The University of Virginia Library has six locations, an array of cozy study spaces, millions of items available for checkout or browsing, and new resources arriving each day. And did you know we also offer events throughout the year ranging from exhibitions to concerts for UVA and the Charlottesville community ?
Join us at the Library this spring for craft workshops, writing and editing support, zine tutorials, and live music. All Library events are free.
For a full listing of Library events, check out our public calendar.
1. Custom Light Sticks Workshop
Join us to make your very own light stick from scratch! Presented by UVA’s Cosplay Costuming & Crafts Club (CCC), all materials are provided and no experience is needed. If you are not a member of the CCC already, join the membership list and check out their Linktree! Please cancel your reservation 24 hours in advance if you could cannot make it.
- When: Friday, March 13, 5:30–8:30 p.m.
- Where: Scholars’ Lab (Shannon Library 308)
- Registration is required: Register for “Custom Light Sticks Workshop”
2. Writing with Editorial Support Workshop: Idea Development
Writing can be isolating, especially when deadlines loom and feedback feels out of reach. These sessions offer a rare kind of editorial support: protected writing time, guided reflection, and live coaching from Heidi Nobles, editor and Associate Professor of Writing and Rhetoric at UVA.
Each workshop will take some time to focus on one of three major stages of the writing/revision process (idea development; structure and balance; and sentence-level style), and then opens up time for you to write, wherever you are in your project. You’re welcome to arrive with just an idea—but if you’re farther along, you might gather a few materials beforehand:
- a current draft (in any state)
- relevant publication or submission guidelines
- recent published works from your target publisher/journal
- sample works you admire
- your source materials or notes
- any previous drafts, slides, or reader reports
Throughout (and after) the session, you will have access to a trained virtual editor, personalized guidance from Heidi, and opportunities to talk through your work with peers. Whether you’re stuck with writer’s block, sorting through feedback, wrestling with organization, or struggling to find your authorial voice, come with a work in progress and see what changes.
- When: Tuesday, March 17, 10 a.m.–12 p.m.
- Where: Scholars’ Lab Common Room (Shannon Library 308)
- Registration is required: Register for “Writing with Editorial Support Workshop”
3. The Ethical Dimension of AI Literacy Series
Please join us for the remaining talks in the series, featuring presentations by AI scholars from across the University. Details and registration links follow:
Practical AI Ethics (with David Danks)
In this session, David Danks, Polk Jefferson Scholars Foundation Distinguished University Professor of Philosophy, Artificial Intelligence, and Data Science, will present practical AI ethics through various real-world case studies.
- When: Wednesday, March 18, 11 a.m.–12 p.m.
- Where: Shannon Seminar Room 330
- Registration is required: Register for “Practical AI Ethics”
Students at the Table: Building a Student Technology Council at UVA (with Mona Sloane, Owen Kitzmann, and Celia Calhoun)
In this session, Mona Sloane, Assistant Professor of Data Science and Media Studies and founder of Sloane Lab, will be joined by Sloane Lab researchers Owen Kitzmann and Celia Calhoun to discuss how structured student participation can inform decisions about educational technologies, data practices, and classroom AI use.
- When: Wednesday, April 8, 1–2 p.m.
- Where: Shannon Seminar Room 330
- Registration is required: Register for “Students at the Table”
Visual Integrity in an Age of Synthetic Media and Generative AI (with Mona Kasra)
In this session join Mona Kasra, Associate Professor at the University of Virginia, Department of Art and Department of Drama, and Director of the Miller Arts Scholars Program, who will examine the technical capabilities and limitations of generative visual systems, including issues of bias, copyright, and authorship.
- When: Wednesday, April 29, 11 a.m.–12 p.m.
- Where: Shannon Seminar Room 330
- Registration is required: Register for “Visual Integrity”
Questions can be directed to Meridith Wolnick (maw2tj@virginia.edu) or Bethany Mickel (bethanym@virginia.edu).
4. ‘Zines Now!’ Panels and Tutorials
“Zines Now!” is a year-long initiative showcasing the history of zines as an art form, highlighting future possibilities for the making and distribution of zines, and facilitating the expression of students’ and community members' passions and priorities now. Check out two upcoming events this spring:
Zines Now! Panel and Workshop: Zine your Research
Are you interested in creative ways to make your research accessible to a broader audience? Do you want to experiment with image-based methods to spur your writing practice? Would you like to incorporate zine pedagogy in your course design?
