The Chapin Library of Rare Books at Williams College will host the annual July 4 reading of the Declaration of Independence and speeches by Frederick Douglass and John Quinney at 1p.m. The event, held indoors at Chapin Hall, is free and open to the public. Continue reading »
To commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, we have gathered a group of manuscripts and printed documents that reflect on the experiences of Americans during the first year of the Revolution. The Chapin Gallery showcases four different formats through which news of the Revolution… Continue reading »
Junior Advisors to the class of 2020 during move-in day, 2016 A century after the establishment of the Junior Advisor system, the College Archives reflects on this unique Williams institution. The program was implemented in the years following the First World War, when President Harry Garfield sought… Continue reading »
May is mental health awareness month, a time to bring renewed attention and care to our emotional, psychological, and social wellbeing. In this display, you can explore books from the Schow stacks illuminating issues in each of these interconnected domains, answering such questions as; What does the science… Continue reading »
College Council to Williams Student Union: Williams student governance traced through the years, curated by the archivists of the Williams Student Union (Abdiel Perde (Class of 2028) and Annabel Smith (Class of 2029)),will be on view on the main floor of Sawyer Library until June 2026. The exhibit… Continue reading »
April is citizen science month, the month when we champion the data collection and scientific research done by people who do not have scientific credentials! From distributed astronomy data, to zealous tree climbers, from water samplers, to citizen science gamers, there are many examples of people from all… Continue reading »
In honor of the Berkshires Satellite Reef installation in Spring 2026, a new Special Collections exhibit celebrates coral reefs and the undersea world. From a 16th-century pufferfish to the microscopic structures of fire coral, marine life emerges from the pages of illustrated works of natural history, expedition reports,… Continue reading »
Members of a youth group watch a boy climbing a flag pole This exhibition of objects from the recently catalogued National Socialist Ephemera Collection explores how a culture of making, viewing, and sharing photographs fundamentally shaped citizens’ experiences and memories of living in Nazi Germany. The selection on… Continue reading »
Rachel Carson is often credited with jumpstarting the American environmentalist project into mainstream politics. Her 1962 book Silent Spring was pivotal in for a radical American grassroots movement seeking to reject environmental degradation as a necessary price for industrial progress. Since its publication, pollution… Continue reading »
The library is planning to replace the IndiaStat.com database with a new subscription to States of India. States of India is available as a trial through April 16th. We need your input to help us understand whether this new resource meets and/or exceeds the needs of IndiaStat.com users. Continue reading »