Nets: Focus, Form, and Scope

An array of social welfare programs have emerged in independent India, but how and for whom have these programs been constructed, what have their impact been, and what are the key challenges for the future? Unpacking India’s social welfare programs in terms of their three essential aspects—focus (intended beneficiaries), form (transfer modalities), and scope (developmental objectives) Prabhu L. Pingali (SC Johnson College of Business) and Andaleeb Rahman (Global Development) provide a comprehensive analysis of India’s safety net, combining insights from interdisciplinary scholarship on economic development, social protection, and the social policy process. The work assesses the achievements and shortcomings of these programs, while also proposing a transferrable framework that can help foster human resilience through social protection. 

 

Thursday, October 17, 4:30pm

Mann Library, Room 160 and livestreamed

The Social Lives of Land

Understanding how people are living on, with, and from their land reveals the often-hidden dynamics of contemporary social and political change, according to Wendy Wolford, Robert A. and Ruth E. Polson Professor of Global Development and vice provost for International Affairs. This topic is explored in the new publication The Social Lives of Land (Cornell University Press, 2024) which she co-edited with Michael Goldman and Nancy Lee Peluso. Wolford will discuss how The Social Lives of Land weaves together novel theoretical and empirical insights and contributions from multiple disciplines and geographic locations to uncover histories and re-tell stories that focus on the lived experiences of rural and urban land dispossession and repossession. 

 

Thursday, November 7, 4:30pm

Mann Library, Room 160 and livestreamed

Wildlife Disease and Health in Conservation

Most existing and emerging infectious diseases have their origin in animal populations. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic the need to understand the cause and impacts of wildlife diseases, as well as how to manage them, has only become increasingly salient. Join us for a live, hybrid book talk with Robin Radcliffe, associate professor of practice in Wildlife and Conservation Medicine in the Veterinary School, and David Jessup, former senior wildlife veterinarian of the California Department of Fish and Game and former executive manager of the Wildlife Disease Association, for a discussion of their new coedited volume Wildlife Disease and Health in Conservation (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2023).

 

Thursday, November 21, 4:30pm

Mann Library, Room 160 and livestreamed

Piping Hot Bees and Boisterous Buzz-Runners

Thomas D. Seeley, Horace White Professor Emeritus in Biology in the Dept. of Neurobiology and Behavior, has devoted nearly six decades to the study of honey bees and their colonies. In this book talk, Seeley takes us inside a world seldom seen even by beekeepers, to illuminate mysteries of honey bee behavior including how they choose a home for their colony, keep the colony inhabitants warm, and defended the colony from intruders. Weaving personal stories with the latest science, Piping Hot Bees and Boisterous Buzz-Runners shows both the excitement of scientific discovery and how it continues to shape our understanding of these vitally important insects.

Cornell Votes & National Voter Registration Day

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Heads up Cornellians! September 17 is National Voter Registration Day. Cornell Votes will be staffing tables in the Mann Library lobby all day with information on getting registered to vote–here in New York State or in your home state. Drop by anytime between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. to make sure YOUR vote gets counted in the coming election season!