Syracuse University Libraries currently have two exhibits on display in Bird Library and Carnegie Library in honor of Women’s History Month.

On the first floor of Bird, there’s an exhibit commemorating the centennial anniversary of women’s suffrage in New York state, and its ties to the region’s local history.

In Carnegie, there’s an exhibit named “Forces of Nature,” featuring pop-art posters of famous women who were pioneers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields. The posters are set up on easels and spread throughout the main entranceway.

The women’s suffrage exhibit in Bird is on loan from the Central New York Libraries Resource Council and will be featured in other regional libraries throughout the rest of the year. The “Forces of Nature” posters were used with permission from the Perimeter Institute to create a complementary exhibit as a way to draw more attention to Women’s History Month.

The libraries decided to display the “Forces of Nature” posters in Carnegie because that’s where the STEM collections and the SU mathematics department are located, said SU librarian Emily Hart, in an email.

“It’s important to celebrate the integral role that women have had in shaping history — whether it be through their groundbreaking discoveries in advancing science or their persistence in fighting for equality and civil rights,” said Tarida Anantachai, outreach librarian for SU, in an email.

Anantachai said the exhibits act as a way to draw attention to women and continue to amplify their voices and contributions beyond Women’s History Month. Hart said she believes it’s important to seize every opportunity to highlight women’s accomplishments, especially in STEM fields, which are primarily dominated by men.

The exhibits have been receiving a reasonable amount of attention — both in person and on social media — and have encouraged a number of people to reach out to the librarians for more information, Anantachai said. The poster exhibit has also encouraged librarians to bring more events and exhibits to that library in the future, Hart said. The poster exhibition is one of the first exhibits brought to Carnegie in some years, Hart said.

The women’s suffrage exhibit will be in Bird until the end of the month and will then be moved to the Onondaga Free Library and Camillus Middle School. The “Forces of Nature” exhibit will be in Carnegie Library until the end of the month, and then will be replaced by SU Libraries’ Fifth Annual Human Library in mid-April.

“I hope that Women’s History Month and the incredible women scientists represented in the posters are a source of courage and strength and a reminder for those passing by to seize the day,” Hart said.

Published on March 28, 2018 at 9:17 pm

Contact Jordan: jtkoster@syr.edu