2026 and Beyond at the JCB
In 2026, the United States will mark the 250th anniversary of its founding. As a preeminent library of the early Americas with world-leading collections, research, and convening capacities, the John Carter Brown Library (JCB) is uniquely positioned to promote both scholarship and public engagement around the meaning of this milestone. In keeping with its mission to create, preserve, and share knowledge around the early Americas for the public good, the JCB is excited to launch 2026 and Beyond. This multi-year initiative will engage the Library’s exceptional resources to create and share new insights that will serve scholars, students, global citizens, and policymakers today and for generations to come.
2026 and Beyond will focus on three major themes that reflect the deep strength of the Library’s collections/research and reveal the fullest and most consequential histories of the early Americas:
| Foundations of Revolution: The Democratic Revolutions of the Early Americas | Foundations of Democracy: Freedom of Religion and Conscience | Foundations of Historical Knowledge: How Libraries Make History |
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Selected programmatic highlights include: -JCB Exhibition on Latin American Revolutions, Fall 2024 -The Cambridge History of Atlantic Revolutions Workshop, Spring 2024 -JCB Exhibition on Haiti, Spring 2025 -JCB/Simmons Center Conference on Haitian and American Revolutions, Summer 2025 -Society for Historians of the Early American Republic Conference at Brown hosted by the JCB, Summer 2025 |
Selected programmatic highlights include: -Cataloging of the JCB’s Judaica collection beginning in 2025 -Planning for a major conference is underway for 2026 |
Selected programmatic highlights include: -Launch of new access to manuscript collections in 2024 -Archives of Revolution Conference co-sponsored with the McNeil Center and the Kislak Center at the University of Pennsylvania, Spring 2024 |
Beginning in 2024, the JCB will present programming surrounding these three themes including: developing virtual and on-site exhibits, sponsored research, and additional fellowship opportunities for both academic and public audiences. Information about this programming will be added to this page as it becomes available.