Bowdoin College Library

Library News and Events

General

New Collection: Banned Books Week 2025

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Bowdoin Library commemorates Banned Books Week (October 5-11) with a selection of well-loved banned books from the collection, on display on H-L first floor.

Banned Books Week was established in 1982 in response to a sudden increase in attempts to censor books. This year’s theme, “Censorship Is So 1984. Read for Your Rights,” reminds us that censorship efforts are escalating in the United States, and increasingly come from organized movements.

Each year the Banned Books Week Coalition appoints an Honorary Chair. George Takei, a Civil-Rights activist, author, and actor is Honorary Chair for 2025. He writes, “[o]ur ‘government of the people, by the people, for the people’ depends on a public that is informed and empathetic, and books teach us both information and empathy.”

View the full collection in the catalog here.

Faculty Book Launch: “Merchants of Knowledge”

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Professor Robert Morrison chatting with moderators.

The first faculty book launch of the 2025-26 academic year took place on Thursday, September 19th. Professor Robert Morrison, Bowdoin’s George Lincoln Skolfield, Jr. Professor of Religion and Middle Eastern and North African Studies, and Director of the MENA program, published his new book, Merchants of Knowledge: Intellectual Exchange in the Ottoman Empire and Renaissance Europe. Professor Morrison was joined by Professor Crystal Hall and Professor Marilyn Reizbaum, who moderated the Q&A.

Professor Robert Morrison reading notes at his book launch.
Photos by Kiran Elfenbein, The Bowdoin Orient

“Merchants of Knowledge” refers to the multilingual and transregional Jewish scholars who became an important bridge between the Ottoman Empire and Renaissance Europe, particularly between 1450 and 1550. This network of scholars traded books, manuscripts, and translations in topics ranging from astronomy and astrology to Qabbalah and philosophy. Morrison weaves together disciplines of study that seem disparate to modern scholars, but were once closely intertwined.

Morrison’s book is available physically in the Faculty Display at Hawthorne-Longfellow Library, or digitally in Compass, the Library catalog.

The next faculty book launch will be on October 23rd, featuring new works by Kate Campbell Strauss, the Director of Jazz Ensembles and Lecturer in Music at Bowdoin College.

“A Window into the Past”: Oral History on Maine Calling

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This past Thursday, Meagan Doyle, Digital Archivist of Special Collections & Archives at Bowdoin Library, joined Maine Calling on Maine Public Radio to discuss oral histories. Firsthand accounts grant historians and archivists a deeper and more nuanced understanding of historical events and their effect on the people who lived through them. She and other panelists discussed some of the challenges in collecting and preserving them, as well as how oral history changes with new technology.

Meagan noted the democratization of oral histories afforded by the widespread availability of smart phones.  Whereas decades ago doing an oral history project meant investing in expensive and specialized equipment, “now we all have audio recording devices in our pockets all the time.”  This allows anyone to capture an oral history, and Meagan encouraged anyone considering it to do so:  It really is worth capturing anyone’s story.”.

They also discussed how AI will impact oral histories. Meagan said, “[Generative AI] creating an oral history that’s not real…is not very far off in terms of where the technology is right now.”  Users of oral histories need to be diligent to ensure the veracity of sources.

Oral histories in Bowdoin Library’s Special Collections & Archives are available online and are open to the public, including the George J. Mitchell Oral History Project, a collection of recollections and personal impressions from individuals who knew George J. Mitchell.

Listen to the entire episode here.

Orientation Roundup: Academic Fair and Campus Hacks

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Anna, Linnea, and Christie, staff members of Bowdoin Library, smiling while standing by the library's Academic Fair table

Did you miss us at the Academic Fair or at Campus Hacks? No problem!

We asked you to answer a poll: “What do you think you will need most from the library?” Here’s our answers to your top needs.

word cloud of poll responses; the largest words are research, study space, and books.
Student-generated responses to the poll: “What do you think you will need most from the library?”

Library Resources

Study space

The Music, Art, and Science libraries across campus are open to all students, in addition to the H-L main Library. See all library hours

Quiet spaces

The Pierce Reading Room on the second floor of H-L is quiet study space all day. After 7 PM, the third floor of H-L is also designated as quiet space. Typically, Hubbard stacks (accessed through Media Commons in the basement) and the H-L basement are also good hide-away study spots, though there is no expectation of quiet on those floors.

Group spaces

Book group rooms at H-L or Hatch libraries.

Research

Our librarians are ready to help you with any question, big or small. Make an appointment with a research librarian, or drop-in to The Research Lab on the first floor of H-L Library from 11-4 Mon-Fri.

Books

Browse the entire Bowdoin catalog

Too many results? Try using search filters in the advanced search. Check the sidebar for additional filters, like location and format.

Need something we don’t have? Want to read something for fun? Request a title from anywhere!

  • CBB
    • Searchable through Bowdoin’s catalog, access the Colby, Bates, and Bowdoin College resource sharing network in Maine. Fastest to arrive (usually under a week).
  • MaineCat
    • 3-week loans from any library in Maine. Can take up to 10 days to arrive.
  • InterLibrary Loan & Digital Delivery
    • Through InterLibrary Loan, request any title from anywhere in the world, from new popular fiction to obscure research material. Regionally-available materials arrive more quickly, but it can take two weeks or longer to arrive from abroad.
    • With Digital Delivery, request a digitized chapter or section of Bowdoin-owned material, and get it delivered to your ILL account.

