MERIT Library
MERIT Library supports the faculty, staff, and students of the School of Education, UW-Madison, the Wisconsin education community (and beyond) by providing a wide-range of circulation, reference, research, and instructional support services. We also support printing & laminating.
Email Library Team: libraryteam@education.wisc.edu
Service Desk Phone: 608-263-4750
Our Library Team
Our Library Research Services
Help Starting & Navigating Research
Explore resources related to specific subjects, topics, courses, or types of sources. Get help from librarians and library staff finding the books and articles you need to write papers and plan research projects, and learn how to cite your references to avoid plagiarism.
Librarian Consults & Instruction Support
We provide topic-specific support through individual consults or classroom visits. We teach how to find, evaluate, and use information effectively. Our outcomes focus on developing research skills, using library resources, and avoiding plagiarism.
Our Collections
Books & Curriculum Materials
MERIT Library offers a rich collection of books, media, and digital resources to support coursework, research, and teacher certification. Materials are selected by our librarians in partnership with UW Libraries to match your academic needs.
Our book collection can be found on the 4th floor of the Teacher Education Building. We also have content available online available from the UW Libraries Catalog. If you need help finding what you’re looking for, please ask our staff at the MERIT Service Desk (3rd floor). Our 4th floor also offers individual study carrels and some soft seating.
The primary purpose of the PreK-12 collection is to support the teacher certification programs in the School of Education. These materials are designed to be used by students as they learn to identify, select, evaluate, and use a multiplicity of resources in developing the curriculum for elementary and secondary students. The reading level of these materials ranges from preschool through secondary, with a strong emphasis on those materials from preschool through the middle school years. Materials are collected in those subject areas in which the School of Education offers teacher certification. The collections are developed to provide a current, not a historical, perspective.
The PreK-12 collection includes materials for preschool, kindergarten, elementary, and secondary education. Textbooks, handbooks for classroom activities, video recordings, sound recordings, and educational kits and games are inter-shelved according to subject area, along with juvenile fiction, non-fiction trade books, and other items that are representative of materials found in a school library media center.
The professional education collection includes titles in the areas of theory and practice of education, curriculum development, teacher education, educational psychology, special education, physical education and dance, educational technology, educational testing and measurement, childhood development, adult and vocational education, counseling and guidance, and educational administration related to preschool through grade 12 education.
MERIT Library receives a substantial number of journals in the field of education for use within the library. Full text access to selected articles from many of these journals is available through links in the UW-Madison Libraries catalog.
The reference collection contains general and specialized encyclopedias, dictionaries, bibliographies, guides, handbooks, and statistical compilations pertinent to the field of education. Materials are available in both print and electronic formats.
MERIT Library owns hundreds of standardized educational and psychological tests pertinent to PreK-12 education. Some tests are open to all users; others are located in a restricted collection which is only available to users with School of Education faculty authorization. The library does not lend its restricted tests through Interlibrary Loan (ILL).
To learn more about the Restricted Test collection, email: libraryteam@education.wisc.edu
Our Equipment
Circulating Equipment
MERIT’s full inventory includes reservable and first-come/first-serve items. Available equipment can be checked out at the MERIT Public Service Desk, within the MERIT library, on the 3rd floor of the Teacher Education building (TEB) during open hours.
Our circulating equipment is often in high-demand and intended to be a shared resource to all our patrons. Please be mindful of due dates and return equipment on-time.
NOTE: Reservable A/V items are not renewable online.
- Digital Cameras & Accessories (no renewals on Canon Mirrorless)
- Digital Video Cameras
- Olympus digital voice recorders
- Zoom H5 podcast kits
- Projectors & projector screens (loaned separately)
- Microphones
- PA Systems
- OWL Pro (conference & meeting 360 camera)
NOTE: Laptops can be renewed online in reservation portal. Contact the MERIT service desk if you have questions or would like support renewing a laptop.
- 10th & 8th gen iPads (no renewals)
- USB-C Apple pencils (note: loaned separately)
- Wacom Intuos Pro graphics tablets (includes Pro Pen)
- Macbook Air laptops
- Dell laptops
We have a wide variety of adapters and chargers available at the MERIT service desk for your convenience.
- Adapters & dongles
- A/V cables (variety)
- Headphones
- USB wall chargers
- Wireless handheld mic kit
- Wireless lapel mic kit
Most equipment can be reserved throughout the semester; however, the following are first-come/first-serve:
- Laptops (MacBook Air & Dell)
- A selection of our digital still & video cameras
- Canon PowerShots
- Canon Vixia HF R700s (without lapel mics)
- Adapters & chargers
- Other camera & computer accessories (e.g. tripods, remotes, keyboards, optical drives)
Our Print / Laminate / Scan Options
Print Services
MERIT offers a variety of print services including large-scale poster printing, tabloid (11×17) printing, in addition to the standard black & white/color print stations, and a document scanner. MERIT library is also home to one of the few laminators on-campus! Stop by our service desk to learn more.
MERIT offers a variety of standard printing options, available to UW-Madison faculty, staff, and students; Universities of Wisconsin faculty and staff; the PreK-12 community; and guests of the UW-Madison School of Education.
Payment options: MERIT accepts Wiscard, departmental card, or guest print cards.
- B&W prints: $0.07 per side for 8.5×11
- Color prints: $0.60 per side for 8.5×11
MERIT offers some specialty printing options! Tabloid size (11×17) are available to print on card stock or glossy paper.
Payment options: MERIT accepts Wiscard, departmental card, or guest print cards.
- Card stock: $0.06 per side for 8.5×11
- B&W prints: $0.14 per side for 11×17
- Color prints: $1.50 per side for 11×17
- Glossy prints: $1.50 per side for 11×17
MERIT is home to one of the only public hot-roll laminators on-campus! Stop by our service desk and we can help you start-up your laminating needs. Hot-rolls take about 5-10 minutes to warm-up, so please plan accordingly (and be patient with our rollers, so they don’t jam). Maximum width = 25 inches.
Cost is $0.15 per linear foot. Payment options: MERIT accepts Wiscard, departmental card, or guest print cards.
Our flatbed document scanner station, located in the main library commons, offers free scan as PDF to email (or personal mobile device). We ask that you be mindful of time spent at the scanner and adhere to copyright basics when using library materials.