Over the past five years, Rauner Special Collections Library has been a refuge, an escape, and a constant source of wonder. Those who love this place know the magic of its collections—how flipping through a diary or paging through old files makes history feel real and alive. This nearness has power. It reveals the layers that connect us—past to present, person to person.
This has moved me profoundly. And I’ve seen it move others.
Why are some poets remembered and glorified, while others fade into obscurity? And when you do stumble upon a “nobody” poet, why research them and make their work discoverable and interpretable for others? These two questions, and a desire “to recover another feminist and political poet who was subject to erasure” formed the basis of Ella Grim '25's Stamps Scholar research project.
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In December 1951, Evelyn and Vilhjalmur Stefansson made their way to Dartmouth with three railroad car-sized trucks containing a vast “polar library” in tow. Soon after establishing the Northern and Polar Studies Program at Dartmouth and adding the Arctic collection to Baker Library, Dartmouth sponsored the Stefanssons' travels to Greenland to collect as much material about Greenland and by Greenlandic authors as possible. What they amassed, in partnership with Greenland administrators and Denmark, would become valuable research and teaching material still used to this day.
What do I care more about, love or money? What about my parents’ expectations? Am I comfortable with all these social roles I have to play? What will happen to my reputation if I make the wrong decision? When does my privacy become creepy secrecy? Should I stay within the bubble, or strike out toward the horizon?
If these challenges ring a bell for you, you’re either a Dartmouth student, or you’re a character in a Jane Austen novel.
And the envelope, please! We were thrilled to roll out the red carpet for the inaugural Open Scholarship Commitment Award for Reproducible Research (OSCARRs) in February to celebrate community members who represent the best of reproducible research. The award spotlights Dartmouth research projects that embody the essence of reproducible research and open scholarship.
In partnership with Rauner Special Collections Library - and with the help and expertise of Instrument Core Facility Manager Paul Defino and Instrument Specialist Chris Snyder of the Chemistry Department - senior lecturer Jenny Lynn is embarking on an exciting scholarly investigation.
Have you ever wondered how some of the most bespoke, highly specific, and poignant sessions come to be taught at Rauner Special Collections Library? Curiosity and collaboration. Another factor is just how many people contribute to the process — even when separated by distance and time. How?
Dartmouth Libraries website’s last major iteration was seven years ago. Since then, the Libraries’ role in research, teaching, and learning at Dartmouth and beyond has dramatically changed. With ever-shifting landscapes in technology, particularly cloud computing and artificial intelligence, the research lifecycle and publishing, federal research mandates, accessibility standards, and a growing demand for seamless digital experiences, we knew a more robust and future-ready website was needed.
Picture this: motorbikes rumble past, diesel fumes waft in their wake. The sun’s heat penetrates your clothes. Humidity cloaks you in an extra layer. It’s 9am in a Ho Chi Minh City market. Hawkers splash water across their fruits and vegetables to make them sparkle in the sunshine. Brilliant variations of green, yellow, orange, and red cluster in front of you. You recognize some produce, but not all. The air is thick, vibrant, alive. You have three weeks to make a 10-15 minute documentary about food culture and the urban experience. There’s so much to see, do.
November 7th marks World Digital Preservation Day. Coordinated by the Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC), this international day of advocacy and conversation focuses on how individuals, community groups, and institutions across the planet are working together to preserve digital culture and content in all its forms.