News & Updates
Now Live: New BU Libraries website connects community to resources
The Boston University Libraries have launched a fully redesigned website that will better connect the BU and global communities to scholarly and special collections, research tools, and the expertise of our subject specialists. The new site, which launched on August 3, is designed to help users quickly locate essential resources and engage with all the BU Libraries have to offer, both online and in person.
Our libraries are catalysts of learning and discovery. More than a fresh look, the new site has several new features and improvements that will connect every member of the BU community to knowledge and information. This includes:
A modern home page, with intuitive and streamlined navigation
- A completely redesigned and modern home page provides timely updates, opportunities to discover library collections and resources, and the latest information on library workshops and events.
- Content is organized by what you want to do: Visit & Study; Find & Access; Explore Collections or get Help & Research Support. The expanded navigation menu allows for quick access to these key pages.
Enhanced search options
- The refreshed BU Libraries Search offers new features for faster linking to resources, finding newspaper articles, and searching within our special collections. You can now discover materials from our digital, archival, and scholarly collections, including unique materials from our African Studies Library, University Archives, and arts, humanities, and educational resources.
Easy ways to connect to resources
- A new filtering tool for study rooms and spaces makes it easier for you to find a space and reserve a room.
- Coming soon, dedicated collections pages will enable users to find, explore, and dive deeper into curated scholarly, special, archival, digital, and community collections.
- Connecting with a librarian still takes just one click. Ask a Librarian and live chat features ensure you can get expert help when you need it.
The Library Technology & Discovery Services Team collaborated with BU Marketing & Communications over several years to successfully complete this comprehensive redesign. That process included significant community input through online surveys, in-person community events, and pop-up feedback opportunities, and your insights will continue to shape the BU Libraries website and services.
If you are interested in web user experience at the BU Libraries, follow updates on the User Experience at BU Libraries page, follow our social media channels, and sign up for our Library UX Participant Pool for notifications about upcoming events.
Have a question or piece of feedback about the new website? Can’t find what you’re looking for? Contact us.
Nikki Giovanni Papers to open with celebratory events, exhibition
The BU Libraries invites you to the grand opening of the Nikki Giovanni Papers at Boston University as we celebrate the influential poet, writer, and activist and provide the world’s first glimpse into her personal papers.
Coinciding with Boston University Alumni weekend, the Nikki Giovanni Papers opening, “Poetry is a Culture of People”, is free and open to the public. The celebration features the Boston University premiere screening of the documentary Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project and talk back with the filmmakers, an exhibition opening, and reception and poetry reading.
Register for one or both events.
Thursday, September 17, 2-7 pm
George Sherman Union, 2nd Floor
775 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston MA 02215
Schedule of Activities
2 pm - 5 pm: Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project film screening, followed by a talk back with filmmakers Michelle Stephenson and Joe Brewster, in conversation with Miles Brewster (Pardee ‘24), filmmaker, educator, and former point guard for the BU Men's Basketball Team.
About Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project Through intimate vérité, archival footage, and visually innovative treatments of her poetry, Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project pushes the boundaries of biographical documentary film by traveling through time and space to reveal the enduring influence of one of America’s greatest living artists and social commentators.
5 pm - 7 pm: Reception and Poetry Reading featuring Julieanna L. Richardson, founder and president of The HistoryMakers, and luminary poets. More information to be announced.
The Exhibition, on display in Mugar Library
The archival exhibition, “Poetry is a Culture of a People:” Understanding Nikki Giovanni through her Archive, focusing on the first 10 years of Giovanni’s long career, will enable attendees to have an intimate understanding of her writing and life. The exhibition, curated by Fallon Murphy, Ph.D. Candidate in American Studies at Boston University, will guide viewers through some of Giovanni’s most well-regarded poems during the Black Arts Movement, her foray into politics in the aftermath of Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X’s assassination, and more. The exhibition also explores some of Giovanni's newly discovered collaborations with musicians, including Nina Simone and Leontyne Price, and her collaborations and intimate correspondence that demonstrate how Giovanni fits into the Black feminist poetic and political networks towards the end of the 20th century.
Hosted by Boston University Libraries’ Special Collections and Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center in partnership, the African American & Black Diaspora Studies and American Studies programs, the BU Center for the Humanities, the Creative Writing program, LGBTQIA+ Center for Faculty & Staff, LGBTQIA Student Resource Center, the Office for the Arts.
This event would not be possible without the support of the Howard Gotlieb Lecture Endowment.
Applications open: Nursing Archives Associates Archival Research Award
The Boston University Libraries Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center and the Nursing Archives Associates are pleased to announce that applications are sought for the 2026-2026 Nursing Archives Associates Archival Research Award.
The award will help offset travel and related expenses to visit the Boston University Libraries to conduct research in the more than 200 collections that comprise the nursing archives at BU. Please see the History of Nursing Archives at Boston University Special Collections guide.
