Exhibitions
Plan Your Visit
Step into an exhibition and see history come alive.
Pequot Library’s exhibitions bring daring ideas, rare materials, and unexpected stories into the public eye. Whether exploring a 17th‑century Shakespeare Folio, Connecticut’s abolitionist print culture, or children’s books that shaped American identity, each exhibition draws on the Library’s rich collections and invites community members of all ages to explore, reflect, and connect.
By pairing scholarship with immersive interpretation and cultural programs, the library underscores its mission to bring literature, art, science and the humanities into everyday life by encouraging curiosity, enriching our community, and celebrating the power of knowledge in a historic place.
Current Exhibition
Lines of Liberty: Maps, Power, and the Making of America
Maps do more than describe the world: they organize information, express beliefs, advance political claims, and shape how people understand places and events. Drawing on Pequot Library’s collection of historic maps, atlases, and manuscripts, Lines of Liberty examines how maps were made and used from the colonial era through the 20th century.
The exhibition centers on the Revolutionary period, when maps helped European powers claim territory, guided armies across contested landscapes, and gave visual form to an emerging nation. Rare maps and atlases—some of the earliest maps of America—appear alongside letters and military records that reveal how war was experienced on the ground right here in Connecticut.
Together, these materials invite visitors to consider maps not as neutral pictures of the world but as objects shaped by the knowledge, purposes, and values of the people who made and used them.
Exhibition Programs
Opening Reception
Thursday, October 8 at 6:00 p.m.
And Sea Shanty Performance! We’re toasting the opening of Lines of Liberty with a lively performance by The Jovial Crew, followed by guided tours of the exhibition. From traditional sea songs to early American ballads, the evening brings the sounds and stories of the past to life and sets the stage for an exhibition exploring how maps helped shape a nation.
Out of the Vault
Tuesdays at 2:00 p.m.: October 6; November 3; December 1
Special Collections staff offer guests the opportunity to see a selection of rare materials up close in the Special Collections Reading Room.
Exhibition Tours
Saturdays at 1:00 p.m.: October 10; November 14; December 12
Join us for a guided exhibition tour of Lines of Liberty, and explore the rare materials on display.
Ukraine’s Drones & the Future of Modern Warfare
Tuesday, November 10 at 6:00 p.m.
Perry Boyle in Conversation with Moderator Jack Leslie
Perry Boyle, founder and managing partner of MITS Capital, will offer a firsthand perspective on Ukraine’s remarkable defense innovation: how drones and emerging technologies are transforming the battlefield, what Ukraine is teaching the world about the future of warfare, and the critical role private capital is playing in accelerating innovation and defending democracy.
Lines on the Landscape
Ongoing October 8 – January 9
Explore the library’s Great Lawn and nature trail with a self-guided mapping adventure. Look for landmarks, decode symbols, choose your route, and try making a map of your own. Discover how maps help us understand and make decisions about the world.
Mystery in the Maps
Ongoing October 8 – January 9
There’s a mystery hiding in Lines of Liberty, and we need your help to solve it! Pick up a Map Detective sheet and search the exhibition for clues hidden in the historic maps, letters, and documents. Uncover the mystery!
Featured Items
Exhibition Materials
A look back at the exhibitions that have celebrated discovery, creativity, and community at Pequot Library.
Explore exhibitions featuring items from Pequot Library’s Special Collections of rare books, manuscripts, and archives.