Community Services: Welcome

Regis University is a private institution.  The Regis University Library's top priority is meeting the educational and research needs of Regis students, staff, and faculty. As part of the Federal Depository Library Program, our government publications collection must be open to the public, however our university's Jesuit mission also calls us to serve the community.  For that reason, community guests are invited to use our resources and services within the limitations noted on this guide and in related policy statements.

For more information on community services at the Dayton Memorial Library, please contact the Research Help Desk at library@regis.edu, or by calling 303-458-4031 (1-800-388-2366 x4031).                                                    

The general public is welcome to use the Dayton Memorial Library for research and study. Colorado residents age 16 and older may also get a free library card and have up to six items checked out at a time. Non-residents are eligible for temporary accounts.  Our Community Borrowers Policy has full details of this service.

For more information on circulation policies, including fees for overdue or lost materials, see Checking Out Materials.

Onsite access to many article databases, including approximately 5,000 full-text journals, is available at the Dayton Memorial Library. Guests of Regis are limited to ninety minutes of online computer use each day if computers are available. Guests are not guaranteed access to computers.  Academic research takes priority over all other online activities.  Please see the linked policy below for more information on guest access to computers.

A wireless network with guest access is available throughout Dayton Memorial Library. You will be asked to set up an account when you connect to the guest access. Please note that you may be required to update your laptop's security settings and software in order to connect to the network.

Printing for guest users is not currently available.   

Research classes are available for college preparatory high school classes (e.g., Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate) so that students may experience the resources of a college library and get a taste of what research will be like at the next level. The instructional classroom has 19 student terminals, so we recommend groups no larger than 20 at a time. Due to heavy internal instructional loads at the beginning of each semester, most sessions should be scheduled two to three months after the beginning of each term. Contact Paul Betty, Research and Instruction Services Librarian, by e-mail or by calling 303-964-5772 for more information and to schedule classes.

Visits to the Archives and Special Collections of Regis University are offered to all junior and senior high school classes wishing to introduce their students to a learning experience through primary materials. One-hour class visits are offered Tuesday through Fridays between 8:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. for groups no larger than 20 at a time. Appointments are necessary. Please contact Elizabeth Cook, Archivist, by e-mail or by calling 303-964-3612.

Classes on the following topics are available:

• The Creation and Dissemination of Knowledge Before and After the Printing Press
  Students examine leaves [pages] from 13th century handmade manuscript books created before the new technology of the printing press introduced a concept of standardization into the medieval world. Leaves from early printed books illustrate the cultural changes that followed affecting science, the Church, education, and government and began the expanded worldview of the Renaissance in the West.
• The North American Indian, by Edward Curtis. Vols 1-20; folios 1-20.
  Between 1890 and 1930, Edward Curtis photographed and wrote ethnographic profiles of over 80 Native American tribes from the southwest, north to Alaska. Today this documentation of pre-industrial cultures is controversial. To some it is a valuable record of societies whose histories are vanishing with their oral traditions. To others, Curtis’ photographs present a skewed and sentimental 19th century ideal. Students view these rare and lovely photographs and debate the pros and cons of two viewpoints.
• Notarianni Political Collection: 1796 - 2004
  The collection begins in 1796 with items used to introduce already elected U.S. presidents to the population through well-made articles for personal and domestic use. The concept of a political campaign to promote a candidate started in the mid-nineteenth century. By the mid 1900s, campaign memorabilia was made up of disposable novelties to advertise candidates with the humor or appeal of their slogans. History, language, and visual art classes gain insights into American culture through the diversity of artifacts spanning two hundred years of presidential campaigns.