Lunchtime author talks were introduced into the Libraries events cycle almost two years ago to amplify Dartmouth scholarship. Orchestrated by Rachel Starr GR ’13, these one-hour talks welcome everyone to hear from writers as they immerse us in their written world. Publications range from research findings and creative nonfiction to biographies, poetry, and young adult fiction. In their talks, Dartmouth authors illuminate an aspect of our social, economic, cultural, and political milieu.

With attendees in gowns and finery, the spotlight returned to great research. Dartmouth recently held its 2nd Annual OSCARRs—Open Scholarship Commitment Award for Reproducible Research—a celebration of Dartmouth researchers who exemplify principles of open scholarship, transparency of methodology, comprehensive documentation, and reproducibility. And the outputs of our winners, with reusable datasets, thoughtful methods, and dedicated researchers, were the brightest stars in the room.

Did you know Dartmouth has a free-to-access digital platform that saves, publishes, promotes, and shares Dartmouth’s diverse research and scholarship? It does! Called Dartmouth Digital Commons, it features 8,000 scholarly works, including Dartmouth’s ever-growing, cross-institutional, and internationally-partnered research outputs.

Since 1929 the Dartmouth Outing Club has maintained over 50 miles of the Appalachian Trail right in Dartmouth’s backyard, from Hanover to Mount Moosilauke. The Trail spans over 2,200 miles, but Hanover is one of only ten towns where it runs right down its main street—and the final one for hikers headed north.

In mid-2023, Daniel Lin ‘23, a recently minted Digital Library Fellow, received two large boxes of physical time-based media from Memory Apata, Music and Performing Arts Librarian, and Taylor Ho Bynum, director of the Coast Jazz Orchestra at Dartmouth. The boxes contained VHS, DAT, and cassette tapes; magnetic reel-to-reels; CDs; and DVDs.

The Hanover area has a long history of settlement dating back thousands of years. Students in Archaeological Field Methods: Digging Dartmouth use modern technologies and historic maps to locate sites with preserved remains, then carefully excavate artifacts and evidence of past ways of life. Even small fragments of broken artifacts can tell us a lot about the past. Items excavated on campus reveal insights to food, culture, wealth, class, gender, relationships, and many other aspects of daily life in Dartmouth's history.

This Fall Term, we continue our rich tradition of library and community co-curated exhibitions. On view through December: “Disappearing: An archive of land loss in coastal Louisiana,” “The Fragile Testament of Erosion,” and “From Vision to Reality: The Appalachian Trail from Then to Now” offer unique perspectives and meaning in their respective histories and landscapes. Individually and as a collective, they highlight what it means to preserve and protect our much-loved landscapes while acknowledging the realities of climate and human impact.

This year is the Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s 100th anniversary overseeing the protection and management of the world’s longest hiking-only footpath. To commemorate this incredible milestone, we partnered with the ATC to curate an extra-special Fall Term exhibition that helps tell the Trail’s grand story. “From Vision to Reality: The Appalachian Trail from Then to Now” is a retrospective that pieces together the founding vision, how the trail came to be, and how it connects to Dartmouth and local A.T.

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.