Marriott Library Services & Spaces

Knowledge Commons: This area provides access to computers, software, and technical support. Knowledge Commons provides over 100 desktop computers, over 200 software packages, printing, poster printing and different types of scanners. Students can check out over 1,500 laptops, 60 iPads, 60 wireless hotspots, calculators, cameras, chargers and other equipment from the desk. Many of the library’s study rooms and reservable study booths are in the Knowledge Commons and all can be reserved by students online.

Flex Hub: This area is for flexible use by students and study groups and can be reserved as well.

ProtoSpace: This is the library’s home for cutting-edge technology, multimodal communication, and experiential learning. Here, we encourage students, faculty, and researchers to experiment through play and prototyping, to engage in digitally enhanced teaching and learning, and to collaborate on innovative research to meet real-world needs. Resources include 3D scanners and printers, virtual reality systems, GIS services, podcasting booths, a vinyl cutter, gaming consoles, sewing machines and data analysis and visualization workstations.

Materials Collection: The Materials Collection and the associated database, Material ConneXion, provides information on more than 10,000 industrial design materials, and access to 1,500 physical samples. Most of the collection is tactile, allowing students to feel and see the materials up close while learning about them.

Learning Space 2753: An event space that seats 40–80 users in a variety of self-service setups including boardroom, lecture and classroom style. Flexible furniture and AV equipment available.

Automated Retrieval Center: The Automated Retrieval Center (ARC) is three and a half stories and can store 2 million items. Patrons can request items directly from our online catalog (USearch) and pick them up at the Level 1 West Entrance Lobby in about an hour whenever the library is open. In addition to the ARC’s benefits of improved preservation and access, it also has economic benefits for the library. Storing items in the ARC is four times more cost effective than traditional shelving.

University Writing Center: The Writing Center is proud to offer FREE writing support to all University of Utah students in room 2701. The tutors can help you with any writing assignment at any stage of the writing process – from brainstorming and planning to organizing paragraphs, citing sources, and proofreading. They’re supportive and non-judgmental and offer both in-person and online tutorials. Students can learn more and schedule an appointment at https://writingcenter.utah.edu/.

Single-Stall Bathroom & Diaper Changing Station: Next to the University Writing Center.

Katherine W. Dumke Fine Arts & Architecture Library: The Fine Arts & Architecture Library includes rare and one-of-a-kind materials for visual arts, music, dance, theatre, film and architecture and planning. Patrons can request items directly from our online catalog (USearch) and pick them up at the Level 1 Library Information Desk or by contacting the Art & Architecture Librarian. This space was made possible by a major gift from the Katherine W. and Ezekiel R. Dumke, Jr. Foundation.

Katherine’s Courtyard: Just outside the Katherine W. Dumke Fine Arts and Architecture Library, you’ll find Katherine’s Courtyard. Combining indoor and outdoor and garden space, this impressive courtyard turned a previously unusable space into a highly used productivity and event space. This addition was made possible by a generous donation from Katherine W. Dumke.

Library Entrance/Exit: On the eastern side of the building.

Library Information Desk: Get information about the library and all its services and resources at this service point. Loan, renew, return and request library materials here. Library account creation is also available. Other services include Lost and Found and cashiering. A Library Store for purchasing miscellaneous study materials is at this location. 

Paul Housberg Public Art (Grand Staircase Level 1-2): Paul Housberg was commissioned to design the public art installation for the grand staircase. It’s titled Another Beautiful Day Has Dawned Upon Us. The colored glass bars include excerpts from pioneer diaries held by the Marriott Library’s Manuscripts Division. The art installation also sits over a smoke evacuation. If there were ever a fire in the library, large fans would be activated that push smoke out of the building, allowing the grand staircase to be used as an emergency exit.

The Family Reading Room: This space is specifically intended for use by university student parents and guardians accompanied by children under the age of 12. This room includes four desktop computers, an Apple TV, and two reservable family study rooms. A private lactation room that can accommodate up to four people, a family restroom, along with child-sized furniture, books, a train set, learning activity toys and a whiteboard are available in the Family Reading Room.

Juvenile Collection: Located just outside the Family Reading Room. These books may be checked out at the Information Desks on Level 1 and Level 3.

