What book comes to mind as impacting you the most during your time at Dartmouth, and why? When we asked this year's graduating library student workers that question, the results were as unique and special as they are. In this exhibit, we highlight 13 of the 28 students who submitted selections, with some sharing what their chosen book means to them. Sometimes intimate and personal, other times philosophical or pragmatic, their words offer you a peek into their world, reflecting their time at Dartmouth.

In November 2024, Dartmouth Libraries collaborated with the William Jewett Tucker Center to create a pilot Meditation, Prayer, and Reflection Nook on the north side of Baker Stacks 5, just over the bridge from Berry 3 in Baker-Berry Library. The nook is open to anyone, regardless of their religious affiliation, who would like to use it for silent reflection, meditation, or prayer.

We’re incredibly excited to reach a major milestone in a significant project to review, revise, and redesign the Dartmouth Libraries website. The launch of our new-look website and redesigned site architecture follows two years of community engagement, research, immense team work, user testing, and iterating to get us to this pivotal moment. 

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.

With great excitement, we share The New Hampshire Digital Newspaper Project (NHDNP)—a Dartmouth Libraries-led initiative to digitize historic state newspapers—received almost $325,000 in grant funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities in August. 

We’re thrilled to announce the opening of our newest library building, the Library Collections & Services Facility (LCSF). “The Libraries currently steward over 3.5 million volumes acquired since Dartmouth’s founding in 1769 as well as the institutional records of Dartmouth.

We’re kicking off the Fall Term with some much-anticipated changes to the Dartmouth Libraries website! This round of changes continues on from, and advances, the work that was started in 2022 to update and refresh our website. The website transformation expresses a collaborative, modern, and bold design centering the user experience and aligning with accessibility standards. This transformation acknowledges and embraces who we are, who we have been, and who we are becoming.

In May and June, the Dartmouth Libraries’ Preservation Unit hosted a pair of public workshops, co-sponsored by the New England Conservation Association (NECA), and the Vermont Arts & Culture Disaster and Resilience Network (VACDaRN), in the Libraries’ Conservation Lab.

From panels and events that demonstrated the interconnectedness of Rauner Special Collections Library with fellow library teams and the Dartmouth community, to welcoming Bruce Rauner '78 to the Libraries, the festivities kept on giving! 

One spectacular session was Regina (Gina) Barreca ‘79 closing keynote speech. With grace, humor, and verve, she capped a celebratory week honoring Rauner Library’s 25th anniversary. 

Dartmouth undergrads are conducting research in every academic discipline, from the sciences and social sciences to the humanities and creative arts. However, they don't have many opportunities to share their work with audiences outside their research fields.