The Friends of the University of Delaware Library's Farewell Annual Dinner

Join us for a historic and celebratory evening at the final Friends Annual Dinner. Historian and writer Dr. Elyse Graham will deliver the keynote talk, How Bookworms Beat the Nazis, revealing the extraordinary and often-overlooked story of how scholars, librarians and academics helped shape the Allied victory during World War II. Drawing from her acclaimed book Book and Dagger, Graham shows how knowledge, research and intellectual curiosity became powerful tools of intelligence and resistance. “The war may have been fought on the battlefields,” Graham writes, “but it was won in the libraries.” Her engaging storytelling brings history to life while celebrating the enduring impact of libraries and the people who champion them. This special evening will honor nearly 70 years of generosity, advocacy and scholarship by the Friends of the University of Delaware Library. Their support has strengthened the UD Library, Museums and Press, enriched the collections and provided exceptional resources for students, faculty, researchers, and the community. The evening begins with a cocktail hour at 6 p.m., during which copies of Book and Dagger and other manuscripts of Graham’s will be available for purchase through the UD Barnes & Noble Bookstore. Dinner will follow at 7 p.m., and the evening will conclude by 9 p.m. with a moderated conversation and audience Q&A with Elyse Graham. Join the Friends of the University of Delaware Library for this extraordinary final celebration, honoring the nearly seven-decade legacy of their support and the transformative power of libraries. Elyse Graham is an American historian and writer, currently teaching at Stony Brook University. She is a graduate of Princeton University, MIT and Yale University. Graham’s work bridges cultural history, media studies and the humanities, and her books include "Book and Dagger" (2024), "The Republic of Games", "A Unified Theory of Cats on the Internet" and "You Talkin’ to Me?" Her work has been featured in…