The Student Living Room: The Student Living Room is intended to meet your group’s needs with flexible furniture, privacy dividers, treadmill desks, and mobile whiteboards.

Suikang Zhao Public Art:  Rainbow Wisdom (installed in the student living room) is the sculpture commissioned by the Utah Arts Council and created by artist Suikang Zhao. The medium is acrylic and stainless steel.

The book sculptures found throughout the interior and exterior of the library were also created by Suikang Zhao. They make up a multi-part sculpture called Knowledge Exile. Pieces are made of bronze, resin, glass, stone, and mixed media. Some are replicas of rare books in the library’s collection.

The George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Grand Reading Room: The George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Grand Reading Room provides traditional silent space for study and reflection.

The Malby Globes: Located in the Grand Reading Room, the Malby Globes were manufactured in England by John Addison and Malby & Co. between the years 1845 and 1851. Besides the pair in the library, only six other globes of this type are known to exist (three in the United States and three in England).

Rooftop Garden: The Grand Reading Room opens onto the Rooftop Garden, which is not a publicly accessible space. The Rooftop Garden acts as a protective barrier over the ARC and is planted with drought resistant plants.

Open Reserves (Course Materials) Wall:

• Course Materials is an online tool integrated into Canvas that supports the creation and management of course resource reading lists. University instructors can build, maintain, and share resource lists that include all material types; library faculty and staff can provide resources efficiently; and students can access all digital course materials through Canvas from any device.
• Physical library resources can be placed on the Open Reserve shelves on Level 3 and can be given a non-circulating, 24-hour, or 3-day circulation status. If the library does not own a copy, instructors can make a purchase request through their Canvas Course Materials list. Students can use a kick scanner that is located near the Reserve shelving.

Marriott Family Donor Tribute: In 1969, the University Library was named in honor of J. Willard Marriott, Sr., who contributed $1 million for library collections. This plaque honors the longstanding and continuing generosity of the Marriott family, which has helped build amazing library facilities and world-class library facilities and collections at the U.

Special Collections: Highlights include the history of science collection, Arabic Paper, Parchment and Papyrus Collection (which is the largest of its kind in North America), original diaries of Utah pioneers and leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the largest collection on the history of skiing and outdoor recreation, the arts, medicine, and more. Students and researchers who come to the library to interact with these items do so in the Special Collections Reading Room.

Special Collections Gallery: The Special Collections Gallery features rare and unique library collections, showcases Book Arts Program student work and Red Butte Press fine press productions, and hosts special exhibitions by local and national partners.

Book Arts Studio: Part of the library since 1995, the Book Arts Program champions wide-ranging explorations of the book. In our fully equipped studio, trained patrons combine traditional techniques with modern aesthetics and technology. The program offers a major, minor, and certificate program in Book Arts and MFA in Creative Writing & Book Arts which are supported by classes exploring letterpress printing, bookbinding, artists' books and typography.

Marriner S. Eccles Library of Political Economy: This room houses the Marriner S. Eccles Library of Political Economy and includes scholarly books and manuscripts on banking, political, and economic history, highlighting the late Mr. Eccles’s career.

Tanner Alcove: This quiet study nook was created to honor a major gift from the O.C. Tanner Company. The generous gift from O.C. Tanner Company named our Western Americana collection after Annie Clark Tanner, mother of businessman and scholar Obert Tanner.

George S. Eccles Special Collections Reading Room: Our Special Collections Department collects, preserves and provides access to rare and one of a kind primary source material. Special Collections includes University Archives and Records Management, Manuscripts, Multimedia Archives, Rare Books, Western Americana Print and Journal.

The University of Utah Press: The Press publishes and issues scholarly books in selected fields, as well as other printed and recorded materials of significance to Utah, the region, the country and the world. They publish about 25 new titles per year, with over 500 currently in print.

Administration Suite: The library’s Dean and Associate Deans, as well as several departments such as Marketing and Public Relations, Human Resources and Development are housed in the Administration Suite.

Single-Stall Bathroom & Diaper Changing Station: Next to the Administration Suite.

Preservation: The Preservation department uses preventive conservation and conservation techniques to preserve the J. Willard Marriott Library’s rare book, document and image collections.