Join four UVA scholars as they share their experiences with and approaches to translating aspects of their research into zine-form. They will discuss how zine-making aids their writing and research processes, as well as how they use zines and zine-making in their teaching.
Panelists:
Tovah Close, Senior Lecturer, Department of Drama
Monique Dufour, Director of Faculty Development, School of Medicine
Isabel Gonzales, Rising Scholar Postdoctoral Research Associate and Lecturer, Department of Women, Gender, & Sexuality
Jennifer Lawrence, Assistant Professor, Urban and Environmental Planning, School of Architecture
The panelists will present examples of their zine-based work and discuss their approaches. In the second hour, participants will be guided to create their own mini-zines, based on their research and interests. Materials provided, but feel free to bring your own!
There will be snacks and refreshments.
- When: Wednesday, March 25, 4–6 p.m.
- Where: Shannon Seminar Room 330
- Registration is required: Register for “Zine Your Research”
Zines Now!: Zines All Day
Zines All Day will celebrate zines and zine-making at UVA through a day of back-to-back zine-making tutorials from the Scholars’ Lab Makerspace student staff! Every hour, on the hour. No need to register — just show up in the Makerspace at the top of the hour, anytime between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Kick-off Discussion, 10-10:30 a.m.:
Join Scholars’ Lab Director Amanda Wyatt Visconti for an informal conversation about deciding what zine you want to make next. Visconti will share some of the variety of zines they’ve created, and chat about why the zines happened and what the writing process for each was like. Attendees are welcome to bring their own zines and share about how they get ideas, what tools and supplies they use to make zines, and similar practical and design topics.
Back-to-back, one-hour workshops on how to make a mini-zine will follow this kick-off conversation, all day long! Snacks and refreshments provided.
- When: Friday, April 17, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
- Where: Scholars’ Lab Common Room (Shannon 308)
We gratefully acknowledge the support of the UVA Arts Council, which has made this programming possible.
5. Making Noise in the Library
“Making Noise in the Library” is a popular series that brings musicians and community together for performances held in UVA Library spaces.
Making Noise in the Library: Ramona & The Holy Smokes
Kick back with us as we soak in the exciting cowpunk energy of Charlottesville’s sensational band, Ramona & The Holy Smokes!
Based in Central Virginia and with family roots in South Texas, Ramona and the Holy Smokes represent a new generation of honky-tonk music. With powerful female vocals that cover an emotional range from determined to comic to vulnerable, and a talented backing band steeped in classic country and western styles of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, the band exhibits a “clarity and sincerity that bring Patsy Cline to mind” (Nashville Scene, 2025).
- When: Thursday, March 26, 5–6 p.m.
- Where: Clemons Library, Robertson Media Center
Making Noise in the Library: Rap Music Session with A.D. Carson & Nathaniel Star
Come join us for an intimate afternoon with notable Black poets and musicians at UVA who create and perform a variety of musical genres.
A.D. Carson is an Associate Professor of Hip-Hop at UVA. His work as a performance artist, educator, writer, and commentator deals with issues of race, place, history, literature, hip-hop, rhetorics, and performance.
A talented singer, songwriter, and rap artist, Nathaniel Star has been an important facet in the Charlottesville arts community for many years. He only raps freestyle, and his music is intimate, smart, and boldly explores a breadth of musical and artistic styles.
They will be joined on keyboards by Nathaniel’s artistic partner Vintage, a supremely talented musician who has collaborated on a variety of projects.
- When: Friday, April 10, 1–2 p.m.
- Where: Clemons Library, Robertson Media Center
Making Noise in the Library: The Dale Avenue Band
The Dale Avenue Band brings hot club-style jazz, 1930’s pop standards, and stylish original compositions to life. Originating from informal jams in the summer of 2022, the band often holds their weekly sessions outdoors in the parking lot of the Front Porch Music School, bringing a festive atmosphere to Charlottesville’s Dale Avenue neighborhood. George Davis and Pete Vigour (guitars), Kristin Hauge (violin), Jim Howe (drums), Dan Sebring (lap steel and violin), and Susan Weiner (string bass) approach their music in the spirit of fun and adventure, and the enjoyment of learning from each other!
- When: Friday, April 24, 1–2 p.m.
- Where: Clemons Library, Robertson Media Center