The award is open to all students, faculty, and independent researchers and will be awarded based on evidence of preparation and/or productivity in historical research related to nursing and health care. Successful grantee will receive $2,500. This award is payable to the individual applicant and is taxable income. The purpose of the award is to support travel, photocopy, digitization, and other expenses related to using the nursing archives in Boston University's Special Collections.
Applicants should submit a full research proposal of no more than 500-600 words, exclusive of title page and references, along with a current CV. The proposal should include the following:
- Abstract (maximum 100 words)
- Project description indicating the scope of the historical research
- Boston University Nursing Archives collection(s) to be used
- Narrative for existing scholarship and how the research will advance scholarship in the history of nursing and health care
- Methodology and timeline, and
- Intended product and plan for dissemination
Evaluation of the proposal will consider the clarity and feasibility of the project. Recipients of the research award are expected to submit a summary of their work, a head shot and brief biography for the Nursing Archives Associates Newsletter and BU Libraries blog.
The deadline for proposals is November 1, 2026. Awards will be announced in December 2026. Proposals should be sent to: nursing@bu.edu
Read about past recipient, Dr. Lydia Wytenbroek, and her research
Mugar Library open 24 hours a day for study period and finals week
Mugar Memorial Library will be open 24 hours beginning Thursday, April 30, at 7 am until Friday, May 8, at 5 pm to provide all students study space that fits their schedules during the University’s study period and final exams. All other BU Libraries branches will be open during their regularly scheduled hours during this time.
The BU Libraries will also provide a late-night campus shuttle for students from midnight to 6 am each day during its 24-hour service schedule. The shuttle will depart from Mugar Memorial Library every 30 minutes, following this route:
- Mugar Library – 771 Commonwealth Ave.
- Hyatt Regency Hotel – 575 Memorial Dr., Cambridge
- StuVi 1 – 10 Buick Street
- StuVi 2 – 33 Harry Agganis Way
- Rich Hall – 277 Babcock Street
- 1019 Comm Ave
- South Campus – Park Dr. & Beacon St.
- Fenway Campus – 255 Brookline Ave.
- Danielsen Hall – 512 Beacon St.
- 610 Beacon Street & Kilachand Hall – Bay State Road & Raleigh St.
- The Towers – Bay State Road & Silber Way
- Warren Towers- Commonwealth Ave. & Granby St.
Students must show a BU ID to use the shuttle.
BU Libraries Symposium Will Revisit the Julius and Ethel Rosenberg Spy Case
From BU Today:
"Americans Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed 73 years ago on charges that they passed atomic secrets to the Russians. But their prosecution has inspired bitter debate ever since, with many believing that Ethel, in particular, was wrongly convicted.
Now “we have what many believe is the smoking-gun document” to make the case for her, says Jennifer Gunter King, Boston University’s associate university librarian for academic engagement and special collections.
The August 22, 1950, document is called the Gardner Memo for author Meredith Gardner, a codebreaker for the Armed Forces Security Agency, precursor of today’s National Security Agency. It was made public in 2024 through the Freedom of Information Act.
Based on decrypted Soviet communications, the memo describes each of the individuals the government connected to the “Atomic Energy Spy Ring” and what the intelligence agencies and FBI knew about them.
The handwritten document, marked Top Secret, says that “Mrs. Rosenberg was a [communist] party member, a devoted wife, and that she knew about her husband’s work, but due to ill health, she did not engage in the work herself.”
The Rosenbergs’ sons, Robert and Michael Meeropol, will donate the declassified document to the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center on Thursday, when the BU Libraries present Archives and Accountability: Revisiting Justice in the Rosenberg Case, a symposium taking place at the Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground."
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Read more at BU Today or access letters and other documents in the BU Digital Library.
BU Libraries welcome Giordana Mecagni as Director of Special Collections and Archives
Giordana Mecagni joined the BU Libraries on March 30 as the Director of Special Collections and Archives, overseeing the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center, University Archives, and the special collections held across the library.
The special collections and archives of the BU Libraries extend from the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center, which serves as the University’s central repository for personal papers of cultural figures from the 20th and 21st centuries, to rare books, the University’s archives, and the distinctive collections of the Music, Theology, and African Studies libraries. Together, these collections preserve cultural heritage, inspire original scholarship, and foster a deeper understanding of the world.
“Boston University is fortunate to welcome Giordana Mecagni to this critical leadership role within the University Libraries,” said Jennifer King, Associate University Librarian for Special Collections & Academic Engagement. “Giordana is an accomplished, visionary, and pragmatic leader whose inclusive, determined approach will strengthen and complement the vital work of the Special Collections team.”
As director, Mecagni will ensure students and researchers can easily discover and use these archival materials and will collaboratively engage the larger community in thoughtful exploration of history and current events through BU’s special collections. Under Mecagni’s leadership, the Gotlieb Center will expand research opportunities for scholars across the globe, deepen campus engagement with the archives, and invest in its growing instructional programs that introduce students primary source learning and spark convergent inquiry across disciplines.