More Campus Resources

Make things easier for yourself during your time at Bowdoin. Your future self will thank you! Check out these additional learning resources:

Bowdoin Center for Learning & Teaching (BCLT)

Tutoring, coaching, and writing help. Make appointments through Penji.

Academic Technology (ATC)

Get technology help, or learn about 3D printing, data mining, UAVs, GIS, and more.

THRIVE

Resources for first-generation and limited-income students, including a dedicated study space, peer mentoring, and community. Don’t just survive, THRIVE!

Ask Us | Call Us

No matter what, we’re here to support you.

Bowdoin Library Staff

Welcome, New and Returning Students! Your Academic Home Awaits.

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The entrance to Hawthorne-Longfellow Library with the doors open and lit by warm lamplight

Headshot of Peter BaeHello and a very warm welcome to the Class of 2029 and all of our returning students!

On behalf of the entire Bowdoin Library staff, we are so excited to have you back on campus. The library is more than just a place with books; it is your academic home, a space for collaboration, and a quiet retreat for focused study. We’ve been getting everything ready for you all summer and can’t wait to see the energy you bring to our halls.

Our friendly and dedicated staff are here to help you with anything you need. Whether you’re looking for a specific book, need help with a research paper, or just have a quick question, please don’t hesitate to ask. As you settle in, remember that the only question you can’t get an answer to is the one you don’t ask!

As you begin your classes, I want to draw your attention to a couple of key resources.

Course Reserve Services

We know textbooks can be expensive, and our Course Reserve Services are designed to help. Your professors have selected essential materials for your courses, which are available to borrow for shorter periods to ensure everyone has a chance to use them. Find more information here, or search the Course Reserve catalog directly.

Library Services for Students

Beyond course reserves, we offer a wide range of services to support your success, from research assistance to technology support and more. We encourage you to explore all the ways we can help you thrive this semester by visiting our student services page.

We wish you all a successful and rewarding academic year. The library is here to help you learn, grow, and achieve your goals. Come say hello—we’re here for you.

Peter Bae, Director of the College Library

Cookbooks: A glimpse through thyme

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Whether it was food or knowledge you were craving, Friends of the Southport Historical Society served up a satisfying dish. Southport Town Hall was packed Aug. 4 for the group’s latest installment of the Donald and Joyce Duncan Lecture Series, “Cookbooks as Historical Evidence,” led by Marieke Van Der Steenhoven, Bowdoin College’s Special Collections Education and Engagement librarian.

Read the full article by the Boothbay Register here.

“Citation Needed”: Using WikiEdu to Demystify Information Sharing

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Linnea Minich smilingLinnea Minich, Research and Instruction Librarian at Bowdoin Library, delivered an interactive workshop titled “Citation Needed: Weaving Together Citation and Information Sharing with WikiEdu”, at LOEX, an annual conference on library instruction and information literacy in Pasadena, CA. Workshop participants used WikiEdu resources to determine which Wikipedia articles are most in need of improvement, then practiced adding a citation to those articles.

WikiEdu is a Wikipedia training and instruction platform offering training modules, customizable course pages, and classroom programs. While these resources are designed for semester-long courses, Minich demonstrated to workshop participants that these resources can be used in individual classes and other time-limited library settings to demystify the technically complex world of Wikipedia editing. As Wikipedia articles are subject to peer review by the community, this kind of participation can help students understand citation as a crucial part of the knowledge-sharing process, rather than as a formality.

Linnea Minich points at a slideshow during her presentation

The WikiEdu curriculum emphasizes the importance of improving representation on Wikipedia for under-represented groups. In Minich’s workshop, she showed participants how to find important articles that need to be improved by looking at WikiProjects like Indigenous peoples of North America and African diaspora. These WikiProjects are formed by groups of Wikipedia editors working to improve articles in a particular area.

Minich notes, “even though this workshop was during the last session block at the conference, I had some enthusiastic participation. The audience asked helpful questions about the practical side of these activities, and about Wikipedia and WikiEdu. I have used WikiEdu in three semester-long courses previously. It was great to have the opportunity to experiment with how this can be applied at Bowdoin to help students think about citations differently.”

 

 

 

 

Now Live! Bowdoin Digital Collections

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The Bowdoin College Library is pleased to announce the launch of a new platform, Bowdoin Digital Collections. This is the first step in bringing all of the Library’s Digital Collections & Projects into one system for access and preservation, including the contents of our previous system, Bowdoin Digital Commons, which was retired on February 17, 2025. Bowdoin Digital Collections provides improved searching of content, streamlined access to Library digital collections and projects, and a more responsive interface for use on mobile devices. Please contact Digital Archivist Meagan Doyle (mdoyle@bowdoin.edu) with any questions, including how to submit new materials.

Please bear with us this summer!

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A polar bear in a hard hat resting on the book drop, with the text, 'Site Under Construction'Hawthorne-Longfellow and Hubbard are undergoing some improvements this summer, including an improved circulation desk and some shifting of collections, and there will occasionally be noise and commotion as that work happens.

If you’re looking for quiet space during our construction work, consider the third floor of H-L or, after June 21, Hatch Science Library (which has air conditioning!).