Cornell University Library

New era, new Olin: Library unveils sweeping interior renovations

September 15, 2025

A major renovation of Olin Library’s main floor and lower levels, completed in summer 2025, has given the venerable campus building a long-awaited overhaul of …

Crowning glory: McGraw Tower’s renovations are complete

August 25, 2025

After more than two years of renovation and restoration, McGraw Tower is finally free of scaffolding. Above all—literally and figuratively—is a brand-new roof. “Everyone—from the designers …

Library’s ‘plant-based’ exhibit opens Sept. 18 with talk, reception

September 11, 2025

Plants—as objects of admiration and scientific study and materials for creative expression—are the focus of a new Cornell University Library exhibit, Plant-Based: Botanical Innovations from …

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Ties that Bind

Quilting at the Clarke Africana Library

This two-part exhibit celebrates quilting in the African American community.

This exhibition features art made with photosynthetic bacteria. This first painting, Winogradsky Rothko, appeared outside Mann Library in 2004. Winogradsky Rothko combines the work of a 19th century soil microbiologist -Sergei Winogradsky- with a 20th century colorfield painter -Mark Rothko. Since then, many pieces have been constructed to visualize the diverse liveliness of microbes in diverse ecosystems, ranging from pristine waterways to some of the most toxic superfund sites such as the Gowanus Canal in NYC. Of note, there is a new living painting (installed March 13, 2022) in the foyer of Mann Library. This project is made of mud from BeeBee Lake. The endogenous microbes will synthesize pigments and develop a transforming colorfield painting (March-September). This project connects back to my first 'mud painting' name Winogradsky Rothko (2004) also made from mud from BeeBe Lake. This time, the 2 vessel was made to reference two 19th century Japanese Landscape Paintings. One will have just Beebe Lake mud, the other will hold 10% biochar, a long-term carbon sequestration mechanism. Both frames will be outfitted with pH, eH and temperature sensors. As the outside visually changes, the chemical and physical characteristics will be logged here.

Cultivating Silence

NIkolai Vavilov and the Suppression of Science in the Modern Era

NIkolai Ivanovich Vavilov was one of the most brilliant geneticists of the 20th century - yet his life ended in a Soviet prison, jailed for his ideas.

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