University of Illinois Library

On Reading Day, take a study break to relax and refresh at the University Library's end-of-semester tradition, De-Stress Fest! From animals, crafts, VR, snacks, academic support, and more,* there is something for everyone!
Locations include: Funk ACES Library - Grainger Engineering Library Information Center - Main Library.
For each location's unique schedule of events, visit:

We hope to see you there!
*While supplies last.

Kunal Basu, the author of more than a dozen books in English and Bengali, will speak about his novels that draw from rich, connected histories. In this invited lecture, Basu will discuss the conceptualization and research that went into the writing of novels such as The Opium Clerk, The Miniaturist, and The Yellow Emperor's Cure.

This hybrid event is open to the public. We request that you register in advance. Online participants will receive the Zoom link after registering.

In this presentation, Ruth Behar will discuss her recent turn from anthropology to writing coming-of-age novels. These works of historical fiction feature Jewish Cuban and Sephardic young girls seeking to understand their identities and heritage and their quest for freedom and a home where all are welcome. Behar will discuss the borders and blurring between ethnography and fiction, and how her recent book, Across So Many Seas, represents Sephardic and Jubana heritage in a time of Jewish trauma and vulnerability.

Co-sponsored by the University Library

Students, faculty, and staff are invited to an open forum co-sponsored by the Senate Library Committee and the University Library. The Forum will include remarks from Dean of Libraries and University Librarian Claire Stewart, the Library's role in AI, and an update on space projects. Please register here for Zoom link:

What poem is in your pocket today? Join the Main Library in celebrating by picking up a poem in the Orange Room or at the Information Desk!

Join the Women's Resource Center and University Library for a reproductive justice zine event! Included will be a short presentation about zines and how they provide a space for reproductive justice, and plenty of time to create your own zine! Materials and music will be provided, as well as the opportunity to look through a selection of the Social Justice Zine Collection housed in the Ricker Library of Art and Architecture. This workshop is in-person on April 25, 4-6pm, in the UIUC Women's Resource Center.

Join us for snacks and a short presentation about what reproductive justice is and how it connects to period poverty/making period products accessible. We’ll also be packing period products to donate during a wellness event with Champaign-Urbana Public Health District.

Sign up at if you want to volunteer or pop in to sneak a cupcake!

Tropic Death: A Scholarly Digital Edition is the second publication in IOPN’s series of digital critical editions of texts that recently entered the public domain and is currently available in beta version. Tropic Death is the best-known work of writer Eric Walrond, an Afro-Caribbean writer of the Harlem Renaissance. The work is a collection of ten short stories, some which were published prior to the book’s publication in 1926. Considered a classic of the Harlem Renaissance, Tropic Death explores themes of racial oppression, economic deprivation, and death.

Read an interview with editors Ryan Weberling and Caitlyn Georgiou on IOPN's blog.