Every semester, the libraries sponsor a diverse and exciting range of events for a variety of audiences: students, faculty and staff, as well as professional researchers of all descriptions and the Richmond community as a whole. While juggling major projects such as the construction of the new building at Cabell Library, we managed to offer approximately 25 different public programs this semester, not including private functions or any of our numerous regularly scheduled tours and instructional sessions. As we look back at some of the semester's event highlights, we celebrate our audiences' commitment to scholarship and innovation, the sciences, the arts and positive social change.

Be sure to save the dates for our spring 2015 events. We look forward to seeing you again soon!

And please consider making a gift in support of the Friends of VCU Libraries. Donations to the Friends support our programming, collection and preservation efforts.

Fall 2014 Event Highlights

Sept. 17 — An Evening with Natasha Trethewey, United States Poet Laureate and Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
VCU's new Humanities Research Center kicked off a year-long program of events, in collaboration with the libraries, with this reading by celebrated poet Natasha Trethewey. Poetry lovers packed the house until there was standing room only, and Trethewey graciously answered questions from the audience about her challenging and engaging meditations on history and race.

Article in The Richmond Times-Dispatch | Article in The Commonwealth Times

Sept. 22 — Sanger Series: Enhancing the Transparency and Reproducibility of Science 
The Sanger Series, begun in the spring of 2014 as a collaboration between the libraries and the VCU Office of Research and Innovation, continued this fall with a pair of new events. At the first, Dr. Lawrence Tabak, principal deputy director of the National Institutes of Health, outlined some of the key flaws in current science practice and some possible ways in which they could be corrected. Attendees of this standing-room-only talk appreciated the frank and forward-thinking discussion.

Video | Photos | VCU Libraries News Story | VCU News Story

Oct. 9 — Levis Reading Prize Night
The Levis Reading Prize is given each year to the author of the best first or second book of poems published in a calendar year, as selected by the judges in the VCU Department of English, and the event, a partnership between the English department and the libraries, invites the winning author to Richmond to give a reading. This year, winning author Roger Reeves attracted one of the largest audiences ever for the event with his powerful and thoughtful poems. 

Audio Recordings, Transcripts, and Poems in Blackbird | VCU News Story | Department of English Levis Reading Prize Site

Oct. 20-23 — Open Access Week
This series of events, held in cooperation with the national Open Access Week intiative, offered students, faculty and staff opportunities for learning about trends, innovations and controversies in the field of open access. VCU's own open-access-publication initiative, the VCU Scholar's Compass, was one of many foci.

Research Guide | Story About Open Access Initiatives in The Commonwealth Times

Oct. 21 — Sanger Series: Science and the World's Future
In the second Sanger Series lecture of the semester, Dr. Bruce Alberts, former editor-in-chief of Science and president of the National Academy of Sciences, advocated for science education as a key component of world progress. Science education, he argued, helps people to develop the critical-thinking skills and eye to objectivity necessary for a culture of tolerance and positive change. Like the previous lecture by Dr. Lawrence Tabak, this lecture filled the venue to capacity and inspired much dialogue.

Photos

Nov. 4 — VCU Cabell First Novelist Award Night
The VCU Cabell First Novelist Award is given each year to the author of the best first novel published in a calendar year, as selected by a panel of judges. The event, a collaboration between the VCU Department of English and the libraries, draws crowds of literature lovers, including many with connections to VCU's acclaimed MFA in Creative Writing Program. This year, award winner Helene Wecker read from and discussed her novel, The Golem and the Jinni, a hybrid of historical fiction and fantasy that has captured the imaginations of critics and general readers alike.

Video | Photos | Video Interview on Virginia This Morning

Save the Dates for Our Spring 2015 Events

Jan. 7 — Data Management Bootcamp
A collaboration with regional research schools

Feb. 4 — Meet VCU's Authors: G. Antonio Espinoza
A collaboration with the VCU Humanities Research Center

Feb. 10 — 13th Annual Black History Month Lecture
A collaboration with the VCU School of Education, featuring Dennis Parker, director of the ACLU Racial Justice Program

Feb. 18 — Meet VCU's Authors: Christopher A. Brooks
A collaboration with the VCU Humanities Research Center

March 4 — Meet VCU's Authors: Karen A. Rader
A collaboration with the VCU Humanities Research Center

March 27 — 30th Annual Brown-Lyons Lecture
Featuring Dr. Jack D. Spiro, holder of the Harry Lyons Distinguished Chair in Judaic Culture at VCU

April 7 & 8 — VCU Tech Fair
A collaboration with VCU Technology Services