January Update
Happy New Year, Huskies! This month, take advantage of important new resources, and join us in person for the Wellness Room open house and annual New Year celebration at the Tateuchi East Asia Library. Grad students – don’t miss your opportunity to share your work at the winter quarter Scholar’s Studio, and be sure to check out the Student Programs section of our new web site to learn more about Libraries student programming.
– FUN FACT –
How many hours have Huskies used the new recording studio in Suzzallo?
*answer at bottom of post
News and Stories
Wellness Room Open in Odegaard Library: Learn about the new space designed just for students! The new Wellness Room in 326 Odegaard offers a quiet and comfortable area to unplug, recharge, and relax. With a different areas dedicated to specific wellness practices, books, yoga mats, and wellness tech, it’s a great place to decompress and re-center when the stress starts to build. Read the story, and Save The Date for the Open House on January 20!
Digital Preservation Milestone: Repository Hits 1 million! Learn about the never-ending work to preserve the Libraries vast collections so they are accessible for generations to come.
Enhanced Libraries Search- Test the BETA: UW Libraries has launched a new, optional beta version of Libraries Search with several exciting features that will help users navigate to and discover resources, including the Research Assistant artificial intelligence (AI) feature. Your feedback provides valuable input to help inform the future product.
Featured Resources
In Celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day: Libraries Resources – learn about the day Dr. King came to Seattle in November 1961, explore the video guide, social justice reading groups and more.
Evaluating Information Guide – Updated for 2026! This recently updated guide gives you strategies, tips, recommendations, and resources to navigate a challenging information environment to help you identify reliable sources from misinformation and incorrect facts.
AI Guides
- Generative AI: How to fact check ChatGPT and Other AI Tools
- AI Knowledge and Ownership includes information on how to deal with false information generated by AI, commonly referred to as “AI hallucinations.”
SpaceNews – Now you can access the most trusted and comprehensive source of news and analysis of the companies, agencies, technologies and trends shaping the global space industry. Available to UW academic users via UW Libraries subscription.
Community Events and Exhibits
Tuesday, Jan 20, 2026, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m Students, staff and faculty – Celebrate the opening of the Odegaard Library Wellness Room! Stop by for some relaxing tea, conversation and try out the furniture and amenities of the new space. All UW students, staff and faculty are welcome. A current Husky Card is required to enter Odegaard Library. Event link.
Tateuchi East Asia Library New Year Celebration: A Showcase of East Asian & Global Cultures
Thursday, Jan 29, 2026, 3:30 – 5 p.m Join us for a festive New Year celebration featuring East Asian cultural performances along with presentations from other international traditions. Enjoy light refreshments as we ring in the new year and honor the rich cultural heritage of East Asia.
Washington State Historical Society Presents: History After Hours: Peter Blecha discussing ‘Stomp and Shout: The Untold Story of Northwest Rock and Roll’ Presented by UW Press
Thursday, Jan 29, 2026, 7 – 9:30 p.m. Peter Blecha is the director of the Northwest Music Archives, an award-winning author, a founding curator at MoPop, and a longtime staff historian at HistoryLink.org. Blecha’s newest book, Stomp and Shout: R&B and the Origins of Northwest Rock and Roll, draws on his deep knowledge as a leading expert on Pacific Northwest music history to chronicle both well-known and overlooked icons of the early Northwest Sound. Event link
Programs, Workshops
Scholar’s Studio (Grad and Post Doc Students) – Submissions Due Jan. 29! Submit a proposal to give a 5-min. low stakes and fun lightning talk about your capstone, research, or pedagogy! Scholars’ Studio is an opportunity to practice communicating your work in front of a supportive general audience — without using a lot of technical or academic jargon. Learn more and apply.
Digital Scholarship Project Help Office Hours: First Tuesday of the month – next session February 3. Learn about getting started with digital projects at UW. We offer consultations for research and course related projects. Examples include support for digital publishing, building digital exhibits, and more! We can help you find the right tools, resources and instruction whether you’re just getting started or are working on an on-going project. This service is available only to current UW faculty, students, and staff. First Tuesday of the month, and help online by appointment.
Pressbooks Accessibility Office Hours: next sessions January 15 and February 18. Drop in at any time during our office hours to get help checking and resolving accessibility issues on your UW Libraries Pressbooks project. The UW Libraries provides access to the Accessibility Authoring Tool. Get help with this tool and ask questions about accessibility in your Pressbook!
Exhibits
New! Sentinels of the Sea: Pacific Northwest Lighthouses
Stories of these beacons of light can be found throughout Special Collections. Stop by and check out Sentinels of the Sea, featuring selections from Special Collections offering a glimpse into the Pacific Northwest’s rich maritime history. Through Mar 2, 2026, Allen Library lobby
Federal Agencies: History & Highlights
This two-part exhibit is a celebration of the United States constitution’s 250th founding anniversary in 2026. Winter Quarter 2026 features agencies centered around the arts, humanities, and social sciences. Spring Quarter 2026 features departments and agencies focused on science and technology.
Out of Scope: Unexpected Artifacts in Special Collections
Learn how archivists define the scope of their collections, and see some of the fascinating, unexpected artifacts have made their way into Special Collections! Read more about the exhibit and check the calendar for curator talks and tours. Through Sep 18, 2026 Location: Allen Library (ALB), Special Collections (Basement level)
The Mountain is Out!
Rainier, Tahoma, Nutselip… the mountain is known by many names. A Pacific Northwest icon, Mount Rainier holds a unique place in the region’s culture and lore. Its massive peak is the dominant land form on the horizon for more than a hundred miles in any direction, rising far above the surrounding Cascade Mountains. Beginning in the late 19th century, European and American visitors explored the area, and activism led to the establishment of Mount Rainier National Park in 1899. Through Friday, Aug 28, 2026, Allen Library (ALB), Special Collections (Basement level)
From Brush to Type: The Evolution of Bookmaking in East Asia
This exhibit highlights rare works from the Tateuchi East Asia Library Special Collections, showcasing how innovations in papermaking, printing, and design across East Asia transformed the form of books and the cultures they shape. Through March 31, 2026, Location: Gowen Hall (GWN)
Save the Date
February 4: First Wednesday Concert Series
February 11: Tateuchi Digital Scholarship Series 2025-26: Detecting Shifts in Linguistic Register in Late Imperial Chinese Fiction
*ANSWER TO FUN FACT TRIVIA: Students and faculty have booked over 134 sessions in the recording studio totaling over 250 hours!