6 Million Books, Movies and More
Duke University Library offers a wealth of opportunities for faculty and staff at Duke
Rachel Revelle's road to poetry began at Lilly Library after a colleague suggested she read "The Shallows," which explores the internet's effect on the brain.
Intrigued, Revelle walked across East Campus to Lilly Library during lunch to check out the book. A poem in the book led her back to the library a few days later, and she checked out the 534-page collected works of poet Wallace Stevens.
Read More"I didn't used to think I read poetry well," said Revelle, student programs coordinator for the Kenan Institute for Ethics. "But I've discovered I enjoy having poetry in the house and flipping through a collected volume to see what I can make of it."
Like all faculty and staff, Revelle can use her DukeCard to borrow books, movies, audio recordings, music manuscripts and e-readers from Duke University Libraries, one of the 10 largest private research university systems in the country, at no charge. Members of the general public pay $100 per year for borrowing privileges.
"It is an incredible resource, not only for our students and faculty, but for everyone in our community," said Deborah Jakubs, Rita DiGiallonardo Holloway University Librarian and vice provost for library affairs. "When you add in that Duke faculty, staff and students also have access to the collections at UNC, NC State and North Carolina Central, it's like being a member at the largest library in the world."
The library system at Duke comprises 10 libraries (including one at the Duke Marine Lab) and an off-site Library Service Center. Combined, the libraries hold about 6.8 million printed books, 875,488 e-books and roughly 96,000 videos and films, among other items.
The library carries best selling fiction such as the Harry Potter series and popular movies like Oscar-nominated "Beasts of the Southern Wild," as well as scholarly items. "We are here to serve the entire community, not just academic scholars," said Amber Welch, instructional services librarian at Perkins Library. "We want to nourish the whole person."
Revelle, the program coordinator, feeds her increasingly eclectic reading habit by scribbling notes about authors and subjects in a daily planner to research in the library catalog. She also keeps a notebook handy to jot down interesting quotations while reading.
"When I was a student at Duke, I studied in the library a lot but didn't often check things out," said Revelle, a 2011 graduate. "Now I am at the library about once a week and am having fun exploring all sorts of different literature for my own fulfillment."