In the bad old days, shushing librarians firmly discouraged "chatting in the stacks." But that changed 10 years ago, when a series of popular book talks began at Mann Library.

The library's book talks, given by faculty members who have recently published new works on a range of subjects, began in November 2001 when horticulture professor David Wolfe delivered the inaugural talk on his acclaimed book, "Tales From the Underground: A Natural History of Subterranean Life."

Since then, dozens of Cornellians have given library-sponsored book talks on myriad topics -- from discoveries in water management and bee behavior to trends in communication and emerging market economies -- that highlight the rich diversity of their work.

This semester, Mann and Olin libraries are hosting Chats in the Stacks, which will expand to ILR's Catherwood Library next semester; plans call for more locations in the future.

"The library is a place of connection, a hub for ideas," said Anne Kenney, the Carl A. Kroch University Librarian. "Book talks are a wonderful venue for one of our core missions: promoting scholarship and enriching the university's intellectual life."

Nearly a dozen book talks each year draw a mix of faculty and students. Providing a way for faculty to discuss their recent publications with a diverse audience across disciplines has always been the series' primary goal.

"We often hear students say they feel like they're operating in academic silos, isolated from each other and from other fields," said Janet McCue, associate university librarian for teaching, research and outreach. "Chats in the Stacks help people connect not only with researchers on the cutting edges of their own fields, but across different specialties and disciplines."

Chats in the Stacks reaches far beyond Cornell's campus: Frequent attendance by alumni and members of the Ithaca community has offered faculty an opportunity for direct community outreach. Since 2006, podcasts of each talk have brought the series to a worldwide audience.

Along with McCue, Professor Emerita Mary Morrison from the Division of Nutritional Sciences and Mann's public programs administrator, Eveline Ferretti, helped initiate the series. Morrison established the Morrison Public Education Fund in 2001 to help support the program.

"Chats in the Stacks allowed me to informally present my research to a fairly diverse audience, from Cornell faculty, staff and students to the Ithaca community at large," said Ziad Fahmy, assistant professor of Near Eastern Studies, who delivered his book talk in Olin Library's Amit Bhatia Libe Café on Sept. 20.

Check the newly revamped page on the library's website for upcoming talks on topics ranging from potato growing to women in the colonial Atlantic world.

Gwen Glazer is the staff writer and editor for Cornell University Library.