What: Exhibit: Gendered Bits: Identities Practices, and Artifacts in Computing
Where: Elmer L. Andersen Library
When: May 28 - July 23, 2008
Free and open to the public.

This exhibition, presented by the Charles Babbage Institute, explores how gender has shaped the professional identities and material culture of computing. It examines issues and raises questions about gender broadly as well as specific matters of masculinity and the contributions, struggles, and shifting roles of women.

What: A Contract with God by Will Eisner, part of the free five-part reading and discussion series Let’s Talk About It: Jewish Literature – Modern Marvels
Where: Highland Park Branch Library
When: Tuesday, June 24, 2008 • 7 p.m.
Facilitator: Judith Katz, University of Minnesota Center for Jewish Studies
Free and open to the public.
More information: http://wilson.lib.umn.edu/outreach/marvels.html

Set among 1930s Bronx tenements, these four stories capture the brutal, tender world of working-class Jews. In the title story, Frimme Hersh's daughter suddenly dies, sorely testing the "contract" this self-made man once entered into with God. In "Cookalein," Eisner casts a humorous eye on the amorous, social-climbing tendencies of young urbanites spending a summer in the Adirondacks. Wry, honest, and sad, these four stories showcase Eisner's unique ability to capture character with the quick stroke of his pen.

This series explores Jewish literature and culture through scholar-led discussions of contemporary and classic books on the theme of “Modern Marvels: Jewish Adventures in the Graphic Novel.” The program is the result of a grant to the University of Minnesota—Twin Cities Libraries, which is partnering with The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library. Local support is provided by the Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Minnesota. Let’s Talk About It: Jewish Literature, a reading and discussion series, has been made possible through a grant from Nextbook and the American Library Association.

What: Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer: Stories by Ben Katchor, part of the free five-part reading and discussion series Let’s Talk About It: Jewish Literature – Modern Marvels
Where: Highland Park Branch Library
When: Tuesday, July 22, 2008 • 7 p.m.
Facilitator: Judith Katz, University of Minnesota Center for Jewish Studies
Free and open to the public.
More information: http://wilson.lib.umn.edu/outreach/marvels.html

Steeped in a melancholy, grey-tinted world of elevated trains, luncheonettes, and gently decaying tenements, Katchor's perambulating photographer Julius Knipl documents a rapidly vanishing urban netherworld. Peopled by men who map the migration of hairstyles and those who belong to the Amalgamated Panty-Waist Fitters Union, his cityscape is a familiar one, albeit with the touch of a demented fairy tale.

This series explores Jewish literature and culture through scholar-led discussions of contemporary and classic books on the theme of “Modern Marvels: Jewish Adventures in the Graphic Novel.” The program is the result of a grant to the University of Minnesota—Twin Cities Libraries, which is partnering with The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library. Local support is provided by the Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Minnesota. Let’s Talk About It: Jewish Literature, a reading and discussion series, has been made possible through a grant from Nextbook and the American Library Association.

What: The Quitter by Harvey Pekar, part of the free five-part reading and discussion series Let’s Talk About It: Jewish Literature – Modern Marvels
Where: Highland Park Branch Library
When: Tuesday, August 5, 2008 • 7 p.m.
Facilitator: Judith Katz, University of Minnesota Center for Jewish Studies
Free and open to the public.
More information: http://wilson.lib.umn.edu/outreach/marvels.html

Ostensibly covering Pekar's early years, this dark graphic novel tackles everything from his brief stint in the Navy to jazz criticism and mid-century race relations. The gritty and atmospheric artwork by American Splendor collaborator Dean Haspiel perfectly captures Pekar's cantankerous tone. But a surprisingly hopeful message ultimately surfaces. It's possible to find your way in the world, Pekar suggests, even if it takes a lifetime to do it.

