Library News

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author Coming to Northeastern

A talk by Pulitzer Prize–winning author Paul Harding and An opening of the Anna & Eugene M. Reppucci Alumni Reading Room On Tuesday, October 12 at noon, Paul Harding will read from his award-winning novel, Tinkers, about a father-son relationship over time. A book signing and reception in the new Alumni Reading Room will immediately follow. This event is free and open to the public. RSVP to Jordan Hellman at j.hellman@neu.edu, 617.373-5452. Co-sponsors for this event are NU Libraries, Office of Alumni Relations, NU Humanities Center, NU Bookstore, and NU Disability Resource Center. About Tinkers An old man lies dying. Propped up on a hospital bed in his living room and surrounded by his children and grandchildren, George Washington Crosby drifts in and out of consciousness, back to the wonder and pain of his impoverished childhood in Maine. As time becomes fluid, his memories intertwine with those of his father, an epileptic, itinerant peddler and his grandfather, a Methodist preacher beset by madness. At once heartbreaking and life affirming, Tinkersis an elegiac meditation on love, loss, illness, faith, and the fierce beauty of nature.  – From Bellevue Literary Press “[A] beautifully written study of father-son relationships and the nature of time.” —Library Journal “Every so often a writer describes something so well … that you can smell it or feel it or sense it in the room. The writing does what all those other art forms do — evoke the essence of the thing.” —Susan Salter Reynold, Los Angeles Times

Tech Update: Certificate issues solved

Please let us know if you continue to see certificate errors, but we think we have the problem under control.

Reserve a Library Group Study Room Online

Note: The information on this post is out of date. Please visit our Rooms and Spaces page for the most current information on room booking in Snell Library.


Starting today, as a result of student requests, we are pleased to announce that NU students can reserve a Snell Library group study room online. All of our twelve group study rooms are now open for reservations through an online self-booking resource on the Library’s website that provides information on each room’s availability and size.

Simply go to http://www.lib.neu.edu/studyrooms, click on “Reserve It,” and follow the instructions on the next page to complete your reservation. Snell group study rooms are limited to one per day per group, and can be reserved for up to three hours at a time. For more information about room reservations and self-service please call the Circulation Desk at 617-373-8778 or stop by the desk, on the first floor of Snell Library, for immediate assistance.

Tech Update: Certificate Errors

We’re experiencing weird certificate errors today (Sunday). This is a Monday night update.  We’re on our way to a solution, and most of our systems should now be working.  NuCat logins for renewing, checking your account, and booking rooms should be fixed. If you’re using Firefox, and you get a message that the site has a “Peer Certificate” problem, try adjusting your settings: Go to Firefox Options–Advanced–Encryption tab–Validation button.   Uncheck “Use the Online Certificate Status Protocol…” If you’re in IE, try adjusting these settings: Tools–Internet options–Advanced tab–Security section in the scroll menu.  Uncheck “untick  “check for server certificate revocation” The following sites are still experiencing problems: Nexpress Working WorldCat Local ordering system SciFinder ScholarWorking FactivaWorking AP Images We’re sorry for the inconvenience and hope to solve the problem as quickly as possible.

Hot debate over drying your hands at Snell

Ever wash your hands and have no paper towels left? Leaving you to shake them as fast as you can, rub them on your clothes, or hold them awkwardly away from your body while they air dry? Of course that never happens at Northeastern, because of our great Facilities branch, but at Snell Library it will never, ever happen. In conjunction with sustainable initiatives around Northeastern, you will find warm-air dryers slowly replacing paper towel dispensers in all Snell Library bathrooms. In addition to reducing litter and solid waste, the warm-air dryers require minimal maintenance (no refilling) which will help save time and money in Snell. We’d love to hear your input, do you like warm-air dryers, or prefer plain old paper towels? Me personally, I like the warm-air dryers. The sustainability and savings aspect is all well and good but the real benefit of those is being able to do this: