Events & Outreach

The Z. Smith Reynolds Library features a variety of events, workshops, and more. The library often partners with other units on campus to offer these programs. For more information, contact the library.

Upcoming Events

  • CozyFest
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    ZSR Library
    Join us for our third annual CozyFest- a winter evening event that centers around crafting, relaxation, connection and tea. This year, we’re partnering with WakerSpace, Awake Forest, World Tea Association, ZSR Special Collections & Archives, and ZSR Ambassadors to create an evening filled with creative and relaxing activities, a delightful assortment of teas, a tempting s’mores bar, and so much more! Please make plans to join us for this cozy, winter event.
  • CAT Book Discussion: Mind Over Monsters
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    ZSR Library, ZSR 665 (Faculty Commons Classroom inside the Faculty Commons space in ZSR Wilson Wing).
    Alarming statistics in recent years indicate that mental health problems have been skyrocketing among youth. Psychologist and professor Sarah Rose Cavanagh interviews experts who work with young people to help them actualize their goals, and highlights voices of college students from a range of diverse backgrounds. The result of these combined sources of inquiry indicates that to support youth mental health, we must create what Cavanagh calls compassionate challenge. Let’s meet and discuss what that might look like.
  • Book Discussion: Failing Our Future: How Grades Harm Students, and What We Can Do About It
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    ZSR Library, ZSR 665 (Faculty Commons Classroom inside the Faculty Commons space in ZSR Wilson Wing).
    One of the most urgent and long-standing issues in the US education system is its obsession with grades. In Failing Our Future, Joshua R. Eyler shines a spotlight on how grades inhibit learning, cause problems between parents and children, amplify inequities, and contribute to the youth mental health crisis. Equal parts scathing and hopeful, Failing Our Future aims to improve the lives of students by encouraging them to define success on their own terms.
  • Film Screening: Rising Hope
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    ZSR Library, Library Auditorium (Room 404)
    Screening sponsored by the Department for the Study of Religions with support from the Program on Leadership and Character, the documentary explores issues surrounding the state’s historically oppressive policies towards Black Mississippians, the massive employment loss following NAFTA, and the devastating effects of defunding public education for consecutive generations.

    More central to the film, however, is the vibrant tapestry of voices and personal narratives found within the Delta. The film follows a former news anchor turned church youth leader, a first-generation college student pursuing photography, the journeys of community non-profits, and the profound life experiences of town mayors and local citizens. Through these transformational stories, audiences witness extraordinary personal hardships and their refusal to internalize the narrative of hopelessness.

    https://risinghopefilm.com/.