NewberryFest

Join us for our new summer fest, an event designed to help you learn more about the Newberry. NewberryFest will take over the first floor of the library, providing unique opportunities for engagement, education, and enjoyment! 

This event is a free and open to all; no registration is necessary.

• Come face-to-face with extraordinary items from our collections and have your questions answered by our expert librarians and curators. 
  
  
• Enjoy a lineup of talks and performances that will help you navigate all the Newberry has to offer, learn about upcoming classes and exhibitions, and give you a glimpse into programming at the library. 
  
  
• Visit our two exhibitions—A Night at Mister Kelly’s and Chicago Style: Mike Royko and Windy City Journalism. Docents will be on-hand to point out highlights and answer all your questions. 
  
  
• Take a tour to the upper levels of the Newberry to learn more about the library’s history and see our Special Collections Reading Room. You’ll get a peek at some behind-the-scenes magic from our Conservation team. 
  
  
• Visit the Newberry Bookshop or peruse a selection of used books at our mini book sale. All visitors to NewberryFest will receive a 10% discount at the Newberry Bookshop; members of the Newberry Associates, Next Chapter, and President's Fellows will receive 20% off purchases.
  
  
• Visit with members of our Digital Initiatives and Services department to explore our Digital Collections.

Speaker and Performance Schedule

The following talks and performances are designed to help you navigate all the Newberry's collection, learn about upcoming classes and exhibitions, and give you a glimpse into programming at the library. Each talk will last for approximately 30 minutes. The performance by the Shakespeare Project of Chicago will run for approximately an hour.

• 10:00am: Newberry 101, your introduction to using the Newberry's world-class collection, with Keva Kreeger, Reading Room Librarian for Public Service, and Emma Lipkin, Reading Room Librarian for Collection Management
  
  
• 11:00am: Newberry collections highlights with Suzanne Karr Schmidt, George Amos Poole III Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts
  
  
• 12:15pm: Shakespeare Project of Chicago performance of My Name is Will
  
  
• 1:30pm: Steven J. Venturino, PhD, author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism, former Adjunct Professor of English at Loyola University Chicago, and popular Newberry Adult Education instructor
  
  
• 2:30pm: Preview of our upcoming Indigenous Chicago exhibition with Analú López, Ayer Librarian and Assistant Curator of American Indian and Indigenous Studies, and Rose Miron, Director of the D’Arcy McNickle Center for American Indian and Indigenous Studies
  
  
• 3:30pm: Genealogy 101 with Matthew Rutherford, Curator of Genealogy and Local History

Building Tours

Take a tour of the upper floors of the Newberry. You will see our Special Collections Reading Room, stop in at the General Reading Rooms to learn more about the history of the Newberry, and visit with staff and volunteers from the Conservation department to get a glimpse at how we care for our collection.

Tour times:

10:30am
11:15am
12:45pm
1:30pm
2:15pm
3:00pm

Tours will last approximately 30 minutes.

Windy City Winds in Washington Square Park

Windy City Winds presents
Pop Stars Through the Eras: From Sousa to Taylor Swift
3:00pm in Washington Square Park

Our friends in the Washington Square Park Advisory Council invite you to enjoy a free summer concert in Washington Square Park (across from the entrance to the Newberry). The Windy City Winds will perform the music of The Beatles, Paul Simon, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Chicago, and more!

NewberryFest is generously supported by The Chicago Free For All Fund at The Chicago Community Trust.