The Cross-Reference Coalition

The Cross-Reference Coalition is an experimental school tracing exuberantly interdisciplinary links among New York City’s libraries, archives, and other knowledge institutions.

Printing and folding risograph inserts for our Misfits book at the Parsons Design Lab, with Elaine Lopez. Photo by Shannon Mattern.

Preparing materials for our Oulipian poetry discovery exercise at Poets House, with Caiti Borruso and Xinan Helen Ran. Photo by Caiti.

During a class visit to the Zine Library at ABC No Rio. Photo by Becca Quon.

A grid of collaged images relating to each week of the class

Fall 2026

Public Study

Dates

September 23, 2026–December 9, 2026

Format

In Person

“Public Study” will examine the past, present, and future of popular, alternative, and radical education — particularly as they shape the intellectual, political, and cultural landscape of New York City; and as they’ve intersected with established cultural heritage and educational institutions.

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A screenshot of each week's collage in rows

Spring 2026

Search and Discovery

Dates

February 18, 2026–April 29, 2026

Format

In Person

In this course, we’ll gather to survey the state of search and discovery, reclaim lost methods, explore strategies for circumventing automation and extraction, imagine new modes of orienteering, and conjure up new terrains of wonderment.

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Fall 2025

The Misfit

Dates

September 25, 2025–December 4, 2025

Format

In Person

This inaugural offering from METRO’s Cross-Reference Coalition celebrates our geographic anomalies, pushes against automation’s flattening fakery, and addresses the erasure of difference and the prioritization of profitable utility in our current political climate, by examining and appreciating The Misfit.

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