The Watkinson Library is open to the general public and welcomes the support of student assistants, volunteers, donors, trustees, and friends of the library.

We work with Trinity College (and other college) faculty to design appropriate classroom opportunities for students to interact with and learn from special collections.

We accept collection materials as donations, in accordance with collection-specific guidelines.

Rules Governing Use

The Watkinson Library is a closed-stack, non-circulating collection.  Use of materials by the public and students is restricted to the reading room within the Watkinson.

However, material may be requested online, ahead of or in lieu of an in-person visit. Almost all of Watkinson’s rare books and many of its manuscript collections are listed in the Trinity College Library’s online catalog. Many of the archival collections are searchable (at least at the collection level) through ArchivesSpace and Artstor image bank, while many of the publications in the Trinity College Archives are word-searchable in the Trinity Digital Repository. Oral histories and digital videos are searchable in the Kaltura mediaspace. Some materials await inclusion within these digital databases, so it is often best to ask Watkinson staff before assuming that the library does not have access to the sought-after material.

Researchers are allowed to take notes in pencil, or use their own cameras or laptops.

No food or drink is allowed in the reading room.

The rules governing use, which are available in the reading room, are designed to protect and preserve fragile and rare materials.

Reproductions and Publication

Digital reproductions and permission to publish Watkinson materials may be requested by contacting Watkinson staff.  The Watkinson reserves the right to deny requests for reproductions if doing so would harm the original material.

Users of materials from the Watkinson Library or the College Archives must accept full legal responsibility for observing the laws of copyright, as well as the laws of libel and invasion of privacy and property rights.

Published reproductions should include the following credit line:                                                                                        (Courtesy of the) Watkinson Library, Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut