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Moving Duke Forward: How the Libraries Will Help Shape Duke’s Future

On February 7, 2013 By

On September 29, 2012, Duke University launched the most significant fundraising and alumni engagement campaign in its history. The comprehensive $3.25 billion campaign, “Duke Forward: Partnering for the Future,” will support strategic priorities across the university, with a goal of raising $45 million for the Duke University Libraries.

This [...]

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Vote for the Library!

On January 7, 2013 By

Earlier this fall, we got into the election spirit here in the Libraries and decided to host a little competition.

We challenged Duke students to “be our Super PAC” and make a mock election video explaining why the Duke University Libraries get their vote.

Was Perkins their [...]

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A Cut Above: Duke’s Longest-Serving Barber Gets a Place in the Library

On January 7, 2013 By

The plaque next to the door reads: “In honor of David W. Fowler, Jr., the Duke of Barbers for Over 50 Years.”

You could easily miss it if you didn’t know it was there, tucked away in a corner on the lower level of Perkins Library—a coveted nook of peace and quiet in an otherwise bustling [...]

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Postcard from Johannesburg: How One Student Got the Most Out of Her Library

On January 7, 2013 By

By Aaron Welborn

It isn’t often that librarians find out what happens to the people we help. Most interactions follow a familiar pattern—another question answered, another obscure reference tracked down, another student sent off feeling smarter and more confident. But what then? What comes of all that knowledge and discovery? Most of the time, we [...]

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For Whom the Bell Tolls

On January 7, 2013 By

Angelo Rocca (1545–1620) is best known as the founder of the Angelica Library, the first public library in Rome. He was also head of the Vatican printing office and a prolific author and philologist in his own right, with more than sixty works to his name. One of those was Continue Reading →

Grand Central Station: Inside Duke’s Library Service Center

On May 7, 2012 By

Ten years since it opened, the Libraries’ high-density repository is bigger and busier than ever. A look behind the scenes puts the work of running a modern-day research library in perspective.

Welcome to Marvin Tillman’s world, where the forecast is always 50 degrees with 30 percent humidity. Those are ideal conditions for preserving books and [...]

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Giving Back by Giving Books

On May 7, 2012 By

When John Hoy T’67 was a student at Duke, the library wasn’t a place you could simply browse around. The stacks were closed to undergraduates, and librarians weren’t always trained to be as warm and friendly as they are today.

Nevertheless, the Florida circuit court judge has fond memories of the countless hours he spent studying [...]

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A Lifelong Love of Words, Poetry, and Libraries

On May 7, 2012 By

On November 6, 2011, the Duke University Libraries lost a longtime friend and cherished colleague. Myrna Ruth Kanner Jackson, 76, worked in fundraising for many years at Duke and served as the Libraries’ Director of Development from 1991 to 1999. During that time, she helped usher in a period of tremendous organizational growth [...]

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Foreign Exchange: Program Strengthens Ties Between Duke and Chilean Libraries

On May 4, 2012 By

It has been two years since a massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake devastated central Chile. According to official sources, it was the sixth largest quake ever recorded. Over 500 people lost their lives, and nearly one in ten Chileans lost their homes.

The financial aftershocks were also severe. The United Nations estimates that the earthquake cost Chile’s economy [...]

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What Does Your Doctor Know?

On May 4, 2012 By

A new exhibit explores physician education from ancient Greece to Duke Medicine

Throughout history, certain people have taken responsibility for healing the sick, the wounded, and the suffering. Medical knowledge that was once passed down verbally gradually became more codified in writing and professionalized through apprenticeships and university education. Over the course of centuries, the [...]

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