The University of Delaware Library, Museums and Press consists of the Morris Library; the Museums, which include Old College Gallery, Mechanical Hall Gallery and the Mineralogical Museum; and four Branch Libraries: the Chemistry Library in Brown Lab, the Physics Library in Sharp Lab, the Education Resource Center in the Willard Hall Education Building and the Marine Studies Library in Lewes, Delaware.
Physical Access to the Morris Library and Branch Libraries
All individuals have walk-in access to the Morris Library and Branch Libraries. The main entrance to the Morris Library is accessible and there are Library Services for Users with Disabilities.
At the Morris Library, entrance turnstiles and a Welcome Desk staffed by the University of Delaware Police Department provide enhanced safety and security for all visitors. University of Delaware students, faculty and staff can hold their University of Delaware ID cards (ONECards) against a card reader to lower the turnstile and enter the Library. Visitors who are 16 years of age or older and do not have a UD ONEcard must visit the Welcome Desk to sign in and show photo identification to enter the Library. Examples of acceptable photo identification include:
- School-issued identification cards
- State-issued identification cards
- Government-issued identification cards
Visitors who are not members of the University community and who are 18 years of age or older may purchase a Public Borrower Card to check out materials. See our Public Borrower Information page for details and fees. Public borrowers (18 or over) who visit our building often may purchase a UD ONECard to use to enter through the turnstiles without needing to sign in at the Welcome Desk, as well as to borrow materials in place of the Public Borrower Card. Please visit our Help Center to purchase a Public Borrower Card or UD ONECard.
Visitors under 16 years of age need to be accompanied by a parent or guardian to enter the building. For their safety and well-being, children should be accompanied by an adult at all times.
Access to Online Resources in the Library
The University of Delaware Library, Museums and Press provides access to DELCAT Discovery, the online catalog of library collections; over 37,000 electronic journals; and more than 360 Library Databases, including some full text databases, on more than 200 computers located throughout the Morris Library and Branch Libraries.
A vast number of these resources are also available to University of Delaware students, faculty and staff online. Library Databases are not available from outside the Library to users who are not University of Delaware students, faculty, or staff, due to database license restrictions. To assist users in navigating all of the resources, the Library has created more than 190 online Research Guides in academic disciplines.
Children’s Use of the Library and Online Resources
The Morris Library is a six-acre, four-floor building with seating for over 1,700 users. For their safety and well-being, children should be accompanied by an adult at all times. Parents, not the Library, are responsible for children’s use of the Library including access to online resources.
Children under 18 years of age who are not University of Delaware students will not be permitted to use the film and video collection viewing carrels.
The Library provides tours and orientations for school groups, which are generally from high schools. Tours and orientations need to be arranged in advance, and the Library recommends one adult accompany each five students per our Resources for School Groups Visiting the Library.”
Public schools in the state of Delaware provide K-12 students with access to networked, full-text databases within their public schools and public school libraries, which also provide access to online encyclopedias, magazines and newspapers. This access is provided via a state-funded partnership with the University of Delaware Library and the Delaware Department of Education called UDLib/SEARCH (University of Delaware Library/Statewide Electronic Access to Resources via Computers for High Schools). For more information, students or their families should check their local public school library.
Public libraries in Delaware also provide electronic resources appropriate for school-age children through the Delaware Library Catalog: The Digital Library of the First State. DelAWARE, managed by the Delaware Division of Libraries, provides online information and services that are available in all public libraries and at home to users with Delaware public library cards. The databases accessible to users of the Delaware public library systems include most of the databases available via UDLib/SEARCH in schools.