Teaching at the Lilly Library

The Lilly Library provides hands-on, active learning with selections from the collections for undergraduate, graduate students, and community members. We work with a diverse cross section of the IU community and welcome opportunities to work with new courses, instructors, and disciplines.

To schedule a class session, please fill out and submit a class or tour request. Requests are accepted each semester in two rounds: by a first round date before the semester begins and a secondary date a couple weeks into the semester. 

Scheduling for Spring 2026 IU classes is closed. 

To be considered in the first round of Fall  2026 scheduling, submit a request by Monday, August 3. Instructors will be notified by Thursday, August 20 if we're able to schedule a class session. 

The second round of requests will be accepted from August 3 to Tuesday, September 8. These requests will be accommodated as space and staffing allow or will focus on sessions in the second half of the semester. Instructors will be notified about these requests by Friday, September 25.

Each class session includes an introduction to the Lilly Library by one of our teaching librarians. Classes can be taught in collaboration with a librarian or taught by the instructor with a Lilly staff member present to assist with handling of the selected items.

Designing a class session

We can help

Our librarians are available for consultations about the logistics or content of a class session, at any stage of planning from brainstorming to lesson planning. Please consult our Best Practices document, developed by the Primary Source Immersion Program of Indiana University, for more helpful information and tips on collaborating with the Lilly Library on classes.

Request a class session or group visit

We offer you and your students a variety of ways to interact with Lilly Library collections. To request a Lilly Library class session, special group visit, or digitized materials for instructional use, use this form. It will ask you about dates, times, instructional goals, and what materials you'd like to use.

Some considerations

Due to the high demand for Lilly Library class sessions, we cannot host more than 2 sessions per semester for a single class. Similarly, at this time we are not able to host multiple sections (i.e. discussion sections) of classes.

If your class is larger than 40 students, please contact the Teaching and Research Department. Creative options are available for larger classes, but they require advance notice–at least the semester before the class occurs–and extra planning to ensure the Lilly Library has both the space and staff available.

Due to the multi-purpose nature of our teaching spaces, classrooms are not available to host classes for the semester.
 

Class assignments

We love seeing students in our reading room but we strongly recommend that instructors not require use of Lilly Library materials for assignments or final projects. The Lilly Library Reading Room supports the research and study of not only all IU students, but also visitors from across the country and world. 

Optional use of Lilly Library materials is feasible, with advance notice to the Lilly librarians at liblilly@iu.edu. If instructors are interested in a more immersive experience, we recommend partnering with a librarian and applying for an information literacy course grant.

 

Learn about information literacy course grants

Learn more about teaching at the Lilly Library

Person holding a book open as others look on

Teaching Philosophy

Learn more about the values we bring to teaching.

Teaching Spaces

Review our classrooms.