The Newberry believes history belongs to everyone. Today, growing demand for access to our world-renowned collections and public programs requires new investments to preserve these irreplaceable materials and expand opportunities for engagement for generations to come.
To realize this vision, we have launched Inspire Curiosity with the following goals:
- Reimagine key public spaces within our historic 1893 building, creating new venues for exhibitions, educational programs, and community gatherings. These improvements will expand access to our collections, enrich the visitor experience, and strengthen the Newberry's visibility and impact as a public resource. They would also be updated with the latest technologies to protect the materials while they are being displayed and studied.
- Grow our endowment to provide greater long-term financial strength, supporting essential staff positions, innovative programs, and the operations that sustain our mission.
Elevating The Past: Re-Imagining Our Historic Building for Today’s Audiences
Since the renovation of the Newberry's first floor in 2018, interest in our collection-based programming has grown dramatically. Visitors flock to our state-of-the-art exhibition galleries, enjoying the increased opportunities to interact with treasures of the Newberry’s collections through the work of our expert team of curators.
Exhibitions are the Newberry's largest point of public engagement, attracting tens of thousands of visitors in 2025. Public lectures, conversations, performances, and educational programs welcomed an additional ten thousand participants. These audiences demonstrate a growing appetite for thoughtful, in-person experiences that connect people with history, ideas, and one another.
As much as the Newberry welcomes and celebrates these eager audiences, limited space constrains the number of exhibitions, classes, and public programs we can offer. To capitalize on this momentum and meet today's growing demand, we must create spaces that better serve both our collections and our patrons.
Through Inspire Curiosity, the Newberry will renovate our second and third floors, building upon the success of the first-floor transformation.
The renovation will:
- Transform the current second-floor general reading room into a permanent exhibition gallery that showcases the extraordinary breadth and significance of the Newberry's collections.
- Create flexible classrooms and learning spaces that support expanded educational programming, community engagement, and collaborative learning.
- Consolidate reading room services on the third floor, creating a more efficient operation while providing researchers with an enhanced environment for study and discovery.
- Preserve our rare collection with museum-quality climate control and preservation systems, ensuring that these materials remain accessible for generations to come.
These improvements will honor the historic character of our landmark building while equipping it for the future. Together, these renovations will create a more intuitive, welcoming, and engaging experience for every visitor—whether attending an exhibition for the first time, participating in a class, or conducting original research. Your investment will elevate the Newberry's accessibility to broader audiences, deeper learning, and countless new discoveries.
Endowing the Future: Ensuring the Conservation of the Newberry for the Humanities of Tomorrow
Inspire Curiosity aims to build the Newberry’s endowment with an additional $10 million to fund key staff positions and programs to ensure the Newberry’s continued accessibility and service. With these investments, the Newberry will:
- Maintain and elevate the experiences offered in our reading rooms, public programs, exhibitions, research opportunities, and other educational offerings.
- Endow staff positions, allowing the Newberry to recruit and maintain an exceptional team and provide lasting financial support for essential work.
- Strengthen our institutional health and ensure sustainable financial practices for the Newberry’s future.
Walter L. Newberry’s founding gift created an endowment that enabled the library to grow, innovate, and serve the public to this day. Inspire Curiosity invites a new generation of partners to extend that legacy and grow beyond it. By strengthening the Newberry’s endowment now, supporters will ensure that the library’s resources match our ambition and impact, positioning the Newberry for enduring excellence and leadership among our peers.
Your Impact
For nearly 140 years, the Newberry has flourished because generations of supporters believed that preserving the past enriches the future. Their generosity has safeguarded extraordinary collections while ensuring they remain open and accessible to all. Inspire Curiosity builds on that legacy. By investing in inspiring public spaces, strengthening our endowment, ensuring proper climate for our rare materials, and expanding access to our collections, this campaign will enable the Newberry to welcome new audiences, deepen engagement, and inspire discovery for the audiences of today and tomorrow. We invite you to join us in writing the next chapter in the story of the Newberry and to help preserve the past to inspire the future.
For questions about Inspire Curiosity or if you're interested in making a gift, please contact Fundraising Campaign Manager Margaret Rose Smith at smithm@newberry.org or call 312-255-3505.
