UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State University Libraries’ 2024 Library Discovery Hours provide in-depth perspectives of today’s academic research library and its student-centered and research-supporting priorities. This year’s special events include travels with exclusive access to several prominent Penn State alumni whose papers have been donated to the University Libraries’ special collections.
The University Libraries Development and Alumni Relations team encourages those interested in attending one or more events to bookmark this webpage and save the following dates on their calendars.
Forthcoming details of events will be updated below and also on the Library Discovery Hour page as they are finalized. All times are listed in Eastern time.
Jan. 30: The Dean’s Corner
The year’s first event, held online at noon on Tuesday, Jan. 30, will feature Dean of University Libraries and Scholarly Communications Faye Chadwell presenting additional details about the 2024 Library Discovery Hour schedule and an inside look at today's Penn State University Libraries, annually recognized as a top research library in North America. Registration via Zoom for the Jan. 30 event is open now.
March 27: An Evening in D.C. with the Hon. Barbara H. Franklin
The year’s first Library Discovery Hour on the road in Washington, D.C., will be by invitation only. Attendees are promised an inspiring evening that shines a spotlight on some remarkable Penn State women and may discover incredible stories and accomplishments of these women through the University Libraries’ collections.
The evening’s highlight is a fireside chat featuring a notable Penn State alumna and the evening’s host, the Hon. Barbara H. Franklin, whose oral history is part of the University Libraries’ A Few Good Women oral history collection that accompanies the University Libraries’ book “A Matter of Simple Justice: The Untold Story of Barbara Hackman Franklin and A Few Good Women,” distributed by Penn State University Press with an updated paperback edition in 2020.
May 16: A Celebration of Excellence: Honoring the Madlyn L. Hanes Library
The second traveling event of 2024 takes Library Discovery Hour to Penn State Harrisburg, where attendees will discover why the Madlyn L. Hanes Library was named the Pennsylvania Library Association’s 2023 Library of the Year. Details for the evening event are forthcoming.
June 21: We Are Weekend
The first Library Discovery Hour of the summer will take place during Penn State’s annual We Are Weekend. Details are being finalized and may include the topic of artificial intelligence but will have in-person and possibly online attendance components.
September, date TBD: Exploring Expertise: The Early Career Librarian Showcase
This hybrid Library Discovery Hour will feature some of the University Libraries’ brightest and high-achieving young faculty librarians in the first 10 years of their career who have been honored with three-year appointments as early career librarians. These endowed appointments, focused on science librarianship, technological innovations and learning innovations, respectively, provide recipients with a salary supplement and funds to pursue professional goals and development related to their submitted proposals.
The three current early career librarians — Christina Riehman-Murphy, Sally W. Kalin Early Career Librarian: Learning Innovations; Ruth Kitchin Tillman, Sally W. Kalin Early Career Librarian: Technological Innovations; and Brianna Ezray Wham, Eric N. and Bonnie S. Prystowsky Early Career Librarian: Science Libraries — will be featured.
Oct. 17: An Evening in Penn State's Archive: A Love Letter to Philadelphia
The fall’s first Library Discovery Hour details are being finalized but will be held in the Philadelphia area and will feature three notable Penn State alumni whose papers or collections are in the University Libraries’ special collections, with two attending the event:
- The late Charles Blockson, co-founder of the Afro-American Historical and Cultural Museum in Philadelphia, founder and curator of the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection at Temple University Libraries, and donor of Penn State University Libraries’ Charles L. Blockson Collection of African-Americana and the African Diaspora.
- Col. Guion “Guy” S. Bluford Jr., a retired United States Air Force officer, fighter pilot and former NASA astronaut recognized as the first African American to go to space, in 1983; in 2021, he received the Air Force ROTC Distinguished Alumnus Award and a Penn State named a building in his honor.
- V.P. Franklin, distinguished professor emeritus of history and education at the University of California, Riverside, former editor of The Journal of African American History and author of the book “The Young Crusaders: The Untold Story of the Children And Teenagers Who Galvanized The Civil Rights Movement.”
Nov. 12: Behind the Campaign: GivingTuesday at the Libraries
Details are being finalized for a year-end virtual Library Discovery Hour especially for alumni and friends who value the University Libraries. They will hear first about the Libraries’ bold goals for annual giving to support students’ academic success and power the innovative potential of 21st-century library resources and services.
Individuals interested in learning more about Library Discovery Hour events or who would like to be placed on a waiting list for one of the invitation-only events may visit the Library Discovery Hour webpage or contact Gretchen Little at grl5147@psu.edu.