UD LIBRARY
A New Home for Special Collections
Gather. Collect. Preserve.
The University of Delaware’s Morris Library is, in many ways, the heart of our campus. Every Blue Hen—regardless of field or major—benefits from our library’s collections, resources and staff expertise.
Among the Library’s diverse programs and spaces, Special Collections stands apart. From Delaware Valley history, to an original copy of the Emancipation Proclamation signed by Abraham Lincoln, to the world-class Mark Samuels Lasner Collection of British literary manuscripts, our collection creates unique learning and research opportunities for students, faculty and scholars from across the world.
Today, to enhance Special Collections’ spaces and infrastructure, UD has committed to a transformative renovation project grounded in design principles of beauty, transparency and accessibility.
Project Details
Featuring a prominent and visible location on the east side of the second-floor atrium, this new space will offer a transparent, inviting view of the collection from outside. The space’s key features will include:
- A welcoming reception area, increasing the collection’s visibility and providing an entry point for students and visitors.
- A dynamic exhibition space accessible whenever the building is open, allowing Library visitors to enjoy and learn from revolving exhibits drawn from our unique collections.
- Collaborative research rooms with large display tables, allowing groups of students, faculty and researchers to experience the collection’s materials together.
- A well-furnished reading room and collection space for the Mark Samuels Lasner Collection.
Opportunities for Support
To recognize our donors’ foundational contributions to Special Collections’ new home, we are pleased to offer several naming opportunities for the collection’s key spaces. By naming a specific area after yourself, your family or a loved one, you can create a meaningful legacy through connections with the space’s future users.
Special Collections Suite
A gift of $1.5 million allows you to name the entire Special Collections suite.
Primary Reading Room
A gift of $750,000 allows you to name this prominent research space.
Special Reception
A gift of $500,000 allows you to name the entry point to the collection.
Mark Samuels Lasner Collection Room
A gift of $500,000 allows you to name the spacing housing this world-renowned collection.
Special Collections Exhibition Space
A gift of $100,000 allows you to name this prominent exhibition space facing the Library atrium.
Collaborative Research Rooms
A gift of $50,000 allows you to name one of the collection’s two consultation rooms.
Transformative Impact
Your generosity represents a transformative investment in our community. Your support will:
INCREASE student, faculty and community engagement through an improved user experience within the reading room.
EXPAND Special Collections’ collaborations with faculty to grow the collection in areas that address our research community’s needs.
PRESERVE the collection’s existing strengths—including world literature; political history; material culture and book arts; and local collections encompassing Longwood Gardens, the Winterthur Museum and the DuPont Family and Corporation— while creating room for future growth.
ADVANCE the department’s experiential learning opportunities, allowing students to gain career skills through internships and an expanded staff workspace.
CULTIVATE diversity and inclusivity by preserving our community’s complex history.