Newberry President David Spadafora introduces Scott Turow and Judge Richard Posner ( l to r, seated), who discussed the pros and cons of the digital age as part of the library’s “Conversations at the Newberry” series.
set of programs that in 2011-12 brought 11 long-term and 40 short-term fellows here for research and writing, and that provided special research opportunities to some 50 scholars-inresidence. At the same time, the first continuing education programs of the 1890s, part of the university extension movement, have evolved into today’s 150 seminars for adults and dozens of presentations open to the public. The 2011-12 year saw the first two programs in the new series of “Conversations at the Newberry,” in which widely known experts like Scott Turow and Judge Richard Posner debated topics such as the fate of books, authors, and libraries in the digital age. Naturally, these conversations are open to the public and free of charge, just as has been the remarkable array of exhibitions that we have put on since 1909, in which we show the public what we have in our collection, and suggest what they might learn from reading here. In preparing for our 125th anniversary celebration, the staff worked diligently to identify 125 items from the collection that do an especially good job of telling the Newberry’s story, and particularly the story of our collection’s great strengths. Their work resulted in the exhibition “The Newberry 125,” supported by The Jacob & Rosaline Cohn Foundation and two anonymous donors, as well as the accompanying book, The Newberry 125, Stories of Our Collection, made possible by a gift from Richard and Mary L. Gray. These collection stories exemplify what the title of a second exhibition, funded by the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, makes plain, that we have been steadily “Realizing the Newberry Idea” for 125 years. But, as is equally clear, we are not resting on our laurels.
David Spadafora President and Librarian
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