Yesterday afternoon, the Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library hosted an opening reception for local artist Ricardo Barros whose work is  featured in the  exhibition “Off the Hill: Portraits from within the Fitchburg Community.” Barros is a photographer, writer, curator, and filmmaker. His works are in the permanent collections of eleven museums, including the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, the Museum of Art of São Paulo, and the Fitchburg Art Museum. Ricardo was awarded a Fellowship in Photography by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts in 1984 and 2021, and the Marlene and David Persky Present Tense Prize by ArtsWorcester in 2024. He recently moved to Fitchburg with his wife, artist Heather Barros. The Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library is in Hammond Hall, located at 160 Pearl St. where the exhibit will run through March 31 in the library.

Yesterday afternoon Jacalyn Kremer, Dean of the Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library, and her staff  hosted a Drag Queen Story Hour as part of the university's celebration of LGBTQ+ History Month. 

The Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library hosted Banned Books Week events: Censoring local author Robert Cormier where Instruction & Community Engagement Librarian Olivia Rossetti, Dean of the Library Jacalyn Kremer, and Reference & Research Services Librarian Meghan Kelly read archival materials related to the censorship of local author and alum  Robert Cormier's work. Cormier’s novel The Chocolate War, was one of the most censored novels at the time of its publication as part of the first wave of book challenges and bans in the United States.

Recently, Jacalyn Kremer, Dean of the Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library, invited all the staff in Hammond Hall to a mixer in the Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library. This casual get together gave staff the opportunity to catch up before the fall semester ramps up.