Georgetown University Library

A symposium in honor of Iranian women’s activist Mahnaz Afkhami and her recent significant donation to the Georgetown University Library brought together activists, scholars, and policymakers from across the globe to Copley Formal Lounge for a day of reflection, learning, and dialogue centered on women, peace, activism, and human rights on Tuesday, November 4, 2025.

This collection—consisting of primary source documents, oral histories, books, photographs, papers, and previously unreleased reports—serves as an unparalleled archive of pre-Revolutionary Iran and the evolution of the global women’s movement. These precious materials will be held in the Booth Center for Special Collections, where they will soon be catalogued and made available to scholars, researchers, faculty, students, activists, and the public worldwide.

Put on your hard hat and take a look: Reading Reading Room is already unrecognizable.

A central study spot in Lauinger Library, Pierce closed January 2025 to undergo a major expansion and renovation.

Last month, Library staff were invited to walk through the construction zone halfway through its makeover.

The most notable changes were the removal of a wall to the south and the tiled ceiling, revealing a grand view of the Potomac River to the South and an exposed concrete grid above.

Beyond expanding and visually updating the space, the renovation will create a mix of informal study and small group collaboration rooms, as well as a new Digital Lab with a large-format video wall for interactive teaching and learning and special events.

Construction is anticipated to be completed in December 2025.

Join Lattes & Lit Book Club for our discussion of The Cemetery of Untold Stories by Julia Alvarez on Tuesday, November 19, at 4 p.m.! RSVP here: tinyurl.com/LattesAlvarez

The club will meet in the Idea Lab on the 1st floor of Lauinger Library for a meeting co-hosted with the Department of Spanish and Portuguese in collaboration with the Georgetown University Library and the Midnight Mug.

About the book:

The Cemetery of Untold Stories follows Alma Cruz, a renowned writer determined not to follow the fate of a fellow novelist friend who pushed herself so hard to complete a book that it nearly drove her mad.

When Alma inherits a small piece of land in the Dominican Republic, she comes up with a creative plan to transform it into a resting place for her unfinished stories. Here, she buries the characters and drafts that she couldn’t fully realize, though their presence still lingers in her mind.

Alma hopes to let these characters finally rest, but they have other plans. They begin to speak up, sometimes to Alma and sometimes to each other, revising their fates and continuing to evolve. Filomena, a local woman Alma hires to care for the grounds, becomes a confidante to the characters' unsung stories.