Dean of Libraries' Priorities
A Message from Jeffry Archer
Baylor students and faculty deserve the very best in academic support, whether that be research materials, computer facilities, or a comfortable learning environment. Your gift to the Library Dean's Excellence Fund provides the greatest flexibility and most immediate impact for making investments in the future of the Baylor Libraries. Gifts to this fund support the creation of engaging spaces, technology solutions to support learning, investments in the areas of greatest need, support for libraries programming, and additions to our research collections. Your gift toward the Library Dean's Excellence Fund contributes toward your standing as a Library Fellow.
What Is Dean Archer's Current Priority?
Dean Archer's current priority is lowering the cost of materials and supplies in the Book Arts & Letterpress Lab and the ELC Makerspace. While materials required for course assignments are provided free of charge, anything used by students for personal projects is charged to the student directly. While we strive to keep materials costs as affordable as possible, each semester sees an increase in vendor charges that must inevitably be passed on to users.
Gifts to the Dean's Excellence Fund can be earmarked to the Book Arts & Letterpress Lab or the Makerspace by checking Additional Info on the gift review page of your donation. Simply add which area you'd like to designate the fund to support in the Notes box that appears and your gift will be automatically attached to the program of your choice.
What Else Has the Dean's Excellence Fund Supported?
Examples of past projects funded by the Library Dean's Excellence Fund include powered and lighted study tables for the Rowe Reading Lounge (Moody 2nd floor); critical support for the creation of the Black Gospel Archive & Listening Center; and funding for temporary employees critical to project infrastructure. Gifts to the Dean's Excellence Fund have also been used to ensure access to research materials as part of our collection of Alumni Resources.
Library Fellows
Donors become Library Fellows by giving $1,000 or more annually to support the Baylor University Libraries in achieving excellence. Contributions can be made to any library fund and help provide resources critical for students and faculty in attaining scholarly goals and creating an environment for comfortable study and active learning.
Library Fellows receive advance notice of library activities and invitations to exclusive events. Members also have opportunities to engage with rare collections and request "behind-the-scenes" tours.
For more information on the Library Fellows, please contact the Libraries at (254) 710-3200 or email.
More Ways to Support the Dean's Priorities
The University Libraries are committed to supporting new areas of research and scholarship through a robust endowed fund for the acquisition of new research materials. Currently, the Library Endowed Book Fund holds just short of $400,000. The University Libraries have set a goal of a $1 million balance to help support Baylor's research aspirations.
Donors to the Library Endowed Book Fund automatically become Library Fellows and members of the Baylor Book Society by giving $1,000 or more annually through their support of this project. Learn more about the benefits of being a Library Fellow here.
Your gift to the Library Endowed Book Fund, in any amount, goes toward the purchase of materials that support the broad range of research being conducted by Baylor faculty and students. In particular, your gift will support materials for research in burgeoning fields like data science, health, materials science, and Latin American studies, all of which are areas highlighted in "Illuminate," Baylor's strategic plan.
Suggested Giving Levels
Gifts to the Library Endowed Book Fund will be used to acquire materials that support research across all of Baylor's academic endeavors.
$30 - $50 gift
Support our print monographs collection
The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
$200 - $250 gift
Online eBooks
Nineteenth-Century Chamber Music by Stephen Hefling
$400 - $500 gift
Titles for the Baylor Book Arts Collection
Holding Up the Roof: Art, Design and Poetry by Mari Eckstein Gower
$1,000 - $1,200 gift
Rare Materials for Our Special Collections
The Twenty Fourth Infantry, Past and Present by William G. Muller
$2500 gift
Annual Subscription to Subject Specific Electronic Resources
Thesaurus Linguae Graecae: A Digital Library of Greek Literature
$5000 gift
Annual Subscriptions to Specialized Online Resources in the Hard Sciences
IEEE XPlore Digital Library
Other Opportunities for Book Purchases
To support a specific category of material, please visit the Research Libraries, Institutes and Centers page to explore additional giving opportunities.
The "Books for Bears" program provides a way to honor or memorialize a graduate, friend, professor or relative. A one-time gift of $50 or more purchases a book for the Libraries. A $50 gift for Books for Bear Cubs provides for the purchase of two children's books for the Libraries in celebration of a special child or the birth of a baby. A bookplate with the name of the donor and the honoree is placed in the front of each title, and written notification of the gift is made to the donor and to the person or family honored.
Baylor University enjoys a special relationship with the village of Independence, Texas, one that is sustained and nurtured through ventures like the newly created Independence Visitors Center, the ongoing restoration work at Old Baylor Park, Windmill Hill, the annual Baylor Line Camps and other class trips to explore Baylor's past. Lanella Spinks Gray, current chair of the Library Board of Advisors, has been an influential partner in sustaining Baylor's ties to its historic roots in Independence. Mrs. Gray is the unofficial “mayor” of Independence, a joyful, energetic goodwill ambassador at large for both Independence and the university that was founded there, Baylor. In honor of her commitment to both Baylor and Independence, the Board of Regents of Baylor University recently honored Lanella with an endowed fund created in her name to support the ongoing efforts to preserve Baylor's rich heritage. We invite you to join the many others who established and have contributed to a special endowment dedicated solely to the preservation of the rich history of Baylor and the state of Texas.
Lanella is ‘Miss Baylor’ to not just the thousands of Baylor students who visit Independence each year, she’s the face of Baylor in Independence. She has been tireless in her support of the Baylor libraries and their efforts to maintain this historic link to Baylor’s past. Robert Darden, Associate Professor of Journalism and Media Arts
Support the Lanella Spinks Gray Baylor at Independence Endowed Fund
As part of the President's $100 million scholarship initiative, the Baylor University Libraries Board of Advisors are pleased to announce the creation of the Sue Margaret Hughes Library Internship Endowed Scholarship Fund. This fund will provide paid internships for Baylor students within the University Libraries in a wide range of areas. Since the University Libraries serve all Baylor students, these internships support student learning and growth, and enhance the educational experience. Dr. Sue Margaret Hughes served with the Baylor University Libraries for 31 years in a variety of roles, and her fingerprints are on many of the ways students are served by the libraries today.
Support the Sue Margaret Hughes Library Internship Endowed Scholarship Fund
Since its opening in 2016, the Graduate Research Center has served as a collaboration and programming space focused exclusively for the use and development of Baylor's graduate student population. After six years in its current configuration, Dean Archer has asked a team of Libraries personnel to envision what could be possible for a reimagined GRC that more fully embraces its role of service for our graduate students.
At present, the GRC 2.0 project is in the exploratory phase, with surveys and focus groups planned to gather ideas and feedback from current and prospective graduate students regarding their needs, vision, and ideas for the space. Potential future plans for the GRC could include:
- More collaboration and small group rooms
- Upgraded furniture
- Space for classroom instruction and "flipped classroom" activities
- Options for spaces that are friendly for graduate students who are employed full-time or with childcare responsibilities
- Technology enhancements