“I am thrilled to join the BU Libraries and the dedicated teams who steward BU’s cultural heritage collections and make them available for research,” said Mecagni. “The BU special collections are cherished by scholars around the world, and are available right here in the Mugar Library. They contain endless opportunities for scholarship, and my goal is to integrate un-googleable primary source research into all aspects of teaching and learning on campus.”
Mecagni comes to BU from Northeastern University where she had served as Head of Archives & Special Collections since 2013 honing deep expertise in project and collection management, staff development and mentoring, fundraising, educational program development, and community engagement. She previously served as the Acquisitions Archivist and Archivist for Women in Medicine at the Center for the History of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and Reference Assistant at the Schlesinger Library at the Harvard Radcliffe Institute. She holds an MS, Archives Concentration from Simmons School for Library and Information Science and BA, Sociology and Women’s Studies for the University of New Hampshire.
BU’s RefWorks subscription to end August 31
Boston University’s subscription to the reference manager RefWorks is ending on August 31, 2026, and users will no longer have access to the platform or their collected references after this date. To ensure users can access their references, the BU Libraries are offering support and guidance on exporting references and uploading them to another reference manager. To learn how to export references, download attachments, and upload them to the reference manager Zotero, users can follow the steps found in this guide.
Zotero is an open-source reference manager that easily captures bibliographic information from any web resource and enables quick in-text citation. All BU faculty, students, and staff can download and use Zotero for free. With Zotero, references are saved on your hard drive, and they can be the synced to an online account, so you can access your references from anywhere, and Zotero users continue to have access to the tool and their references, even if they leave BU.
BU Libraries staff are available to assist all RefWorks users during this transition. In addition to this guide, users can get help from a librarian by emailing ask@bu.edu or contacting librarian JD Kotula (jdkotula@bu.edu) if you need further assistance or have additional questions.
The BU Libraries strive to provide library users with the best access to the tools and supports they need to do their research. Beyond this transition, the BU Libraries will continue to provide expertise and support for reference managers, offering individual tutorials, periodic workshops, and guidance on its “Create Bibliographies” guide.
Your Job Search Starts at Pardee Library
Looking for a job or internship? Pardee Library has the tools and resources to help you hit the ground running. Our Career Research @ Pardee Library guide takes you from “Where do I start?” to “I’ve got this!” – quickly and confidently.
The guide helps you:
- Understand your industry – research trends, players, and opportunities before you apply.
- Target employers effectively – use company directories to build a strategic list of potential employers.
- Sharpen your career skills – explore literature on career development, networking, pivots, and workplace diversity.
- Prepare for interviews – learn how to research companies so you can walk in ready.
- Find internships – resources tailored for students breaking into your field.
Stop by Pardee in person or email us at pardstf@bu.edu – we’re happy to help you make the most of what’s here.
Dr. Lydia Wytenbroek Selected as Inaugural Recipient of Nursing Archives Associates Archival Research Award
The Nursing Archives Associates (NAA) have selected Dr. Lydia Wytenbroek, assistant professor at the University of British Columbia, as the inaugural recipient of the NAA Archival Research Award.
The award supports historical research about nursing and health care, and encourages the use of the History of Nursing Archives housed in the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center at Boston University Libraries for primary source research. Through this award, the NAA and BU Libraries seek to encourage innovative research through the archives and create accessible research opportunities.
Dr. Wytenbroek plans to use this award to study Virginia Arnold’s role in developing nursing leadership in the Global South through the Virgina Arnold Collection. Arnold’s papers, donated to BU as part of the Nursing Archives, document Arnold’s work as the Assistant Director for Medical Education and Public Health for the Rockefeller Foundation. In this role, she developed the nursing education program at the University of Valle in Cali, Colombia, and the World Health Organization’s regional center for nursing education at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
The NAA Research Award will enable Dr. Wytenbroek to gain insight into Arnold’s international nursing work and her influence on the expansion of the nursing profession in the Global South through Arnold’s own diaries, manuscripts, correspondence, and other primary sources. The BU Libraries are proud to host Dr. Wytenbroek, and work in partnership with the Nursing Archives Associates to provide greater support for scholars like Dr. Wytenbroek.
The History of Nursing Archives includes more than two hundred collections from various nurses and nursing organizations, chronicling the history of the nursing profession from its beginnings to the present day. Learn more about the History of Nursing Archives.
Please note that the 2026-2027 NAA Archival Research Award will be announced in Fall 2026 and we look forward to applications!
Find the Data You Need at Pardee Library
Pardee Library connects you with real-world business data for your classes, projects, and research. Explore our databases to find company financials, industry and market reports, economic indicators, and policy data to support your analysis.
Start with these key resources:
- Business & Economic Data Sources – core business and economics databases
- Global Business Intelligence – company, industry, and country insights
- Financial Databases Overview – tools for company and market data
- Company Annual and Financial Reports – 10-Ks, annual reports, and more
- Economics – data on markets, countries, and indicators
Looking for even more? Browse our Business Databases: A-Z page to explore the full range of available resources.
Not sure where to start?
Email pardstf@bu.edu and we’ll help you find the best data sources for your topic or assignment.