Exhibits

A new exhibit at the Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries celebrates America’s semiquincentennial—the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence—by exploring the United States’ formative years. Read More

This spring, Jaydra Hamid, a senior law, history and society major, participated in a Buchanan Fellowship to organize, catalog and digitally preserve materials from Vanderbilt Divinity School’s long-running Antoinette Brown Lectures, which bring distinguished women theologians to campus each year to speak on concerns for women in ministry. Read More

Vanderbilt’s Central Library second-floor gallery is awash with color with the opening of "Brighter and Brighter: The Poetry Prints of Sam Maitin." The exhibit is on view at Central through August, when it will move to Special Collections and University Archives and be on display there through November 2026. Read More

"Infinite Worlds: Science Fiction and the Future of Humanity" is now on view in the fourth-floor lobby of Central Library. The exhibit explores speculative fiction through themes such as advances in science and technology and their effect on the future of human society.    Read More

A new student-curated exhibit at the Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries explores the exciting world of book arts, with a focus on the intersection of art, craftsmanship and literature. Read More

 “Dante Behind Bars: Not Made to Live Like Brutes.” The Annual Dante Lecture the Vanderbilt editions the Divine Comedy Created in the Fall of 2022, the Annual Dante Lecture at Vanderbilt celebrates the life and works of Dante Alighieri, one of the greatest poets in world literature. This lecture… Read More

New Exhibition in Special Collections: Miniature Books from the Vanderbilt Libraries by Molly Dohrmann A new exhibition, opening this fall in Special Collections, highlights some of the smallest books in our collections. For centuries miniature books have captured the imagination of readers around the world. Miniature books require specific skills… Read More

Octavia Butler: Grand Dame of Science Fiction Central Library Lobby May-July 2022 Octavia Butler (1947-2006) was an American science fiction author.  In her early publishing career, she was one of the few Black women authors in a field dominated by white men.   Extremely shy as a child, she… Read More

Written by Elizabeth Mosiman When Vanderbilt University first opened in 1875, students lived in university-approved boarding houses near campus. The closest the university came to having a dormitory was Wesley Hall – a former boarding house – which served multiple purposes: housing faculty and divinity students; providing classroom space for… Read More

Join the Special Collections Library for fascinating talks this semester led by librarians, archivists, and curators. Topics this fall will range from Cuban publishers to the history of paper making. The talks take place monthly in the Special Collections Reading Room on the second floor of the Central & Divinity… Read More