Mansueto Library dedication set for Oct. 11

The University community is invited to celebrate the dedication of the Joe and Rika Mansueto Library [1]. The dedication event will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 11, from 4 to 5:15 p.m. in the Harper Memorial Library Commons, with a reception and refreshments to follow.

Doors open at 3:30 p.m. Guests are encouraged to arrive early, as seating is limited and on a first-come basis. There also be will a live webcast of the event on the "UChicago Live [2]" tab of the University's Facebook page [3].

Princeton professor Anthony Grafton [4], AB’71, AM’72, PhD’75, a noted scholar of Renaissance Europe and the history of books and readers, will deliver the keynote address.

University President Robert J. Zimmer, Provost Thomas Rosenbaum, University Librarian Judith Nadler and Joe Mansueto, AB’78, MBA’80, also will make remarks.

The event will feature the world premiere of “double helix” for two violins. Augusta Read Thomas [5], University Professor of Composition, composed the piece as a tribute to the new library.

The Mansueto Library houses a high-density underground storage system with the capacity to hold 3.5 million volume equivalents, along with cutting-edge facilities for book conservation and digitization. The library is named for Joe Mansueto and Rika Yoshida, AB’91, who gave a $25 million gift to the University [6]in 2008. The library’s Grand Reading Room opened on May 16, 2011 [7].