About the Library
In 1955, the Frederic William Boatwright Memorial Library was officially dedicated and opened on the University of Richmond campus. It serves as a memorial and testimony to Boatwright's sixty-eight years of service to the institution as student, professor, president, and chancellor.
Continuing into the 21st century, the Boatwright Memorial Library strives to provide University of Richmond students, faculty, and staff with information resources and services that enable them to excel in their academic and intellectual pursuits.
The Boatwright Memorial Library includes major collections in the sciences, fine arts, music, humanities, film, maps, theater, government documents, and rare books and manuscripts. At present, the library’s physical collection comprises approximately 500,000 volumes of books, more than 100,000 bound periodicals, and thousands of multimedia items. Over 110,000 journals, 245,000 books, and nearly 375 research databases are accessible through library computers and university computer labs and off campus.
Boatwright Memorial Library empowers University of Richmond community members to excel in their academic, intellectual and individual pursuits by providing diverse information resources, personalized services, and creative learning spaces.
The library's strategic plan for 2017-2022 may be downloaded below.
As stewards of knowledge, we will inspire growth of personal and academic potential, cultivate diversity, and foster joy in lifelong learning.
The Galvin Rare Book Room houses some 25,000 books, broadsides, manuscripts, maps, newspapers, music scores, facsimiles, and photographs. Among the collections are historic works on Richmond and Virginia; women’s domestic literature; historic children’s literature; some 500 Confederate Imprints published between 1861-1865; rare facsimile volumes of The Books of Kells, the Mazarin edition of The Gutenberg Bible, The Lindesfarne Gospels, and Alfonso X's Cantigas De Santa Maria. Archival collections include autographed first editions, letters, photographs, manuscripts, and other memorabilia of Richmonder Mark Lutz and his close friend, Carl Van Vechten, the novelist and renowned New York Times music critic; Congressmen Watkins Abbitt and David Satterfied; and civil rights leader Rev. Wyatt Tee Walker. There are also over a hundred volumes from the Dunlora Academy and the Virginia Baptist Seminary, the antecedents of the University of Richmond. Print materials can be located through the UR Libraries online catalog. The Galvin Rare Book Room is open to anyone conducting research Monday to Thursday 1:00-5:00 p.m. when classes are in session and by appointment.
The Book Arts Studio, housed on the 4th floor of Boatwright Memorial Library, exists to enrich the creative and scholarly culture at the University of Richmond by promoting the history and art of the book as a mode of communication, expression, and education. While exploring historic and contemporary book structure and craft, the goals of the Book Arts Studio include: creating a hands-on learning space for interdisciplinary projects; developing a program of educational courses, workshops, discussions, presentations, and exhibits; building collaborative partnerships across campus and the community; and highlighting the diverse library resources available for research into the history of the book.
During 2012–2013, Boatwright Memorial Library at the University of Richmond received a generous donation of the equipment and supplies of Shiu-Min Block, a professional bookbinder previously located in Connecticut. In September of 2014, the library added a platen press, several cabinets of type, and letterpress equipment from local printer and print historian, David M. Clinger. These donations became the foundation of the University of Richmond’s growing Book Arts Studio.
The Book Arts Studio has facilitated several drop-in student maker events in the library and has worked with faculty, students, and staff on projects ranging from bound oral histories, linoleum block printing, poster design, introductory bookbinding workshops, and comic making, among others. If you would like to schedule a tour of the studio or have an idea for a class or staff project with a book arts focus, contact Jen Thomas, Book Arts Studio Coordinator, for more information.
Parsons Music Library holds over 17,000 scores, 13,000 CDs, and 9,000 books about all types of music. Our video collection consists of operas, musicals, concerts, instructional programs, and documentaries in both DVD and VHS formats. We also have a variety of audio and video playback equipment for onsite use, as well as five laptop computers that work with our wireless network.
The William Taylor Muse Law Library is a spacious and attractive facility in which to study and conduct legal research. Housed in the Law School building, the library features four levels of space with ample seating on all floors. There are a number of group study rooms available for law student use in the library's basement. The online public catalog terminals provide accessibility to the collection.