DMC Studios Get a Soundproof Upgrade
We’re excited to announce that the Digital Media Commons (DMC) audio and video/photography studios have been professionally soundproofed, thanks to the support from the library administration and the generous funding from the Friends of Fondren Library.
The project was kicked off in February 2024. Major construction began in August and was completed by mid-September 2024. Final touches—including the installation of acoustic doors—were finished in July 2025. These upgrades have significantly enhanced the recording environment: the two studios can now operate simultaneously without sound interference.
Patrons have already shared enthusiastic feedback about the improved sound quality, making the DMC studios even better for podcasting, video production, and photography. Visit the DMC Gallery to explore recent projects.
Fondren Seed Library
Fondren's Seed Library is now officially partnered with the Houston Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas (NPSOT-Hou)! The members are providing material support in the form of increased native seed donations and assisting with creating planting instructions for all native seeds. The seed library will also be listed on the state-level website as a partnered program.
Throughout the year, the Seed Library has participated in events with campus departments like the Moody Center and the Lynn Lowery Arboretum.
As of 12/1/2025, 1,643 packets have been checked out and 748 have been provided to events.
Exhibit cases from FOFL
July 2023, the FOFL generously offered to put proceeds from the gala toward two requests new display cases in the library: two in the Asian Reference Alcove and 3 in Brown Fine Arts Library (BFAL). After delays in manufacturing, we were finally able to unveil our debut exhibit for Fall 2024, Primary Information: artists’ books and writings, then and now. Co-curated by K. Sarah Ostrach and Jeanette Sewell, this exhibit was a fabulous way to fill the new cases with a variety of items from Primary Information. We acquired the publisher’s complete back catalog in January 2023 (with a commitment to receive new titles through at least 2027), one of only a handful of institutions in the United States to safeguard this essential resource for the history and study of artist’s books. Primary Information is a non-profit publisher of “artists’ books and artists’ writings. The organization’s programming advances the often-intertwined relationship between artists’ books and arts’ activism, creating a platform for historically marginalized artistic communities and practices.” What better way to initiate the cases?
In Spring 2025 we continued our exhibit program in BFAL with Igor Stravinsky’s proof sheets for L’Histoire du Soldat (from the Igor Stravinsky Archive in WRC, MS 0753). The display coincided with a Shepherd School Chamber Players’ performance of the piece on January 31, 2025. On Stravinsky’s coat tails was a student-led exhibit of Zoroastrian history, faith, and culture through the display of visual culture, such as stamps, objects of prayer, family photos, and books. Objects came from WRC collections and community members loaning their personal items. The exhibit coincided with the campus-wide celebration of Zoroastrian culture on Zoroastrian Day, March 6. Student curator Mahtab Dastur, Social Policy Analysis and Neuroscience '28, collaborated with community member Aban Rustomji and Debra Kolah, Head of User Experience, and K. Sarah Ostrach, Art & Architecture Librarian, to curate the exhibit.
Exhibits by the Woodson Research Center
Total exhibits: 25
WRC personnel created exhibits: 17
Exhibits created by non-WRC personnel or outside groups: 8
Exhibits created by students: 4
Students took the lead on some of our exhibits, from selecting archival materials to creating posters. We also worked with a number of groups on and off campus.
Caption: This exhibit ran from May to September 2025 and was designed by Amelia Davis.
Caption: This Rice Design Alliance exhibit was created by Fondren Fellows and ran from November to December 2024.
Caption: Portia Hopkins put together this HACER/RAMAS exhibit, which complemented a talk that she gave during Hispanic Heritage Month.
Special exhibit: The Legacy of remote viewing and the Stargate Program, at the National Cryptological Museum, Washington DC, featuring our Edwin C. May Collection
The Business Information Center Centralizes in Fondren Library
In January 2026, the Business Information Center located in 210 McNair centralized all of its collections to Fondren and the Library Service Center. Titles retained at Fondren are available in the fourth-floor stacks or in the first-floor periodicals section.
Course reserves activities were transferred to the Access Services department. Charles Barthel, a new Research Services Librarian for Business and Economics started at Fondren on February 2nd.
Rice Business will continue to refer to 210 McNair as the Business Information Center or BIC. The space will provide individual and collaborative learning spaces along with computer access.