The Friends of the Library host events in conjunction with the Hiram College Library. All Friends events are open to the public.
April 29 - 7 pm - Pritchard Room - What happens when war takes the ones you love far away?
In 1861, James A. Garfield left home to fight in the Civil War. His wife, Lucretia, remained in Hiram—raising their child, managing their home, and seeking purpose in a world transformed by war. They had letters, and hope, but no idea what the future held.
Meet Lucretia in this live historical performance by Debbie Weinkamer, told through Lucretia’s own letters and words. Hosted by the Friends of the Hiram College Library.
Select Wednesdays at 4:15 p.m. in the Pritchard Room on the second floor unless otherwise noted. All events are open to the public! Join us to learn about faculty research, special projects, and other big ideas within our vibrant academic community.
April 2, 2025: Michelle Fretwell, M.A., Dissertation Fellow for Teaching Diversity
Resonance & Resistance: A Nonbinary Account of Gender - What is gender, really? As humans in a society, we all experience it—yet some expressions of gender are normalized while others are questioned. In this thought-provoking presentation, Michelle Fretwell will explore a grounded understanding of gender, drawing from qualitative research on nonbinary self-definition, expression, and joy.
March 19, 2025: Prof. Mary Quade and students
Las Encantadas: Our Study Abroad to Ecuador and the Galápagos - Join Prof. Mary Quade and students as they share highlights from the Fall 2024 study abroad course Natural History in the 21st Century. Through captivating photos and personal reflections, they will recount their journey to Quito, Ecuador, and the Galápagos Islands.
February 19, 2025: Jessie Lanterman Novotny, Ph.D. and students
Engaging Students in Field Station Forest Ecology - This past summer, students explored forest health at the Field Station, comparing old-growth areas to lands recovering from logging and agriculture. They also conducted independent research on forest biodiversity, with more exciting projects on the horizon for summer 2025.
Join us for a talk on what we’ve learned, what’s next, and how students can get involved in research, internships, and outreach at the Field Station. Discover the impact of hands-on ecological research!
November 6, 2024: Daniel Groves
Finding Your Place in the Big, Scary Publishing Industry - The publishing industry is a complicated place for the most successful writers, but how is a newly or unpublished writer supposed to break onto the scene? Unless you’re the next Stephen King, the answer is simple but daunting: lots of time, lots of energy, and lots of patience. In this talk, Daniel Groves—a newly published writer himself who is still working to find his way—discusses what he’s learned in his first few years as a serious writer and which tools he’s found most useful to help get work published. Watch the recording. View slideshow.
October 16, 2024: Debbie Kasper, Ph.D., Lina Ross, Lorna Metzger, Bethany Smith, and Noah Wordell
Flourishing in Life <–> Facing Challenges - Hiram's mission includes elements both ancient and modern. While each aspect seems worthwhile, their connection to one another—and to students’ everyday lives—may not always be obvious. In this forum, we’ll reflect on a class focused on cultivating well-being and share insights into how these ideas come to life. Watch the recording.
September 18, 2024: Vivien Sandlund, Ph.D.
"To Arouse and Awaken the American People": The Life and Work of Abolitionist Benjamin Lundy - Most scholars of American antislavery have focused on the radical abolitionists who, beginning in the 1830s, demanded immediate abolition. Less studied have been the dedicated opponents of slavery who preceded them, activists whose efforts tested gradual antislavery strategies and provided a foundation for the later radicals. Benjamin Lundy was a Quaker newspaper editor who spent his entire adult life pushing for gradual abolition, believing that he could change the hearts and minds of Americans to end slavery. Watch the recording.
Monday, February 5 at 2 p.m. Get Organized with Notability! Need to get organized? Notability can help! Lorna Metzger ’25 will show you her color coded tips and tricks for using Notability to its fullest to help you stay on top of deadlines. Bring your iPad and Apple Pencil and follow along with Lorna as she helps you organize calendars, weekly planners, notes, and homework assignments. This event was recorded and is available on YouTube.
Thursday, February 15 at 2 p.m. Book Discussion: Read a graphic novel adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice by Nancy Butler and join our book discussion. Learn more about the book and how to obtain it by visiting our book discussion page.
Tuesday, April 2 at 6:30 p.m. What is a Sensory Room and Why is it Important? The Hiram College Library and Learning Technologies invite you to learn more about neurodiversity, sensory rooms, and why they are important! Dr. Brittany Jackson will discuss what neurodiversity is, what a sensory room is, and why both are important to creating a more inclusive society. Following the lecture, please stay for a tour of Hiram College's public sensory room! This lecture is made possible in part by generous grants from the Hiram Community Trust, the State Library of Ohio, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Wednesday, April 24 at 3:30 p.m. Garfield Transcription Learn about the Library of Congress' By the People transcription project and how you can help transcribe documents related to James A. Garfield.
Tuesday, April 30 at 4:15 p.m. ChatGPT vs. ChatLibrarian: Is it Ever Okay to Use ChatGPT? Tempted to try out ChatGPT for your next paper? What if it gives you false sources? How will you know? This session will help you understand when it might be okay to use AI and when you should turn to a librarian or your own brain!
Thursday, May 2 at 4:15 p.m. Microsoft Word Tips & Tricks (iPad Edition) Always struggling to format your document correctly for class? Annoyed by automatic bullets and copying and pasting? Learn some tips and tricks for using Microsoft Word on the iPad in this session! Bring your questions!
Bring your Lunch and Learn about interesting topics!
Thursday, July 25 12:30 p.m. - 1 p.m.: How to Network on Campus Learn how to find opportunities through campus events and networking to make friends to find connections to campus group
Future Fest: Friday, March 15, 2-4:30 p.m. Learn everything you need to know to help you with your future career.
Fall 2021 Program with Ben Wolford, The Portager: View the recording.
Fall 2022 Program with Dr. Tim Rasinski: The Art and Science of Reading. View the recording.
Winter 2023 Program with Lucy Chamberlain '77 and Dr. Denny Taylor '73: The Hiram Public Gardens. View the recording.
Fall 2023 Program with Thomas Bacher '78: The Essential Liberal Arts: Historical Sketches of Hiram College. View the recording.
Winter 2024 Program with Daniel Gavazzi '10: Beyond the Shadow of a Doubt: What's Going on During a Total Solar Eclipse. View the recording.
Spring 2024 Program: Total Eclipse of the Hill. Hiram College was treated to a total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. View a time lapse of photos provided by Daniel Gavazzi '10 and the library's telescope provided by Frank Merritt '65. View a complete feed of the eclipse as seen through the telescope at Hiram College.
Photos of the total solar eclipse by Mahmood Al-Omeri '26 are on the Hiram College flickr page.
Past recorded Library Forum Events:
December 7, 2022: Search for Humanity After Atrocity Conference Report and Photo Essay
The search for humanity after atrocity is as imperative as it is elusive, but recent strides in endeavors such as genocide studies, restorative justice, and peacebuilding, are generating renewed interest and debate. The conference that three Hiram College students, Albertha Marin, Madelyn Sagle, and Hallie Talbot attended with Professor Merose Hwang in October 2022 engaged students, scholars and practitioners to pursue projects that energize the acknowledgment and negotiation of genocides and other atrocities’ multi-layered consequences. Students shared a photo essay of what they learned from this conference. Professor Hwang also shared information about Hiram College’s Peace Corps Preparatory Program. This event was recorded and is available on YouTube.
January 18, 2023: Louis Oliphant, Ph.D.: ChatGPT and AI Assistants: How they work and why they're important
The news is lighting up with talk about ChatGPT changing the face of student writing. Louis Oliphant, Ph.D. unpacks ChatGPT and other AI Assistants. How do they work? Why is it important that we talk about them with students? Why is banning them from our classrooms shortsighted? This event was recorded and is available on the library's faculty resources page.
January 26, 2023: Megan A. Connell, Psy.D. ABPP: Tabletop Roleplaying for Facilitating Learning and Therapeutic Experiences
Connell, a licensed Psychologist and Therapeutic Dungeon Master will speak via Zoom and attendees may join the event in person in the Pritchard Room on the library's second floor, or via Zoom. This event was recorded and is available on YouTube.
February 1, 2023: Courtney Mauck, Ph.D. and Garett Munro: ChatGPT in the Classroom
How do you talk about ChatGPT and other AI assistants with students? What should you include in your syllabus? How can you modify assignments in the ChatGPT era? Courtney and Garrett will share their experiences thus far. This event was recorded and is available on the library's faculty resources page.
February 23, 2023: Kirsten Parkinson, Ph.D.: 23 Rejections and Counting: Tales from a Sabbatical
We often show only our successes to the world, but getting to success often requires first navigating multiple failures. Kirsten Parkinson will talk about and read from the essays that she wrote and revised during her spring 2022 sabbatical and the (still ongoing) challenge of getting most of them accepted for publication. This event was recorded and is available on YouTube.
January 17: Courtney Mauck, Ph.D., Scarier than it Seems: Developing and Evaluating Multimodal Projects
Interested in incorporating multimodal or nontraditional assignments, but not sure where to start? Grounded in data collected in 2020 for a forthcoming article, Courtney A. Mauck will share common challenges instructors often face when introducing and evaluating multimodal projects (and the best practices to overcome those challenges). This event was recorded and is on YouTube.
February 28: Jen McCreight, Ph.D., The Space Between: How an Exploration of Linguistic Identity Increased Pre-Service Teachers’ Intentional Inclusion of Diverse Languages and Dialects
March 27: Doug Brattebo, Ph.D., How My Sabbatical Became Productive in Unexpected Ways
Join Doug as he discusses progress on two proposed sabbatical research projects, plus a third one that emerged with unexpected immediacy. This event was recorded and is available on YouTube.
May 8: Jo Line, Ph.D., Community Based Learning in Two Sport Management Courses in Collaboration with Play Gap. This event was recorded and is available on YouTube.