Ask the Library

All alumni are welcome to visit the Iwasaki Library and take advantage of the print, non-print, and electronic resources available on the third floor of the Walker Building, 120 Boylston Street in Boston. An Alumni Workspace is available at the LA campus for alumni to access the library's electronic resources.

For Boston campus library borrowing privileges, complete the online application to receive your library card.

Alumni have access to on-site privileges including the use of print collections, media collections, databases, and reference assistance.

Alumni can: 

• Borrow items from the Circulating Collection
• Borrow items from the Reserves Collection (Reserves policies apply) 
• Borrow items from the Teaching Collection (In-Library use only)
• Access electronic resources using our computer workstations

Alumni cannot:

• Print
• Borrow circulating technology and equipment such as laptops, headphones, whiteboard markers, and external disc drives
• Borrow museum passes
• Use InterLibrary Loan services, including ComCat and Fenway Libraries Online consortium borrowing
• Use Scan and Send services
• Access electronic resources off campus

Online Resources

Off-site database access is tied to your Emerson email account; when that expires or you convert to an alumni account it goes away.

Please note that many public libraries have online resources accessible from home. For example, the Boston Public Library (which serves those who live, work, and study in Massachusetts) and Los Angeles Public Library (available to all California residents) provide access to many of the same resources that Emerson offers, including InterLibrary Loan (ILL) services. In addition, public colleges and universities, which are government-funded, often provide free on-site access.

Other resources are freely available to anyone, regardless of institutional affiliation. Directory of Open Access Journals for scholarly journal articles, Internet Archive for books and multimedia, and PubMed Central for biomedical and life sciences journal articles.

Reference Services

Iwasaki Librarians are still here to help! We can assist you in finding resources at your local library or those that are freely available online. Check out our Ask a Librarian page to get in touch with us!

College Archives

If alumni wish to visit the Archives, which includes yearbooks, issues of student publications, special collections, and some student organization records, among other materials, they must first make an appointment with the archivist. In this instance, alumni do not need to obtain Library borrowing privileges, but they must be registered as a visitor in advance. To schedule an appointment, please contact the Archives Office at 617-824-8301 or archives@emerson.edu

Alumni of Marlboro College are also considered alumni of Emerson College and share the same library benefits.