Simpson Library
Simpson Library is the main academic library of the University of Mary Washington, providing UMW students, faculty, and staff with access to physical and digital collections, research services, and institutional archives, funded through public university appropriations rather than commercial revenue.
- Company typePublic
- Founded2025
- HeadquartersFredericksburg, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Simpson Library does
Simpson Library is the main academic library of the University of Mary Washington, a public residential liberal arts institution in Fredericksburg, Virginia. It serves the UMW community—primarily undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and staff—and to a limited extent the broader Fredericksburg public, offering access to approximately 375,000 physical items, nearly 950,000 e-books, over 200,000 online journals, 140,000 streaming videos, and around 200 databases (of which roughly 120 are centrally licensed through the VIVA consortium). Core offerings include the Ex Libris Primo discovery catalog, the Eagle Scholar institutional repository, Special Collections & University Archives with over 1,700 rare books and 2,000+ linear feet of archival material, a Digital Archiving Lab with web archiving capabilities, interlibrary loan, course reserves, study room reservations, citation management via Zotero, and the Gwen Hale Resource Center food pantry addressing documented student food insecurity affecting 20-30% of UMW students.
The technology stack is built on third-party platforms rather than proprietary systems: Springshare LibGuides for the website and accessibility infrastructure, Bepress Digital Commons and Preservica for digital collections and long-term preservation, and ArchivesSpace for archival management. Specialized services include accessibility resources meeting WCAG 2.1 AA and Title II ADA requirements (assistive technologies JAWS and Read&Write), and an information literacy program including a misinformation/disinformation evaluation guide covering the SIFT method. Designated as a Selective Federal Depository Library (Depository #633) and Virginia State Depository Library, Simpson Library holds congressionally mandated public access rights to U.S. Government and state publications.
The business model is non-commercial. All library services are provided free of charge to UMW community members; the unit is funded entirely through university appropriations, student tuition, and state support, with nominal fees limited to printing, copying, and specific reproductions. No independent revenue streams exist, no venture or private equity funding has been raised, no acquisitions have been made, and the library operates as a department within the parent public university rather than as a freestanding commercial entity.
Simpson Library firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Simpson Library
- Legal name
- Simpson Library at University of Mary Washington
- Website
- https://libraries.umw.edu
- Company type
- Public
- Founded year
- 2025
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Simpson Library is the main academic library of the University of Mary Washington, providing UMW students, faculty, and staff with access to physical and digital collections, research services, and institutional archives, funded through public university appropriations rather than commercial revenue.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Simpson Library industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Academic Library Services
- NAICS
- Libraries and Archives (51921), Educational Services (611)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Academic & Research Library Operations (College/University Libraries) (EDAEAGAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Special Libraries (Law, Medical, Corporate, Government) Operations (EDAEAGAD), Digital Library & Electronic Resources Operations (e-Resources, Repositories, Licensing) (EDAEAGAF), Library User Services & Information Support (Reference, Research Help, Instruction Support) (EDAEAGAL)
Keywords
Where Simpson Library is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Fredericksburg
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Simpson Library business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels5 records
Simpson Library product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Simpson Library is the academic library of the University of Mary Washington, providing access to approximately 375,000 physical items, nearly 950,000 e-books, over 200,000 online journals, and 140,000 streaming videos, along with access to 200+ databases (including about 120 from the VIVA consortium). It operates as a Selective Federal Depository Library (Depository #633) and Virginia State Depository Library, delivers research assistance, interlibrary loan, course reserves, study rooms, digitization services, Special Collections & University Archives access, and accessibility services to UMW students, faculty, staff, and the general public.
Product overview
Simpson Library is an academic library at the University of Mary Washington offering a comprehensive suite of research and information services through multiple integrated platforms. The core offering centers on the Primo-based library catalog providing unified discovery across physical collections (approximately 375,000 physical items), nearly 950,000 ebooks, over 200,000 online journals, and 140,000+ streaming videos. Supporting infrastructure includes the Eagle Scholar institutional repository for open access scholarship, Special Collections & University Archives with digital collections platforms (Bepress, Preservica), and access to over 200 licensed databases through vendor partnerships (EBSCO, ProQuest, Gale, and others). The library provides citation management via Zotero, research assistance services, study room reservations, interlibrary loan, digitization services, and dedicated accessibility resources. Educational offerings include information literacy instruction and the Misinformation/Disinformation evaluation guide covering fact-checking and source evaluation.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Food for Thought: A satellite food pantry location operated in partnership with the Gwen Hale Resource Center, located on the first floor of Simpson Library behind the center stairwell, providing free shelf-stable food, beverages, and supplies.
