John Hay Reading Room in its original grandeur.

A new exhibit will be on view for the month of June in the lobby cases of the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library, opposite circulation: “Renovating the John Hay Library: 2013-2014.”

The John Hay Library, located at the crest of College Street opposite the Van Wickle gates, is one of Brown University’s historic landmarks. The Library was built in 1910 and served as Brown University’s main library from 1910 until 1964, when the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library opened. Today it houses the University’s Archives and Special Collections.

The current renovation of this historic landmark will include a refurbishment of the magnificent first floor reading room into an open, welcoming study space for students and restoring the size and grandeur of the original design. The area which formerly housed University Archives will be converted into a new state-of-the-art special collections reading room. In addition the first floor of the Hay will host a new exhibition gallery, student lounge, and consultation room. Plans include the development of handicapped access to the front of the building through the north side lawn.

This exhibit explores the evolution of the Library over the past one hundred years through a selection of materials ranging from archival photographs and drawings, to floor plans of the future Hay, scheduled for completion in Fall 2014.

For more information about the current renovation visit: Library.brown.edu/hayrenovation. A more extensive version of the exhibit with digitized version of materials will also be available online in June.

Instagrammed model from "Introduction to Architecture" exhibit on view at the Rock. The Library is now on instagram. You can follow us @brownuniversitylibrary.

A new exhibit is on view for summer 2013 in the tall cases of the Laura and David Finn Reading Room featuring student projects from Dietrich Neumann’s Spring 2013 course ”Introduction to Architectural Design.”

Over the semester, students learned basic concepts of space, materials, functions, structure, and light. After a number of initial exercises, each student designed a small house for an open space on East Street in Fox Point. Students responded to the plot’s geographic location and neighborhood.

Stop by if you’re on campus this summer to see more of these models.

A new page has been created to help visitors learn about ongoing exhibits at the library.

Every semester the University Library is home to a variety of interesting exhibits. These exhibits are a great opportunity for visitors to see aspects of the library’s collection that might not otherwise be accessible.

The new exhibits page also has information about past exhibits in the rare situation that someone didn’t get a chance to view the exhibit while it was displayed.

Providence, RI [Brown University] – Brown University Library will host a Commencement Forum in the new Patrick Ma Digital Scholarship Lab of the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library, on Saturday, May 25 at 9am. Professor James W. Head III will present “Postcards from Other Planets.”  Utilizing the Lab’s 7X16 foot high definition video wall, Professor Head will lead guests to the mountains of the Moon with Apollo 15, allowing them to see the invisible lunar interior with GRAIL spacecraft gravity data, cross the floor of Gale Crater on Mars with the Curiosity rover, and join Brown planetary geoscientists as they explore the Mars-like Antarctic Dry Valleys for months at a time.

Professor Head is the Louis and Elizabeth Scherck Distinguished Professor of Geological Sciences. He came to Brown University in 1973, following his work with the NASA Apollo program. His current research centers on the processes that form and modify the surfaces, crusts and lithospheres of planets, how these processes vary with time, and how such processes interact to produce the historical record preserved on the planets. Since 1984, Dr. Head convenes the Vernadsky Institute/Brown University microsymposia, held twice yearly in Moscow and Houston. He is a co-investigator for the NASA MESSENGER mission to Mercury and Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3), as well as the European Space Agency’s Mars Express Mission. He has previously served as an investigator with NASA and Russian Space Missions, such as the Soviet Venera 15/16 and Phobos missions, and the US Magellan (Venus), Galileo (Jupiter), Mars Surveyor, Russian Mars 1996, and Space Shuttle missions.

This talk is free, open to the public, and morning refreshments will be provided. Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-serve basis. The Digital Scholarship Lab is located on the first floor of the Rock.  Enter through the circulation gates, take your first right, and pass through the two glass doors into the Periodicals Reading Room.

The Brown University Library is home to more than 6.8 million print items, plus a multitude of electronic resources and expanding digital archives serving the teaching, research, and learning needs of Brown students and faculty, as well as scholars from around the country and the world.

Contact: Amy Atticks | Amy_Atticks@brown.edu | (401) 863-6913

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] – On Monday, May 13, from 4-6pm, join students from Tyler Denmead’s Digital Storytelling course in the Digital Scholarship Lab of the Rock for ”Digital Stories / Analog Brownies.” This event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. Seating is on a first-come, first-serve basis.

What exactly is digital storytelling? Over the course of the Spring semester, students in Digital Storytelling have tried to answer this question while exploring the narrative possibilities of new media.  Because some things just can’t be digitized, this event will also feature brownies.

New digital tools have made it easy to create and share information with a wide audience. But these media – websites, digital shorts, even PowerPoint presentations – also have narrative potential that can reinforce or alter traditional storytelling formats. Students have explored these digital tools through a range of story structures, including place-based and non-linear stories. Works range from personal family history to an interpretive album of astronomical images.

To learn more, please check out the exhibit website http://digibrownies.weebly.com/ and look for #digistory on Twitter. And join us on May 13^th! For a preview, check out this personal story from Public Humanities superstar Elon Cook: http://youtu.be/sknWXF-e4IE

Center for Public Humanities at Brown University fosters education, research, and public engagement initiatives to connect individuals and communities to art, history, and culture.

The Brown University Library is home to more than 6.8 million print items, plus a multitude of electronic resources and expanding digital archives serving the teaching, research, and learning needs of Brown students and faculty, as well as scholars from around the country and the world.

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On Friday April 19th, the Reading Room of the John Hay Library will have limited hours. Due to a scheduled event, the Reading Room will be open from 10am-3pm The building will remain open until 5pm but collections will not be available for consultation.

Pizza Night is a very special night. It takes place twice a semester. People that enjoy books and eating pizza are encouraged to attend.

Schedule for Pizza Night
Tuesday, May 7: Pizza Night at the Friedman Center (SciLi) 9 p.m.
Wednesday, May 8: Pizza Night at the Rockefeller Library (1st Floor Lobby) 9 p.m.

P.S. As always, please eat responsibly. There will always be more pizza next year.

A training sessions in Pivot/Cos will be held on Thursday May 9th in the Hecker Center of the Rockefeller Library. To register click here.

Pivot/Cos is a tool that can help researchers fund their work as well as guide them through the rigors of tenure, promotion, or future job prospects. One of the great features of Pivot/Cos is its notification system of potential awards and honors within a particular field of study. Pivot/Cos is interested in connecting the people of institutions with all the opportunities available to them.

Participants in the session will get an overview of the Pivot/Cos tool as well as how it relates to the Brown University community.

The session will include:

• Navigating the basics of how to search the grant database.
• Exploring the advanced features of setting up notifications.
• Establishing a scholarly profile.

This course is intended for researchers in all fields and at all career levels including those staff members who support them in finding funding opportunities.

Contact : Ian Straughn : ian_straughn@brown.edu