UW-Madison Libraries

09/01/2026

Welcome home, Badgers! Fall classes start tomorrow, and the UW–Madison Libraries have everything you need to start the semester strong.

Have questions? You're not alone! Find some of the most common questions we hear — and take advantage of all the incredible resources Libraries can offer you: https://www.library.wisc.edu/news/2026/08/25/8-common-libraries-questions-and-answers-to-start-the-semester-strong

08/25/2026

Did you know UW football’s mascot was once a dog?

For one year, from 1898 to 1899, a bulldog named Pat served as the official mascot for Wisconsin football. Named for his keeper, notorious UW kicker Pat O’Dea, the pup was often seen parading Camp Randall’s sidelines in his “W” blanket. He even earned the title of “hero.”

Despite his esteemed status as UW’s goodest boy, there’s almost no record of Pat — so you can imagine our excitement when we discovered the pictured statue.

Stepping off the sidelines of history, Pat the dog will get a spotlight when we hit the road next week for “From the Gridiron to the Archives,” the exhibit we co-curated with Hesburgh Libraries at the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame.

You can dive into Pat’s history — and see other unexpected objects from both universities’ archives — by visiting the exhibit from September 3–7.

🏈 IF YOU GO 🏈
From the Gridiron to the Archives: Documenting Over a Century of Notre Dame and Wisconsin Football
September 3–7
Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame
Tickets required: https://www.packershofandtours.com/plan-your-visit/admission-tickets

08/24/2026

Starting today through November 6, the Department of Special Collections will celebrate its reopening with “New Openings,” an exhibition of new-to-us materials. We’ve selected some of our favorite new acquisitions — like the letters of itinerant seamstress Lizzie Hughes and a late Edo/early Meiji sketchbook featuring floral watercolor paintings — to share with you as we reopen after more than a year of infrastructural renovations.

IF YOU GO
New Openings
August 24–November 6
Department of Special Collections
Ninth Floor, Memorial Library

08/21/2026

New to UW? Madison Magazine has 10 pro tips for navigating campus from a current senior — including a spotlight on College Library's button-maker and gaming console checkouts.

Check it out: https://www.channel3000.com/madison-magazine/10-things-every-new-uw-madison-student-should-know/article_8acf6174-9c29-48ed-881d-1060a90d1ad2.html

08/19/2026

In two weeks, the UW Archives will hit the road for Lambeau Field.

But while the Badgers and the Fighting Irish battle on the gridiron, we’re teaming up with the University of Notre Dame’s Hesburgh Libraries to bring a collection of rarely seen objects from each university’s archives to the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame.

Using photographs, documents, and memorabilia like vintage tickets, historical playbooks, and football gear, “From the Gridiron to the Archives” reflects how the UW–Madison and Notre Dame football programs have intertwined over the last century. It also shows the universities’ deep connections to the Green Bay Packers.

Want to know what we’re bringing? Stay tuned for the highlights — or visit the link in bio to get your tickets to the exhibit.

🏈 IF YOU GO 🏈
From the Gridiron to the Archives: Documenting Over a Century of Notre Dame and Wisconsin Football
September 3–7
Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame
Tickets required: https://www.packershofandtours.com/plan-your-visit/admission-tickets

08/14/2026

How many UW–Madison Libraries staff does it take to unpack a rare book?

Turns out, it’s 10!

As we get closer to reopening the Department of Special Collections in late August, many of our most exciting books and manuscripts — like the complete “elephant folio” set of John James Audubon’s “Birds of America” pictured — are coming back to the department’s home on Memorial Library’s ninth floor. Some of these items are large and heavy, so it’s all hands on deck to ensure their safe return.

Watch this space to get more behind-the-scenes views into Special Collections’ reopening on August 24.

08/13/2026

While the Badgers and the Fighting Irish duke it out at Lambeau Field on September 6, the UW Archives are teaming up with the University of Notre Dame Archives for a friendly show of sportsmanship in a new archival exhibit at the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame.

Learn about "From the Gridiron to the Archives: Documenting Over a Century of Notre Dame and Wisconsin Football," on display Thursday, September 3, through Monday, September 7, and stand by for a look at some of the unexpected objects we're bringing on the road in two weeks.

The intertwined history of two of college football’s most storied programs will be on full display at one of professional football’s iconic locations this fall.

University of Notre Dame Archives has partnered with the UW Archives at the UW-Madison Libraries and the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame to bring football history to Green Bay for a special exhibit, “From the Gridiron to the Archives: Documenting Over a Century of Notre Dame and Wisconsin Football,” at this year’s Shamrock Series game, Sept. 6 at Lambeau Field. The exhibit, on display Sept. 3-7 in the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame, will feature a variety of items related to the two schools’ shared football heritage.

This marks the second Shamrock Series exhibit created by the University of Notre Dame Archives. In 2024, they traveled to Yankee Stadium and displayed pieces from the collection prior to the Shamrock Series game against Army.

Read more: https://www.library.nd.edu/news/notre-dame-archives-brings-football-history-to-green-bay-for-the-shamrock-series

08/04/2026

Well, what do YOU find when you go through your storage? At Libraries, a trip to storage might lead to discoveries of one-of-a-kind meteorological instruments!

In late July, the Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences Library invited researchers from the Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC) to help identify and catalog some of the bespoke electronic objects in its holdings. Click through to see what they found!

Pictured:
Stereo-comparagraph/stereograph: Place two images inside the “goggles” of this object to superimpose them. Researchers may have found this useful for layering tools like weather maps.

Radiometer with omni-directional spheres: Potentially built in the 1950s, this object is used to measure the Earth's radiation budget, or the balance of incoming and outgoing radiation from our world.

Small Probe Net Flux Radiometer (SNFR): This object — an experiment model whose exact copy flew on the Pioneer Venus Orbiter in 1978 — measures the net flux of solar and planetary radiation in the atmosphere of Earth’s sister planet.

Photos by Forrest Tucker/SSEC

07/29/2026

It’s sunflower season on and around the UW–Madison campus, but the blooms flourish year-round at Kohler Art Library. Take a peek at the posies featured in one of our Van Gogh sketchbook facsimiles, available for viewing during Kohler’s open hours.

What’s a facsimile?, you might be wondering.

These resources are exact reproductions of an artist’s work, down to paper color, texture, and scale. Facsimiles give students, staff, and library patrons the chance to interact with a nearly identical representation of artist’s work in meaningful ways, providing depth and nuance to a research project — and creating a crisper view of history.

07/15/2026

A librarian’s work doesn’t end at the libraries' walls!

Our team members can often be found sharing their learnings with peers, serving on panels, and even speaking on a podcast or two. Just this week, staff members from UW–Madison Libraries presented to captive audiences at the Women and Leadership Symposium on the UW campus.

Nola Walker, International Area Studies outreach and partnerships coordinator (pictured first), co-led a morning session on intercultural competence, exploring the concept as an ongoing developmental practice that strengthens communication and relationships in personal and professional settings.

During an afternoon session, Jules Arensdorf, online learning coordinator (pictured second), helped participants explore strategies that improve processes, transparency, and structure to create more equitable engagement in meetings.