This series explores Jewish literature and culture through scholar-led discussions of contemporary and classic books on the theme of “Modern Marvels: Jewish Adventures in the Graphic Novel.” The program is the result of a grant to the University of Minnesota—Twin Cities Libraries, which is partnering with The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library. Local support is provided by the Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Minnesota. Let’s Talk About It: Jewish Literature, a reading and discussion series, has been made possible through a grant from Nextbook and the American Library Association.

What: The Rabbi's Cat by Joann Sfar, part of the free five-part reading and discussion series Let’s Talk About It: Jewish Literature – Modern Marvels
Where: Highland Park Branch Library
When: Tuesday, August 19, 2008 • 7 p.m.
Facilitator: Judith Katz, University of Minnesota Center for Jewish Studies
Free and open to the public.
More information: http://wilson.lib.umn.edu/outreach/marvels.html

After eating a parrot, an aged Algerian rabbi's cat develops the ability to speak and quickly declares his desire not only to be Jewish, but to have a bar mitzvah. The rabbi engages his pet in a spiraling debate, touching on topics such as spelling, parental love, and the very nature of Jewish identity.

This series explores Jewish literature and culture through scholar-led discussions of contemporary and classic books on the theme of “Modern Marvels: Jewish Adventures in the Graphic Novel.” The program is the result of a grant to the University of Minnesota—Twin Cities Libraries, which is partnering with The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library. Local support is provided by the Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Minnesota. Let’s Talk About It: Jewish Literature, a reading and discussion series, has been made possible through a grant from Nextbook and the American Library Association.

What: Exhibit: The Social History of the Sea
Where: James Ford Bell Library, fourth floor of Wilson Library
When: Through June 30, 2008
Free and open to the public.

"The Social History of the Sea" is the newest exhibit at the James Ford Bell Library. Located in the Bell's T. R. Anderson Gallery, 4th floor of Wilson Library, this exhibit explores the many facets of our interaction with the sea. We've viewed it as a moral frontier, as a space to be governed; it has formed the hub of cultural interaction and community building; we have written about it, painted it, and depended on it economically. Although most of the material on display is from the Bell collection, the exhibit also includes items from Special Collections and Rare Books, the Children's Literature Research Collections, and Wilson Library. The gallery is open Monday-Friday, 8:30-4:30 p.m.; arrangements for curator-led tours of the exhibit during or outside of normal hours can be made by calling 612-624-1528 or send us an e-mail at jfbell@umn.edu.

Three robots, three student groups…a battle of the intelligent versus the artificially intelligent.

What: SCImagine! 2008, the Science & Engineering Library's annual spring event.
Where: Upson Room, Walter Library 102
When: Friday, May 9, 2008 3:30-5:00 p.m.
Free and open to the public.

Come see live robot demonstrations and the latest creations of artificial intelligence by students from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Minnesota. The presentations will be accompanied by light refreshments and stimulating conversation.

SCImagine! emphasizes the Science & Engineering Library's role as an intellectual gathering place on campus. Each spring the library showcases university teaching, learning, and research in the physical sciences and engineering offering fascinating presentations and lively discussions.

What: Photography exhibit
Where: Elmer L. Andersen Library
When: Through Saturday, June 14, 2008
Free and open to the public.

This traveling exhibition of photographs, curated by historian Rickie Solinger, captures the complexities of being a mother in contemporary America if you are young or poor; if you are on the streets or disabled; if you are unprotected, in prison, or alone.

Sponsored by the University Libraries; the School of Social Work; the Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare; the Institute for Advanced Study; the College of Liberal Arts; the Departments of History, American Studies, and Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies; the Humphrey Center for Women and Public Policy; and the Life Course Center of the Department of Sociology.

What: Exhibit: 75th Anniversary of the Burning of the Hirschfeld Library
Where: Elmer L. Andersen Library
When: March 24 - May 16, 2008
Free and open to the public.

May 10, 2008, marks the 75th anniversary of the burning of the Magnus Hirschfeld Library by the National Socialists (Nazis) in Berlin. The exhibit displays materials that survived the Library's destruction and tells the history of this momentous event.