Arts for All at the UMD Libraries

The University of Maryland Libraries offer events, exhibits, and resources in celebration and support of Arts for All, the campus’s new initiative to develop new and reimagined curricular and experiential offerings that nurture different ways of thinking. Arts for All sparks dialogue, understanding, problem solving and action within the campus community.

Exhibits about Arts and Culture

Available online:

In the Libraries’ physical locations:

  • African American Civil Rights Movement locations, facilities, and programs in Maryland and Nationally (Architecture Library)
  • “Remembrance & Resilience” -- an exhibit that celebrates the lives of Michelle Smith as a patron of the arts & of David Driskell as an artist, teacher, & collector. (Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library, Sept. 2021 - Jan. 2022)

Events about Arts and Culture

  • STEAM Salon provides a platform that centers the work of emerging researchers, faculty, and students at the intersection of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics.
  • Speaking of Books series features free, open to the community and public talks by UMD faculty authors on their recently published work.

Specialized Libraries on Campus

  • Hornbake Library houses the University's Special Collections and University Archives, the Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities, an exhibition gallery, and the Katherine Anne Porter Room.
  • The Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library, located in the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, is the central location on the College Park campus for music, theatre, and dance materials and includes a main reading room, individual study carrels, group study room, and an exhibition gallery.
  • The Architecture Library, located in the Architecture Building, contains materials on architectural design, theory and history, urban design, landscape architecture, and building technology.
  • The Art Library, located in the Art-Sociology Building, provides access to resources in the areas of art history, archaeology, studio art, photography, graphic design, interior design, and textiles, including art reproductions and art exhibition catalogs. The Art Library regularly holds exhibits in the four display cases outside it's entrance. Art History classes that have museum exhibits as a class assignment can reserve these cases.

Social Media

The search term “art” targets a large number of the Libraries’ media posts highlighting artistic content in various collections:

Galleries Support

PopUp libraries are a worldwide phenomenon. The Art Library began this service in 2015. It is a low-cost way to establish and strengthen partnerships with campus Galleries. We provide a curated selection of items from the University Libraries' collections that expand the literacy and understanding of art. Like Gallery shows, pop-ups are temporary. The Art Library provides print material, bookshelves, and a reading list. The gallery provides a reading room space so that gallery visitors can use library resources to enhance their experience. Most visitors to our galleries are associated with University of Maryland courses, so this service also provides remote reference and curriculum support. Discovering and meeting immediate and instantaneous information needs are the key goals of our Pop-Up library service.

For more information about the Arts for All at the Libraries, please write to libadmin@umd.edu.

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