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Library Stats Quest Week – Fall 2026
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Please tell your Brown University Library about your on-site experience during the week of November 9 to 15, 2026 — Library Stats Quest Week!
Did you know that nearly 20,000 users visit the libraries in-person every week?
We want to know if the experiences you’re having are meeting your needs. After each visit this week to a library location — Rockefeller, Sciences, Orwig Music, John Hay Library, and Champlin Medical Library — please take a few seconds to answer a very brief survey about your experience. Your input will help us better understand why you use the Library and how we can improve our services.
We’ll also be taking a closer look at how people are using the spaces within the libraries. Library staff will do periodic headcounts in various types of spaces throughout the week.
We strive to make every visit for every patron one in which you feel welcome, respected, and supported. This is your Library. You belong here. Your feedback is essential.
Thank you!
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Oliver Franklin: Building an Afro-American Book Collection to Maintain Sanity in Late 20th Century America
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Join the Brown University Library for a talk by Oliver St. Clair Franklin, OBE, CBE, on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in the Racial Justice Resource Center on the second floor of the Rockefeller Library. Mr. Franklin’s presentation on collecting will include examples from his book collection and time for Q&A.
Oliver St. Clair Franklin Free and open to the public. Registration required.
“Becoming American” Film Screening
Mr. Franklin is the executive producer of “Becoming American: Philadelphia’s Story,” a feature length documentary film exploring the founding of the United States through the lens of Philadelphia, America’s first capital.
In a partner event, the John Carter Brown Library is screening the film on Tuesday, November 10 at 1 p.m. Registration is required.
Oliver St. Clair Franklin
Oliver St. Clair Franklin, OBE, CBE, is a bibliophile, film producer, and cultural leader whose current work focuses on bringing rigorous scholarship on Afro-American history and cultural practices to the screen. His distinguished career spans the arts, business, and diplomacy. He served as Philadelphia’s first Arts Commissioner and founded the nation’s first Black Film Festival. In investment management, he was a founding partner of the first U.S. investment firm established in South Africa.
His diplomatic service included serving as Honorary British Consul in Philadelphia. In recognition of his contributions to strengthening Anglo-American relations, he was appointed both OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) and CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) by the late British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II.
Mr. Franklin is a graduate of Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) and Balliol College, Oxford, where he is an Honorary Fellow.
Oliver St. Clair Franklin African American Book Collection
Previously, Mr. Franklin donated a collection of books written by authors of African heritage to the John Hay Library. Many of the volumes are also signed by the authors. The collection contains a total of 903 titles dating from 1786 to 2019, with the bulk published in the mid 20th century. He described his reason for creating this collection this way: “Collecting African American literature was my personal way of building resilience and resistance — a symbol of my quest for humanness.”
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New Wellness Audiobook Collection
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Your Brown University Library is thrilled to announce its new Wellness Audiobook Collection, available to all current Brown ID holders.
Access the collection now on the Libby app:
- On a computer
- On a mobile device or tablet (instructions)
A collaborative effort between the Library and BWell Health Promotion, which contributed recommendations in their areas of expertise, the curated collection includes audiobooks focused on six areas of wellbeing:
- Mental health
- Mindfulness
- Personal growth
- Physical wellness
- Relationships and communication
- Stress management
More Titles, More Privacy
For the past two years, the Library has partnered with BWell to host wellness information tables at the Rockefeller and Sciences libraries that included a small number of books related to a wellness theme. Because of the sensitive nature of the themes, visitors to the tables were often hesitant to browse or borrow the books. Through Libby, we can offer a wider selection of titles that users can browse, borrow, and listen to privately.
More Listening, Less Waiting
We chose Libby, a service from the company OverDrive, to host the collection because its flexible lending model allows multiple people to borrow the same title at the same time for 98% of the audiobooks in the collection. For the small number of single borrower titles, users can place a hold and receive an availability notification.
Questions?
If you have questions about the collection or using the app, see the Wellness Audiobook Collection Guide, email library@brown.edu, or stop by a popup BWell table at the Rockefeller or Sciences libraries.