Albert R. Mann Library at Cornell University

09/22/2026

Wow! Our community proved once again that Cornell is ! During 7 days of Cornell's "Unplug & Connect" fun on campus, student/staff/faculty patrons at Mann Library filled up not one, not two, but FOUR walls with titles of books they'd recently read and would recommend to others. Stay tuned for a book display and a "Mann Library patrons recommend" reading list we'll develop from these responses later this semester. And in the meantime, enjoy this view of the filled-up walls--gives hope that the Age of Reading may last a while longer yet!!!

09/18/2026

We had a lovely, lovely time folding wolves, dragons, frogs, shrimp, bows and boxes with you all! Create & Connect Fridays @ Mann off to a great start for the year, thanks to our origami organizer (aka Evidence Synthesis & Research Librarian) Lindsay Bahureksa and the sweet, chatty energy that all our participants brought. Our next session will be on 10/23, same time (3-5p) and place (CALS Zone), and we'll be needle felting again. Mark your calendars!

07/16/2026

Are you as impressed as we are with the amazing 3D quality to this exquisite illustration of a king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah illustration?

This beauty was originally drawn by artist Annada Prasad Bagchi (or possibly one of his students?), for a part medical, part zoological study of India's venomous snakes titled "The thanatophidia of India," published by physician and British colonial administrator Joseph Fayrer in 1872, We happened to find it in later (by just a couple of years) publication in our special collections, this one by another physician, Joseph Stewart, also active in the 19th century colonial British government of India, who used some of Bagchi's illustrations to create "The poisonous snakes of India," a shorter, more handbook-like work intended to help guide clinical treatment of snake bites. King cobras have a wide native range in across South and Southeast Asia. Both feared for their venom and revered in regional myth and folklore (they are the national reptile of India), king cobras are presently considered a vulnerable species by the IUCN due to habitat loss and hunting. Cobras are much more likely to attempt a quick escape than attack when encountered by humans. Given this behavior and the protections currently in place in several countries, we like to think there's hope for this species yet.

Annada Prasad Bagchi was a well-recognized painter, lithographer, engraver, illustrator and teacher of art in late 19th-early 20th century Bengal. With others, he founded the Calcutta Art Studio in 1878, a creative center that produced popular book illustrations as well as portrait and landscape paintings as well as watercolors and lithographic prints for the commercial market, playing an important role in producing artwork for a mass clientele in early 20th century India. Bagchi himself also gained considerable fame as a portrait artist.

What we're not so very sure of in terms of this king cobra illustration is whether it was a work by Bagchi himself, or one of his students. If any of our readers have insight for us on that, please feel free to let us know! One way or the other, Bagchi's accomplishments and the nurtured talent revealed in this particular drawing clearly indicate an artist of significant impact,. We are so glad to have found this work to make our little contribution to today!

07/15/2026

Wait, what? Ice cream celebration all July?!! We're so with that. Even found this home-made recipe (https://tinyurl.com/cornell-ice-cream) to add to the party. Enjoy, friends!

06/20/2026

Ancient, magnificent, and vulnerable. And getting some special love today for day. The American , Limulus polyphemus, is more than 200 million years old (by some estimates, as old as 450 million!), but without targeted protection, may not survive our era of global warming. It's a feature creature in the "Going to Gone" exhibit on display in the Mann lobby as part of our "From the Brink" exhibit program. Drop by to learn more, and watch this space for an online version of the exhibit later this year. And more generally, here's hoping today's celebration brings this beauty more of the attention and care it deserves! (Illustration is from J. De Kay's "Zoology of New-York," vol. 5, pt. 6, of 1843. Visit the exhibit for more info about that important early work in NY natural history study too!--for info: https://events.cornell.edu/event/declining-biodiversity-exhibit)

06/10/2026

Such a lively reunion weekend with our visiting alums this past weekend (we’re just now catching our breath again!). From book lover meet-ups and chats about rare life science books of past centuries to a U.S. natural history discovery challenge (based on our "From the Brink" biodiversity exhibits AND in honor of our country’s 250th!) as well as biodiversity-themed crafts for all ages, our alums proved themselves a fun, game crowd. True Cornellians through and through. We just loved it.

05/15/2026

And just like that, another academic year has gone by at Cornell, and we find ourselves wishing our graduating senior student assistants wonderful adventures ahead. Going to miss these friendly faces...very much!

05/07/2026

The sounds of focus... Snacks (and tree-grove-view)-enhanced study jam happening at Mann right now. We'll be here until 4:00 p.m. for and with you hard-studying Cornell students--getting end-of-semester stuff done--in Room 160. Still plenty of time to drop in for a bit.

05/01/2026

A dearly appreciated smiling face at Mann!

04/25/2026

Looking forward to this talk! (And may we recommend following this event, a visit to the “Keeping Common Birds Common” exhibit of works by wildlife photographer Marie Read currently on display at Mann Library?! It’s beautiful!! )

Join us tomorrow at 3:30pm, online or in-person, for a free lecture, "Keeping Our Common Birds Common," delivered by Prof. Doug Tallamy, Ph.D. Learn what steps you can take at home to help prevent the decline of common bird species. Learn more: https://bit.ly/common-birds-lecture