- Eagle Scholar
Products and services
- Eagle Scholar Institutional Repository Open access institutional repository providing access to scholarship, publications, and creative works of the University of Mary Washington community, including departmental honors projects submitted via library.umw.edu/dept-honors, faculty and staff research, and student work. Publicly accessible globally to showcase UMW scholarship.
- Special Collections & University Archives Houses over 1,700 rare books and more than 2,000 linear feet of archival material, including university history records, with reference, instruction, and digital collection services for UMW students, faculty, staff, and visiting researchers.
- Digital Collections Publicly accessible digital collections built on third-party platforms (Bepress Digital Commons, Preservica), featuring digitized archival materials, historical resources, and Special Collections content.
- Streaming Video Services Access to over 140,000 streaming videos through multiple vendor platforms including Films on Demand, Alexander Street, and other streaming media providers, for UMW community academic use.
- Interlibrary Loan (ILL) Service enabling UMW students, faculty, and staff to request articles, books, and other materials from other libraries worldwide for items not held in local collections.
- Study Rooms Reservable private study spaces for individual or small-group study, bookable through the CollegeNet 25Live room reservation system.
- Course Reserves Service providing access to textbooks and supplementary materials placed on reserve by UMW faculty for specific courses, supporting student course material access at no cost.
- Digital Archiving Lab Specialized facility for digitizing archival materials, with web archiving capabilities using Internet Archive tools, supporting digital preservation and researcher digitization requests.
- Government Documents Federal Depository Library Program collection providing free public access to U.S. Government publications in various formats under Selective Federal Depository designation (Depository #633 within Virginia's 1st Congressional District) and Virginia State Depository Library designation.
- Accessibility Services Comprehensive accessibility resources including assistive technology (JAWS, Read&Write), OCR scanners, document magnifiers, alternative format provision, audio reading capabilities, HTML article versions for screen readers, and WCAG 2.1 AA / Title II ADA compliance, in coordination with the UMW Office of Disability Resources.
- Gwen Hale Resource Center / Food for Thought Basic needs resource center addressing food insecurity among UMW students, with the satellite "Food for Thought" food pantry in Simpson Library providing free shelf-stable food, beverages, school supplies, clothing, and toiletries to UMW community members, partnering with the Fredericksburg Area Food Bank, Giant Foods, and UMW Dining Services.
- Zotero Citation Management Support Library-supported citation management service providing setup help, troubleshooting, and guidance for the free Zotero software to save citations, organize references into collections, generate bibliographies in APA, MLA, and Chicago styles, and integrate with Microsoft Word and Google Docs via word processor plugins.
Quantifiable outcome
- 20-30% reduction in food insecurity for affected students through Gwen Hale Resource Center and Food for Thought pantry
Companies that use Simpson Library
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Simpson Library technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration11 records
Feature4 records
Simpson Library partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Virtual Library of Virginia (VIVA)coreVIVA is the consortium of Virginia's nonprofit colleges and universities that negotiates for and provides access to electronic resources. Simpson Library licenses approximately 120 databases centrally through VIVA, providing cost-effective access to academic resources that would otherwise be prohibitively expensive.
- Springshare LLCcoreSpringshare provides the library's website content management system (LibGuides) and database accessibility infrastructure. The library uses Springshare's products as the foundation for its web presence and accessibility compliance.
- Bepress Digital CommonscoreBepress Digital Commons provides the platform for the library's digital collections, enabling public access to archival materials and special collections.
- PreservicacorePreservica provides digital preservation platform used by Special Collections & University Archives for long-term digital preservation of archival materials.
- ArchivesSpacecoreArchivesSpace provides the archives management system used by Special Collections & University Archives for managing and describing archival collections.
- Fredericksburg Area Food BankcorePartnership for food donations and resources to support the Gwen Hale Resource Center's mission to eliminate food insecurity among UMW community members.
