The University Libraries are kicking off Pages to Paths, a year celebrating major milestones, including the opening of Love Library 80 years ago.
Pages to Paths will include events, activities and initiatives that celebrate the University Libraries — its history, its people, and its evolving role in the Cornhusker State's research and learning landscape.
Through this 2025-26 campaign, the libraries will reflect on how the libraries has grown in response to the changing needs of students, faculty and communities. The five key anniversaries include 80 years since Love Library opened to students; 50 years since the opening of Love Library North; 20 years since the founding of the Center for Digital Research in the Humanities; and 10 and five years since the openings of the Adele Hall and Dinsdale Family Learning Commons, respectively.
Pages to Paths invites students, faculty, alumni and Nebraska residents to engage with the libraries' past and contribute to shaping its future. Here are some of the upcoming activities open to students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the Nebraska Community:
- Launch of UNL Libraries Latte Crunch, the Dairy Store’s new flavor for 2025-26. From 1 to 4 p.m. Sept. 2, members of libraries leadership will be outside under the Link scooping Latte Crunch in cups or waffle cones.
- Opening reception for a signature exhibition, featuring alumnus and artist Karen Blessen, 5 to 6:30 p.m., Sept. 18, Love Library North's second floor.
- “Campus Memories in Motion,” a Husker history event, 3 to 5 p.m. Oct. 2, in the lower level of Love Library South. Interact with featured archival materials and contribute your campus memory to a crowd-sourced art journal. RSVPs recommended.
There are also planned invitational events for University Libraries donors and alumni including a Tailgate for Nebraska Volleyball Fans who “Dig” Libraries on Sept. 24 and hosting the NU Foundation Burnett Society on Oct. 3.
Liz Lorang, dean of Libraries, said these milestones, spanning from 1943 to 2021, reflect key turning points in a much longer story.
“The University Libraries have supported generations of Nebraskans in their academic and professional journeys,” Lorang said. “Our story continues to unfold, shaped by new questions, new technologies and new opportunities to serve.”
A steering committee of faculty, students, donors and key campus-wide administrators advised the libraries on the celebratory efforts that will take place throughout the academic year. Future events planned are a competition for students to imagine the future of academic research libraries, activities in Love Library during several football Saturdays, and senior library leaders taking listening tours of the campus and state.
For more information, visit the Pages to Paths website.
