This bronze sculpture of Dante in the RBSC Reading Room is a replica of the monument to Dante erected in Trent, Italy, in 1896. (Photo by Lou Weber, 2011)

Upcoming Events: May 2026 and through the summer

Please join us for the following public events and exhibits being hosted in Rare Books and Special Collections:

[TODAY!] Tuesday, April 28 at 4:00pm | “The Ghost Behind Manuel Puig: Discovering the Mario Fenelli Archive” by Martín Villagarcía (Universidad Nacional de La Plata).

There are currently no public events scheduled in May, June, or July.


The Spring 2026 Exhibition | Cultivating Community: Stories from Special Collections

This exhibition highlights stories of survival, contemplation, competition, protest, and learning, from six distinct collections in Rare Books and Special Collections. Each section, presented by a different subject curator, focuses on an example of how people over time and in different places, construct community and cultivate hope.

A Community of Learners in Colonial America and the Early Republic
Rachel Bohlmann, Ph.D. (Curator, American History and American Studies)

The Gay Olympic Games: Community Through Sport
Gregory Bond, Ph.D. (Curator, Joyce Sports Research Collection)

Women Religious in Male Spaces
David T. Gura, Ph.D. (Curator, Ancient and Medieval Manuscripts)

Ireland’s Idealized Community
Matthew Knight, Ph.D. (Curator, Irish Studies)

A Community of Solidarity
Natasha Lyandres (Curator, Russian and East European Studies)

Transnational Communities of Resistance during El Salvador’s Civil War
Payton Phillips Quintanilla, Ph.D. (Curator, Latin American and Iberian Studies)

This and other exhibits within the Hesburgh Libraries are generously supported by the McBrien Special Collections Endowment.


The currently installed spotlight exhibits are Éire Óg / Young Ireland (March–April 2026) and First Impressions: An Introduction to Mesoamerican sellos / Primeras impresiones: Una introducción a los sellos mesoamericanos (January–April 2026).

All exhibits are free and open to the public during business hours.


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Rare Books and Special Collections is located on the main floor of the Hesburgh Library at the University of Notre Dame in northern Indiana, and is open to students, faculty, visiting researchers, and members of the community Monday through Friday from 9am-5pm (closed weekends and major holidays).