March 2025

by Quakers in 1839. If this was the case, I hope to find documentary evidence such as their names in conveyance notes, lists of relocated Black people, travel receipts, court papers, or any account of their migration out of North Carolina.”

This was the beginning of FHL’s role, expanding on genealogy research Mequitta’s grandmother began in the 1940s, resulting in a series of paintings by the artist.

Image: Yeats, Jack B., et al. Cuala Press Prints and Broadsides. Illustrated by Jack B Butler Yeats et al., Dun Emer Press, 1906. Rare Book Room, Swarthmore College Libraries.

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day and Irish-American Heritage Month, the Libraries in collaboration with the English Department present a night of Irish poetry. 

Irish is a Celtic language, unrelated to English. Why is it, then, that Ireland’s most famous writers, from James Joyce to Sally Rooney, have written in English? The fight for Irish language preservation and rights is a battle against colonialism, similar to the global struggles for Indigenous language sovereignty. 

Join us to learn about the Irish-Gaelic language, hear classic and contemporary Irish poetry, and enjoy special refreshments. Irish treasures from the Friends Historical Library and Rare Book Room will be on display.

The first 15 students to arrive will win a copy of Open-Eyed, Full-Throated: An Anthology of American/Irish Poets, edited by English Professor Emerita Nathalie Anderson. This event is free and open to the public.

Tuesday, March 4, 4:30-6 p.m., McCabe LibLab (first floor)

The Libraries are bringing innovative technology to campus! Did you know there are 15 virtual reality headsets that students, faculty, and staff can use, in McCabe Library? Since 2023, Head of Digital Scholarship Strategies and Visiting Associate Professor of English Amanda Licastro has been bringing virtual and augmented reality to our classrooms and beyond.

"In our first year, we had VR integrated into 20 courses on campus," she says, "and at least a dozen co-curricular events on campus, partnering with everyone from the Scott Arboretum to Career Services to Accessibility.

The uses for VR across campus are many, from recreation and wellness, to enriching the classroom experience, to bringing the Libraries' archives to life.

The Libraries offer popular ebooks and audiobooks through Overdrive. We especially love our #OwnVoices collection chosen by Swarthmore librarians and student workers. Learn how to access Overdrive and its mobile app Libby and start browsing with your Swarthmore credentials today.

Libraries Career Night featuring Swarthmore Alumni

A panel of Swarthmore alumni will return to campus to discuss their careers in libraries and archives. The conversation will be moderated by Celia Caust-Ellenbogen ’09, associate curator of Friends Historical Library. Join us for the group presentation and the opportunity to chat informally and make connections. Dinner will be served. Please register in advance to guarantee your spot.

Wednesday, March 26, 4-6 p.m.
McCabe Library LibLab (1st floor)

Performance: ALOK 

ALOK (they/them) is an internationally acclaimed poet, comedian, public speaker, and actor. The Gender & Sexuality Center, in partnership with the Libraries, is thrilled to welcome ALOK for a live performance featuring poetry, comedy, and activism. Stay after the performance for a reception with a book signing and meet-and-greet. The Libraries are pleased to provide free copies of ALOK’s book Beyond the Gender Binary  to the first 60 attendees.

Friday, March 28, 6-7:30 p.m.
Lang Performing Arts Center

Exhibition: Tunnel Books

This exhibition highlights tunnel books in the collection. Originally called peep shows, these books became popular in the mid-18th century, often created to celebrate major events. They were designed to resemble theater stages, using a series of cut-out panels to create depth. The term tunnel books originated with a pedestrian tunnel constructed under the Thames River in London between 1825 and 1845. The tunnel inspired a number of commemorative peep show books, which eventually became known as tunnel books.

Opens Wednesday, March 5,
McCabe Library LibLab (1st floor)

Pop-up Exhibition: Virtual Bodies, Virtual Worlds

Students in ENGL 093A Virtual Bodies, Virtual Worlds create art inspired by near-future dystopian fiction. Each piece is intended to draw awareness to our surveillance culture, and is accompanied by an artistic statement explaining the call to action their piece evokes. To prepare for this project, students explored innovative protest art from our archival collections and utilized the technology in the makerspace on campus to deploy their visions.

Opens Thursday, March 6,
McCabe Library LibLab Hallway (1st floor)

Sibelan Forrester is the Susan W. Lippincott Professor of Modern and Classical Languages and Russian. She teaches Russian language and literature, science fiction, folklore, and translation theory and practice. Besides scholarly articles and books, she has published translations of fiction, poetry, and scholarly prose from Croatian, Russian, Serbian, and Ukrainian.

What are you reading these days? I'm reading a bunch of folktales from the non-Russian peoples of the Russian Federation, in translation.

Is there a book you've read multiple times? Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (and of course, all the books I'm lucky enough to get to teach).

Is there a book you pretend to have read? No, though I sometimes pretend to have heard of someone when their name comes up in conversation.

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