7/6/17 - 8/25/17

Nina Pelaez, Assistant Curator of Public Programs

A summertime slice of campus life
This mashup of mini courses, patio pop-ups, and Reading Room programs take inspiration from two mainstays of academia: the library and the archive. These lively social-learning experiences offer a playful taste of college culture, and tease out new ways of thinking about learning, art, community, and museums.
Mini Courses

Thursdays, 5 PM

Williams faculty and other local experts draw from the quirkiest kinds of libraries as they explore WCMA’s exhibitions, collections, and spaces.

WTF+WCMA: The Dramaturge
Thursday, July 6, 5 pm
Williamstown Theater Festival

Playwrights have been archiving the human experience for centuries.  Join us for a live reading of a new play, read by Williamstown Theatre Festival artists

Oral Archives + Lex and Love
Thursday, July 13, 5 pm
Annie Valk, Associate Director for Public Humanities and Lecturer in History

Explore Meleko Mokgosi’s use of language and the unexpected connections between narrative painting and traditions of oral history.

Robert Rauschenberg: Appropriating the Archive
Thursday, July 20, 5 pm

Consider how originality, copyright, and imitation play out in Robert Rauschenberg’s artwork.

The Pigment Library
Thursday, July 27, 5 pm
Narayan Khandekar, Custodian of the Forbes Pigment Library at Harvard University

A look at the fascinating history of color and the science of pigments.

Object Not Found: A Reading
Thursday, August 3, 5 pm
A roving reading of original works by local writers that imagine the lives of objects no longer present in the museum’s collection.

The Osmothèque
Thursday, August 10, 5 pm
Christopher Draghi and Robert Dobay, Perfumers and Founders of Source Adage NYC

Inspired by the scent library housed in Versailles, this multi-sensory tour transforms works in our collection into scents.

Seed Library
Thursday, August 17, 5 pm
Ken Greene, Founder of the Hudson Valley Seed Library

Go from seed to canvas and dig into representations of plants in WCMA’s collection.

Space As Archive
Thursday, August 24, 5 pm
Lisa Conathan, Head of Special Collections at the Williams College Libraries

Spaces act as archives of their own. What histories remain visible and what others disappear?


Extracurriculars

Thursdays, 6-8 PM

Drinks, snacks, & serendipity on our patio.


The Sketchbook Project Mobile Library

July 13, 3-8 PM

Sketchbooks and rain are not friends, so the Mobile Library will be popping up in our Rotunda, the historic site of Williams College’s first library.  Check out (literally!) a selection of titles from the largest collection of artist sketchbooks in the world created by photographers, painters, architects, designers, and illustrators from over 135 countries.


Old School Screening

Thursday, Aug 24, 7 PM

A screening of vintage educational shorts on the patio pulled from archives by Images Cinema.


The Leisure Library

During open hours

Borrow a game, a picnic blanket, or a book to enjoy inside or outside the museum.


Reference Desk

Tuesdays and Fridays, 1-3 PM

Ponder the philosophical and personal with our librarian-in-residence in the Reading Room.


Summer Seminar

Come for lemonade and a lunchtime chat about books submitted to People’s Library in response to the question: What book is helping you understand the world right now?

Williams faculty lead the discussion. Here’s what we are reading this summer:

July 12

Yertle the Turtle by Dr. Seuss

Janneke van de Stadt, Professor of Comparative Literature

July 26

On Immunity: An Inoculation by Eula Biss

Damian Turner, Professor of Biology

August 9

Thank You For Being Late by Thomas Friedman

Steven Nafziger, Professor of Economics

August 23

The Handmaid’s Tale By Margaret Atwood

Alison Case, Professor of English and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.


Member’s Perk: Report Card
Get an A+ for attendance! Come to 5 or more Mini Courses and get a special reward.
Not a member yet? No problem. Enroll in our FREE member’s program and sign up for perks at Mini Courses.
The Library & the Archive Syllabus: Suggested Readings from Williams Librarians