The General Collection
Home to roughly 150,000 circulating books. This is the largest collection in the library and open to all students, faculty, and staff as well as community borrowers.
The Hermann F. Eilts Collection is a collection of over 2000 books donated by Ambassador Eilts, class of 1943. The collection is eclectic, but mostly focuses on European, American, and Middle Eastern history, politics, and culture, and Islam.
Myrin Library has purchased student artwork for several years, all of which is on display throughout the building. For more details, click the link above. View a complete listing of the art here, with thumbnail images.
Need help navigating the library? Helpful maps are posted on the library website. There are also copies available at the main desk.
Bathrooms are located in the basement and on the second floor.
Tech Support is located on the main floor.
The Ursinusiana Collection (College Archives)
The Ursinusiana Collection, located on the 2nd Floor of Myrin Library, contains publications by and about Ursinus College and its faculty, staff and students. Complete files of Ursinus catalogs, yearbooks, magazines, and student newspapers provide a continuous record of life at the College. Theses produced under the Departmental Honors and College Scholars programs are available for consultation. There are extensive collections of photographs and memorabilia, including the bell from Freeland Hall, the original college building. Contact: Carolyn Weigel at cweigel@ursinus.edu or 610.409.3502. The collection is accessible by appointment only.
The Pennsylvania Folklife Society Collection
The Pennsylvania Folklife Society Collection, located on the second floor of the Myrin Library, is an important, eclectic collection of manuscripts, published volumes, historical records and other materials from the 19th and 20th centuries pertaining to the Pennsylvania Germans. These materials were collected by Alfred Shoemaker during the 1940s, 50s and 60s and are, for the most part, unique. Shoemaker's card file index to Pennsylvania Folklife provides a one-of-a-kind way to study the life and times of the Pennsylvania Germans. Contact: Charlie Jamison at cjamison@ursinus.edu or 610.409.3439. The collection is accessible by appointment only.
The Linda Grace Hoyer Papers
The complete literary papers of Linda Grace Hoyer (C' 23), mother of Pulitzer-prize winning author John Updike, are housed in Myrin Library. Hoyer met her husband, Wesley Russell Updike, when they were both students at Ursinus. John Updike donated the papers to the college upon her death. Contact: Charlie Jamison at cjamison@ursinus.edu or 610.409.3439. The collection is accessible by appointment only.
The Grundy Collection of scholarly articles, personal letters, rare newsletters, annotated manuscripts, and military records all pertaining to South Africa between the period of 1965 to 1994 reveals the debates, deceptions, and documentation of a world grappling with white supremacy as it breathed its dying institutional gasps. This collection brings Africa to life in suburban Philadelphia, allowing students, faculty, and the local community to immerse themselves in the experiences of African and world history. Contact: Charlie Jamison at cjamison@ursinus.edu or 610.409.3439 The collection is accessible by appointment only.