September 25, 2023

The Drexel University Libraries is excited to announce its fall programming, including new Wednesdays@Noon webinars, Open Access Week activities, and a Banned Books Week display.

Read more below or visit our events calendar for information on all the events the Libraries has to offer this fall!

Banned Books Week: October 1 – 7

Banned Books Week is October 1 – 7, 2023, and this year’s theme is Let Freedom Read. By focusing on efforts across the country to remove or restrict access to books, Banned Books Week draws national attention to the harms of censorship and highlights the “value of free and open access to information and brings together the entire book community… in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas.” 

The Drexel University Libraries joins libraries and bookstores across America in the fight against censorship. Celebrate with us by visiting our banned books display at the W. W. Hagerty Library, which features 2022’s thirteen most challenged books. Read a few pages while you’re visiting the Library or check out a copy to read at home.

Open Access Week: October 23 - 27

Join us for a week-long celebration of open access to research and information! This year’s theme is Community over Commercialization and is an opportunity to “join together, take action, and raise awareness around the importance of community control of knowledge sharing systems.”

Throughout the week, the Libraries will feature four events, including sessions with Drexel researchers and a keynote presentation by Nick Shockey, Director of Programs & Engagement for the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) and one of the organizers of Open Access Week.

Attend this year’s events to learn more about Open Access at Drexel and how openness can create pathways to more equitable knowledge sharing and serve as a means to address the inequities that shape societies and our response to them.

All Open Access Week events are open to Drexel community and members of the public.

Learn more about the Libraries’ 2023 OA Week activities

Wednesdays @ Noon: Starting October 4 and running through Spring 2024

This year, Libraries staff have prepared an exciting list of webinars, including instructional sessions to help you create a biosketch or learn how to navigate the Libraries’ collection of 300,000 online journals.

Other sessions will explore the Drexel University Archives, delving into some of the “strange, silly, serious, and surprising Drexel student organizations” of the past and the history of STEM education at Drexel.

These 30-minute virtual sessions are open to all Drexel faculty, staff, students, and members of the public. Send us ideas for other topics you’d like us to cover in this annual event series.

Watch recordings of previous Wednesdays @ Noon sessions

ScholarSip & Celebrating Drexel Authors

You may notice one event series is missing from the 2023/24 lineup. After eleven seasons, the Libraries will retire ScholarSip. This year, we will instead focus efforts on expanding our annual Celebrating Drexel Authors event through a regular series of interviews with Drexel authors. These recorded interviews will feature Drexel authors, their works, and their writing process.

If you published a book this year, let us know. We would love to feature you in the months leading up to the author event in 2024. Share your publication information with us by completing the Authors Recognition form or email Communications Manager Stacy Stanislaw at svs22@drexel.edu  

Stay tuned! Further details about the 2024 Celebrating Drexel Authors event date and other details will be announced over the coming months.