International Library Telescope Program

The Delaware Astronomical Society Library, a member of the Delaware Libraries Consortium, spearheaded the effort to bring the International Library Telescope Program (ILTP) to Delaware. 

From the 12 foot long refractor used by Brandywine mill owner, William Poole (1726—1779), to observe the 1769 Transit of Venus in Wilmington at the request of the American Philosphical Society to the majestic 4.5" Clarke & Sons refractor on a Brashear mount purchashed by Francis Gurney Dupont (1850—1904) for his Wilmington observatory and then donated by the DuPont Family in 1960 to the Mt Cuba Observatory in Greenville where it is still in use, telescopes, optical instruments, have allowed Delawareans to contribute to the history of astronomy and provide gateways to the cosmos beyond the scope of our eyes.

In December 2023, the Delaware Library Association was the recipient of a grant from the Crystal Trust for the implementation of the International Library Telescope Program. The Crystal Trust was founded by Irenee DuPont (1920—2023) one of the founders of the Mount Cuba Observatory in Greenville, Delaware—the award of the grant to Delaware's library system memorialized Mr. DuPont's lifelong devotion to astronomy and education.

The International Library Telescope Program was founded in 2008 by Marc Stowbridge of the New Hampshire Astronomical Society and is a seasoned program with over 1,000 library participants. The DAS Librarian and DAS members, Robert Stack and Michael Lecuyer, serve on the ILTP Task Force.

The goal of the program is to place telescopes in library branches around the world so that library patrons may borrow a telescope as easily as a book.

In 2024, 36 Orion 4.5 inch StarBlasts, small tabletop reflecting telescopes with  altitude azimuth mounts, were added to the Library of Things a fabulous curated collection of useful things available to library patrons. 

DAS members modified the StarBlasts to meet the ILTP program standards, modifications developed over the years via by the Library Telescope Task Force to make loaner telescopes more robust and user friendly.

The Library Telescope kit includes:

4.5" tabletop reflecting telescope
An 8mm—24mm zoom eyepiece 
Red flashlight for night time observing
Constellation Pocket Guide
Telescope User Guide
Accessories pouch 

  Borrow the DAS Library Telescope for Outreach Events

All questions may be directed to Robert Stack, Program Coordinator, at
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