Welcome!

Dear Students, Faculty, and Colleagues,

Welcome to a new academic year at the University of Delaware.

To those joining our community for the first time, welcome. To those returning to campus, welcome back. Wherever you are in your UD journey, the Library, Museums and Press is here to help you discover, create, learn, teach, research, and connect.

You may know us as the place you go to find a book, reserve a study space, or meet with a librarian. But we are so much more. We are a community of people, collections, spaces, technologies and expertise designed to help you make the most of your time at UD.

This fall, there are even more reasons to explore what we have to offer.

Our newly renovated Special Collections space provides a welcoming, purpose-built home for rare books, manuscripts, archives and other unique materials. It gives students and researchers new opportunities to work directly with primary sources, while creating spaces where our collections can be shared with the broader community through exhibitions, teaching and public programs.

Our new Research Data and Design Commons, or RDDC, brings together people, technology and expertise to support the increasingly data-driven nature of research and learning. Whether you are managing a dataset, analyzing information, creating visualizations or exploring new approaches to design, the RDDC is a place to bring your questions and ideas.

We have also created a new Family Study Room to better support members of our community who balance academic work with family responsibilities. It is one example of an important principle that guides us: our spaces should be welcoming and useful to everyone.

That commitment extends beyond our physical spaces. We are continually working to make our websites, digital collections, online resources and services more accessible, inclusive and welcoming. We want everyone in the UD community to be able to find what they need, participate fully and see themselves reflected in the experiences we create.

And you don’t have to figure everything out on your own.

Our librarians, archivists, curators, designers, data specialists, and other staff bring deep expertise—and a willingness to help—to every interaction. We work with first-year students learning to navigate college-level research, graduate students developing their scholarship, faculty designing courses and pursuing new research, and staff and researchers seeking information, collections, technology, or expertise to advance their work.

Sometimes that support means helping you find the right source. Sometimes it means talking through a research question, working with data, navigating copyright and publishing, discovering an archival collection, or finding an open educational resource. And sometimes it simply means helping you figure out where to start.

Come to us early. Ask questions. Bring us the problem you’re trying to solve. We see ourselves as partners in your work, not simply a place you visit when you need something.

Throughout the year, you will also find opportunities to learn and engage beyond the classroom through workshops, exhibitions, lectures, conversations and hands-on experiences. Our museums and collections offer opportunities to encounter ideas and objects in new ways, while our programs connect the University community with knowledge, creativity and one another.

As we begin this new academic year, I invite you to explore. Visit Morris Library. Discover our museums and collections. Spend some time in our new spaces. Meet our people. Attend a workshop. Explore an exhibition. Ask a librarian a question—even if you aren’t quite sure what the question is yet.

And stay connected. Visit our website to explore upcoming events, workshops, and exhibitions, follow us on Facebook, and subscribe to our newsletter so you can be among the first to hear what’s happening across the Library, Museums and Press.

There is a lot to discover here, and we are excited to discover it with you.

Welcome to the new academic year. We look forward to being part of your UD journey.

Cheers,

Trevor A. Dawes
Vice Provost, Library, Museums and Press