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The University of Mary Washington is a public, residential, undergraduate liberal arts institution located in Fredericksburg, Virginia. It offers a broad curriculum in the arts, humanities, and sciences, promoting both cultural diversity and global awareness. More about UMW’s mission and values can be found here.
The mission of Simpson Library notes that we will “encourage critical and creative thinking, promote lifelong learning, and support teaching and learning through partnerships and collaboration,” and we fulfill that mission partly through our collections. Simpson Library strives to develop and maintain collections in accordance with the Association of College and Research Libraries’ (ACRL) Standards for Libraries in Higher Education, and makes print books, ebooks, journals, databases, media, and research tools available to the University’s students, faculty, and staff to support teaching and research, thereby enriching the intellectual life of the university community.
As of Fall 2024, the collections at Simpson Library encompass approximately 350,000 print books, including federal depository publications. Additionally, the library offers nearly 900,000 ebooks and over 250,000 print and online journals. We also have substantial collections in streaming video and other media, such as maps, and music. Additionally, the library currently licenses about 200 databases, which includes about 120 databases that are centrally provided by Virginia’s Academic Library Consortium (VIVA). The Library’s Special Collections & University Archives holds over 1,700 rare books and more than 2,000 linear feet of archival material.
Simpson Library is committed to upholding the principles of intellectual freedom, as outlined in the American Library Association’s Bill of Rights, its Freedom to Read Statement, its Intellectual Freedom Principles for Academic Libraries, and the American Film and Video Association’s Freedom to View Statement. Intellectual freedom necessarily includes the freedom to access and the freedom to express ideas that may be considered objectionable or offensive. For this reason, in keeping with the Library’s mission to enhance, extend, and challenge classroom instruction, Simpson Library does not accept any requests to remove or restrict materials based on any perceived inappropriateness of content or authorship. The Library does, however, welcome input from University faculty, staff, and students on materials that may contribute to the quality of the collection.
A request form for material purchase suggestions is available here.
