The Ricardus Dialogue (University of Rochester, D.460 1000-003) is … well ... not much to look at. One curator once commented upon seeing the poor manuscript “I can’t believe the university’s library accepted that”. To which PhD candidate Kyle Huskin kindly comforted her “well, it was a gift, I believe”. The manuscript leaf under question is almost entirely illegible. Almost every sign of text has faded or completely disappeared. The document was likely used as a binding fragment.

Walk into Robbins Library and you’ll be graced by many beautiful pieces of art along our walls. We have prints from Jack Coughlin of numerous authors, including Toni Morrison, Herman Melville and Edgar Allen Poe. There’s a large print of Lord Byron by Rembrandt Peale right next to our supervisor’s office. There are also numerous facsimiles of medieval manuscripts and art. But our largest pieces, one above our mighty director’s door and one directly on the wall opposite of it past the shelves, are from American surrealist painter Honoré Desmond Sharrer.

As part of the Robbins Library’s newest digital project, The Alexander Project, I sat down with New York Times bestselling author Roshani Chokshi in November of 2020 to talk about her short story, “The Vishakanya’s Choice.” This short story is a fantastical retelling of how Alexander the Great meets his demise through a vishakanya sent to infiltrate his camp and assassinate him. Vishakanyas are women (typically courtesans) who are fed poison until their very touch becomes poisonous.

Emily Chan (Class of 2024) discusses her Fall 2021 internship project for the Robbins Library and Koller-Collins Center: the creation of digital and physical collection highlights exploring the evolution of popular fairy tales.

As part of the Robbins Library’s newest digital project, The Alexander Project, I sat down with New York Times bestselling author Roshani Chokshi in November of 2020 to talk about her short story, “The Vishakanya’s Choice.” This short story is a fantastical retelling of how Alexander the Great meets his demise through a vishakanya sent to infiltrate his camp and assassinate him. Vishakanyas are women (typically courtesans) who are fed poison until their very touch becomes poisonous.

Three years ago, the University of Rochester became stewards of the Louise M. Slaughter Congressional Collection. Since then, the Department of Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation (RBSCP) has been processing the 484 boxes constituting Slaughter’s papers.

Studio X, the University of Rochester’s hub for extended reality (XR), is equipped with a range of technology that empowers the entire University to experience, explore, and experiment with the world of XR. But it’s more than an immersive technology library.

Since 1996, Ukraine has celebrated Constitution Day (June 28) to recognize the adoption of the constitution that formalized its independence. This year, it was marked under martial law.