In-Person and Hybrid

This course will discuss critical and rare earth minerals, their distribution globally, and their importance to society and a low-carbon future. Also discussed will be the occurrence of these deposits in Maine and controversies over potential mining.

January 21, 2026

2:30 - 4:00 pm

Location: The Landing, Olsen Learning Center, Lower Level

John Slack is a retired geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, where he worked for 42 years. He holds a Ph.D. in economic geology from Stanford University (1976) and is on the editorial boards of three scientific journals. Over the past decade, John's research has focused on critical and rare earth minerals, especially in Maine.

Online

Oh NO! Our list of accomplished women is growing rather than shrinking, and our study groups were making such progress! To make matters worse, some very important women, such as Harriet Tubman, are being erased from U.S. history. Continue with us to bring these women to light and learn the stories of their discoveries, scientific work, and trailblazing.

Come blaze a trail with us.

January 22 and 29, 2026

10:00 am

Mary Frank has been an active participant in our prior study group on this subject, which was known as Hidden Figures Revealed.  She will send to all participants a list of possible women from which to choose.  Mary will work with Eileen Kreutz, and the two will co-present this offering.

In-Person

This will be a tour of both the Farmington Public Library and the Mantor Library at UMF. The directors of each library will lead the tours. The Farmington Public Library tour will start at 10:30. After a lunch break, the Mantor tour will start at 1:00. More detailed information will be sent to participants shortly before the tour date.

The Farmington Public Library (Cutler Memorial), established in 1890, provides all Farmington area residents with ready access to a broad collection of materials in a variety of media that record knowledge, ideas, and culture.  

Mantor Library, located at the heart of the University of Maine at Farmington campus, serves students, faculty, staff, and the wider community by offering access to a wide range of academic and recreational materials in both print and digital formats. 

January 27, 2026, with a snow date of February 3

10:30 am at the Farmington Library, 117 Academy St, Farmington, ME

1:00 pm at Mantor Library, 116 South St, Farmington, ME 

Jessica Casey came to Farmington to attend UMF, where she studied English and Psychology. Jess began working at the Farmington Public Library in 2018, took on the role of director in 2020, and received her MLIS shortly after. Her favorite author is Stephen King.

Bryce Cundick has been at UMF since 2007 and has been the director at Mantor since 2017. He has served as the President of the Maine Library Association and is the current Chair of the Maine Library Commission. In his spare time, he writes books under the pen name Bryce Moore and is an avid player of Magic: The Gathering.