Jean And Alexander Heard Libraries

The Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries will welcome children’s authors Kaci Bolls and Nathan Meckel on Oct. 23, from 4:40 to 5:30 p.m., for a reading and songs from their new book Dare to Be Me. The event, which is co-sponsored by the Susan Gray School and the Vanderbilt Child and Family Center, will by followed by a book signing. Snacks will be provided, and books will be available to purchase at a discount rate. Read More

Vanderbilt faculty members Jad Abumrad, one of the pioneers of podcasting, and Jacob Mchangama, a leading expert on free speech, will take part in a thought-provoking discussion Nov. 2 as part of the Dialogue Vanderbilt initiative. “Freedom or Foolishness: Are Our Digital Lives Making Society Better or Worse?” is presented by the Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries and the Wild Bunch Lecture Fund. Read More

Designed to uncover trends in geospatial data, GIS software enables users to model factors that have important implications for society, including the spread of diseases, urban growth, concentrations of poverty, environmental changes, and access to food, potable water and health services. Read More

The Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries have strengthened their commitment to preserving cultural heritage by joining the Digital Preservation Coalition, a prestigious U.K.-based nonprofit that works with global partners to facilitate long-term digital preservation solutions. The Heard Libraries are one of only six organizations in the U.S. that are full members, including the Library of Congress and National Archives. Read More

The Banned Books Initiative, now in its second year at Vanderbilt, will recognize Banned Books Week Oct. 1–7. The events are in conjunction with Vanderbilt’s recently announced recommitment to supporting free expression and civil discourse on campus with the launch of Dialogue Vanderbilt.  Read More

Vanderbilt’s Inclusive Book Group will meet Tuesday, Oct. 31, at noon to discuss The Color Purple by Alice Walker. Limited physical and electronic copies of the book are available by request. Read More

Ellen T. Armour, E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Professor of Feminist Theology, will discuss her new book, Seeing and Believing: Religion, Digital Visual Culture, and Social Justice, at Vanderbilt University’s Special Collections and University Archives from 3 to 5 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 28. The event is free and open to the public. Read More

The Cultural Heritage Preservation Summit, hosted by the Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries this summer, brought together experts from across the United States and Canada and showcased the libraries’ leadership in digital preservation and access. Read More

The new Digital Lab combines three library departments—Digital Scholarship and Communications, the Digital Commons, and the Center for Digital Humanities—into one overarching unit, realizing efficiencies that advance the Heard Libraries’ goal of facilitating transdisciplinary research and teaching through cohesive services. Read More

The Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries will host an event on Monday, Sept. 18, to celebrate Constitution Day, observed each year to commemorate the signing of the U.S. Constitution on Sept. 17, 1787, and to “recognize all who, by coming of age or by naturalization, have become citizens.” Read More

Vanderbilt Law School professor Daniel Sharfstein will host a conversation with the National Trail of Tears Association’s Tory Wayne Poteete and the Oklahoma Historical Society’s Charles Tate on Thursday, Sept. 21, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the Central Library Community Room. They will discuss research that contributed to Cherokee and Chickasaw Students at Vanderbilt, 1885–1899, an exhibit on display at Central Library through Sept. 29. Read More

Eli Merritt, research assistant professor of political science, will discuss his new book, Disunion Among Ourselves: The Perilous Politics of the American Revolution, at the Vanderbilt Bookstore from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 9. Co-sponsored by the Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries, the event will include a book signing following the discussion. Books will be available for purchase. Read More

Daniel Sharfstein, the Dick and Martha Lansden Professor of Law and professor of history, will lead a conversation focused on Cherokee and Chickasaw students at Vanderbilt in the 1880s and 1890s, on Thursday, Aug. 31, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the Central Library Community Room. The talk complements an exhibit currently on display in the lobby of Central Library.  Read More

Vanderbilt's Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries offer seven tips to new and returning students for accessing some of the libraries' most-recommended resources and services. Read More

A new multicenter initiative led by the Graduate and Postdoc Academic Success program is helping graduate students and postdoctoral scholars develop a daily writing practice to benefit them in their academic careers at Vanderbilt and beyond. Read More

Vanderbilt’s Inclusive Book Group will meet Wednesday, Aug. 9, at noon to discuss the 2023-24 campus reading Now Is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson. Read More

In fall 2020, five Buchanan Fellows at the Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries began a project to research Vanderbilt University’s earliest years and curate an online exhibit about what they discovered. Read More

At Vanderbilt’s Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries, the three-dimensional history of the university is collected and lovingly maintained by the staff of Special Collections and University Archives. Their mission is to “preserve the historical memory of the university”—memory that is found in the objects that, by their survival, attest to a timeline grounded in the space between West End Avenue and 21st Avenue South. Read More

Seth Robertson, a communications leader with extensive experience in developing editorial content for Vanderbilt University’s core audiences, has been named the new director of strategic communications for the Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries. Read More

In 2022, as Vanderbilt’s 150th anniversary approached, recent graduates Allen Zeng, BA’23, and Richard Zhang, BA’23, set out to capture the essence of the university by photographing its community members. Collaborating with Professor of Art Vesna Pavlović and librarian Yvonne Boyer, the two developed the “Vanderbilt Self-Portrait” project, supported by a Sesquicentennial Grant from the chancellor’s office and a Buchanan Library Fellowship. Read More