De Natura Libris

U of A Museum Day 2026 at Worlds of Words

The Worlds of Words joins a number of museums and collections on the University of Arizona campus for Museum Day!

Text U of A Museum Day

Cultural institutions including museums, special collections and centers across U of A campuses are participating in a celebration for the community. Participating venues will have free or reduced admissions. This includes Worlds of Words!

Explore the Worlds of Words 2026 spring exhibit, Literary Identities. This exhibit, which features the De Natura Libris project, asks you to consider your own connections to reading.

“While public media overemphasizes the mechanics of reading, this exhibit highlights our identities and joy as readers — how we view ourselves as a reader, what we enjoy reading, where we like to read and what stories have changed our lives,” says Kathy Short, director of Worlds of Words and Regents Professor.

Black and white photograph of a person, back to the camera, holding a broken umbrella over their head as they read. The sky is cloudy and the city is visible in the distance.

In addition to guided tours and activities around the exhibit, the center will display a small curated set of art from our archives that enhance the exhibit and art from illustrators who presented at this year’s Tucson Festival of Books. Additional projects from patrons will be on display as well.

Website forthcoming for more information about other campus sites offering tours and other programming for U of A Museum Day.

To request disability-related accommodations that would ensure your full participation in this event, please email wow@arizona.edu or call 520.621.9340.

Event details may change. More information to follow.

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Worlds of Words Center Exhibit Asks, “Who Are You as a Reader?”

By Rebecca Ballenger, Associate Director, Worlds of Words Center

Literary Identities, a new exhibit in the Worlds of Words Center featuring the De Natura Libris project, offers people the opportunity to examine themselves as readers. The exhibit of altered photographs about books and reading also includes picturebooks where reading is central to the book or characters’ identities along with hands-on activities to encourage visitors explore their own identities as readers.

“While public media overemphasizes the mechanics of reading, this exhibit highlights our identities and joy as readers — how we view ourselves as a reader, what we enjoy reading, where we like to read and what stories have changed our lives,” says Kathy Short, director of Worlds of Words and Regents Professor.

The shadow of a man in a window peers into an empty bedroom, a book open face up on a nightstand. The photograph is in black and white. Continue reading →