- Giant FoodsminorFood donation partner supporting the Gwen Hale Resource Center food pantry operations.
- UMW Dining ServicesminorCampus partner for food donations and resources to support student basic needs through the Gwen Hale Resource Center.
- University of Virginia LibrarycoreRegional Federal Depository Library partner; UVA serves as the regional depository for the 1st Congressional District of Virginia where Simpson Library is a selective depository.
- Library of VirginiacoreState publications depository program partner; Library of Virginia is the official repository of state publications for the Commonwealth of Virginia.
- UMW Office of Disability Resources (ODR)coreCollaboration to ensure students with disabilities have access to library materials and services. ODR provides additional assistive technology devices for loan to registered students.
- Library Accessibility AllianceminorIndustry consortium that tests and publishes database accessibility conformance reports, which the library uses to evaluate vendor accessibility.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Simpson Library competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- University of Virginia Library: Main academic library of UVA, a Virginia public university and Simpson Library's existing regional Federal Depository partner; serves the same higher-education customer base with overlapping collections, digital preservation, and special collections missions.
- Longwood University Library: Greenwood Library at Longwood University, another small Virginia public liberal arts institution; most directly comparable in scale, mission, and student population to Simpson Library at UMW.
- Radford University Library: McConnell Library at Radford University, a Virginia public university of similar undergraduate scale to UMW; offers directly comparable academic library services, special collections, and consortial access.
- George Mason University Libraries: Mason Libraries serve another large Virginia public university; operate comparable academic library services including digital scholarship, special collections, and consortial access — all under the same state higher-ed policy environment.
- Virginia Tech Libraries: University Libraries at Virginia Tech, a large Virginia public research university; comparable academic library services including special collections, digital preservation, and consortial database access through VIVA.
- William & Mary Libraries: Libraries of the College of William & Mary, a Virginia public liberal arts university of comparable mission and scale to UMW; provides academic library services, special collections, and digital scholarship infrastructure to a similar student/faculty base.
- VCU Libraries: Libraries at Virginia Commonwealth University, a Virginia public research university; comparable academic library scope across health sciences, humanities, and special collections with shared VIVA consortium participation.
- Old Dominion University Libraries: ODU Libraries provide academic library services to another Virginia public university with parallel offerings in research help, course reserves, special collections, and digital scholarship infrastructure.
- Christopher Newport University Library: Trible Library at Christopher Newport University, a Virginia public liberal arts institution of similar size and residential undergraduate mission to UMW; offers parallel academic library collections, services, and digital tools.
- James Madison University Libraries: JMU Libraries serve a Virginia public university with comparable undergraduate teaching mission; deliver parallel academic library services including course reserves, research help, special collections, and digital scholarship.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Simpson Library social profiles
Digital presenceSimpson Library compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance4 records
Simpson Library financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Simpson Library leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Simpson Library funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Simpson Library M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Simpson Library
What does Simpson Library do?
Simpson Library is the academic library of the University of Mary Washington, providing access to approximately 375,000 physical items, nearly 950,000 e-books, over 200,000 online journals, and 140,000 streaming videos, along with access to 200+ databases (including about 120 from the VIVA consortium). It operates as a Selective Federal Depository Library (Depository #633) and Virginia State Depository Library, delivers research assistance, interlibrary loan, course reserves, study rooms, digitization services, Special Collections & University Archives access, and accessibility services to UMW students, faculty, staff, and the general public.
Is Simpson Library a public or private company?
Simpson Library is a public company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.
When was Simpson Library founded?
Simpson Library was founded in 2025. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Simpson Library based?
Simpson Library is headquartered in Fredericksburg, United States, in the North America region.
Who are Simpson Library's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are University of Virginia Library, Longwood University Library, Radford University Library, George Mason University Libraries, Virginia Tech Libraries, William & Mary Libraries, VCU Libraries, Old Dominion University Libraries, Christopher Newport University Library and James Madison University Libraries.
Does Simpson Library have an API?
No public API is recorded for Simpson Library.
What industry is Simpson Library in?
Simpson Library's product category is Academic Library Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAEAGAB, Academic & Research Library Operations (College/University Libraries), with a secondary code of EDAEAGAD, Special Libraries (Law, Medical, Corporate, Government) Operations. Its NAICS code is 51921 and its SIC code is 8200.