What makes a community? What do we give up to be part of one? Join Johnny Brennan and Alexa Murphy for discussion on selections from The Civically Engaged Reader (edited by Adam Davis) to find out! This four-part series is open to Bard and local community members. Space is limited and advance registration is required. Sign up for one of all of the sessions here. Readings will be provided to participants in advance of each session. All meetings will take place in Stevenson Library.

This series is funded in part with a grant from Humanities New York. (Any views, findings, or conclusions or recommendations expressed in these workshops do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.)

Discussion 1: Associating
October 5th 6:30- 7 p.m.

Discussion 2: Serving
October 19 6:30-7:30 p.m.

Discussion 3: Giving
November 2 6:30-7:30  p.m.

Discussion 4: Leading
November 16 6:30-7:30 p.m

Join us for a special Native American Heritage Month event: 

Narrative (Storytelling) as a Method of Indigenization
Mohonk Friends of the Indian Conferences and Indian Boarding School Policies of the 19th and 20th Centuries
A presentation by Olivia Tencer ’22
When: Tuesday, November 14, 6-7 pm
Where: Stevenson Library (browsing area)
Sponsored by Stevenson Library and the Dean of Inclusive Excellence.
Refreshments will be provided.

Join Olivia Tencer ‘22, Post-Baccalaureate Fellow with  Rethinking Place: Bard-on-Mahicantuk  to learn about her research on the history of Indian boarding schools and the role of Mohonk Mountain House in supporting federal Indigenous child removal policies to further disrupt Native lifeways and dispossess Indigenous peoples of their land. Olivia will share how she uses Indigenous research methods like narrative or “storytelling”, one of Linda Tuhiwai Smith’s 25 Decolonial Projects, to retell, rewrite, re-imagine, and re-narrate the history of Mohonk Mountain Houses’s Friends of the Indian Conferences and the profound influence of these conferences on Indian boarding school policies of the 19th and 20th centuries in the so called United States. What is the current narrative being shared at Mohonk? How do Indigenous research methodologies, specifically representation, re-narrate this history? How does narrative and storytelling help us as researchers to “Indigenize” colonial histories? Participants will look at various primary and secondary sources to further understand how narrative and storytelling help us as researchers to unpack history.

This talk was originally presented at the fall 2023 Rethinking Place conference at Bard College.

It’s that time of year again! Come find out about the ghosts that haunt the library and learn about local legends in this spooky tour of the cemetery & library.

Saturday, October 28. 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Tour begins at the Bard cemetery entrance.

There will be snacks & souvenirs!

Sponsored by Stevenson Library and Bard Houses.

Come meet the library’s very own therapy dog: Nala! Nala will visit the library every Tuesday from 7 – 8 p.m.

Faculty Salons at Stevenson: Close Reading with Marina Van Zuylen
When: Wednesday, October 18, 4 pm
Where: First Floor Browsing Section

In our frenetic lives, we tend to skip over the small details that might shed light on what really matters. In this workshop, we will speak about what is so easy to overlook when we read literature. Using examples from Tolstoy and Woolf, this workshop will help us identify and take stock of the silences and the in-between spaces that separate literature from the 24-hour news cycle.

Upcoming: Reception for Night Blooming Prophecy exhibit

Night Blooming Prophecy: The Surrealism of Stephen Robeson-Miller
Curated by Dr. Susan L. Aberth
August 14–October 30, 2023
Reception: Thursday, October 19 4:00–6:00pm
First-floor lobby
Meet the curator and the artist.

Banned Books week is October 1-7. This Wednesday, October 4, join us for an open-mic style banned books reading from 5:30-6:30 p.m.. Choose from our display of frequently banned and challenged books, or bring one that’s important to you to read from. Happens in the browsing area.  Celebrate and defend the freedom to read!

Hispanic Heritage Month Event: Worry Doll Workshop

with Ixmucane Pereira ‘26
Wednesday, September 27
5:30 – 7:00 p.m.

Worry dolls are small, hand-made dolls that originate from the highland indigenous people of Guatemala. A local legend about the origin of the Muñeca quitapena refers to a Maya princess named Ixmucane. The princess received a special gift from the sun god which would allow her to solve any problem a human could worry about.

In traditional and modern times, worry dolls are given or lent to brooding, anxious or sorrowful children. They tell their doll about their sorrows, fears and worries, then hide it under their pillow before going to sleep at night. It is said that the child relinquishes their worries to the dolls during the night and by the next morning, all sorrows have been taken away by the worry doll.

All students, staff, and faculty are welcome to come and create their own worry dolls. Refreshments will be served.

Sponsored by the Office of the Dean of Inclusive Excellence.

UPDATE 9/11/2023 12:00 p.m.

The senior carrel lottery is officially OPEN! The lottery will close next Friday, September 15th at noon. To enter:

• Check your library account to make sure you don’t have any outstanding fines or overdue books.
• Fill out this form. The Senior Carrel Lottery is now closed.

IMPORTANT: To be eligible for a carrel, you should be working on a text and/or research-based senior project, and your library record should have no overdue books or fines.  If you have questions about outstanding books on your account, please contact Hannah Cremo ([email protected]) asap. It’s your responsibility to make sure your library account is clear before the lottery closes. 

If your name is drawn in the lottery, you’ll be notified by 5 pm on Monday, September 18 with further information about the carrel selection process.