Here is an alphabetical list of
collections and other resources at Western Libraries that may be of special interest to community members.
Many of the items are linked to informational web pages about the resources, to the resources themselves, or to maps indicating the
location in the library.
Audio
Recordings
Western Libraries collects a variety of spoken word recordings, including lectures, plays, speeches, and
poetry readings, and music audio recordings. Formats include CDs, records,
and cassette tapes.
The Book of the Quarter and The Reading Series
Join us in the Skybridge for informal discussions of the Book of the Quarter, or enjoy
readings of poetry, short fiction, or performance pieces presented by WWU faculty as part of the
Reading Series. These events are offered in Fall, Winter and Spring Quarters and are open to the public.
Canadian Studies
The library has a large collection of books about Canada, including thousands of Canadian government documents. This collection supports the
curriculum of the WWU Center for Canadian-American Studies,
one of the few serious Canadian studies programs in the United States.
Click on the link to find recommended resources for research in Canadian studies.
Census 2000: Finding Data
WWU Libraries guide to using American Fact Finder, the Census Bureau's web-based search tool. The guide offers some examples
of the types of questions that come up at Western Washington University Libraries, and some of the ways those questions
can be answered using American Fact Finder.
Census Population Schedules
The Census Population Schedules (also called the enumeration schedules, or federal manuscript census) list the
information collected by the census about individuals, including their names, occupations, etc. It is released 72 years after each census.
Western Libraries has the schedules on microfilm covering most of 1850-1920 for Oregon and Washington. They can be found in Wilson 2 East, near
the very end of the Government Microforms. The link above goes to a finding list for the microfilm collection.
Center for Pacific Northwest Studies
The Center for Pacific Northwest Studies collections include private papers, and organizational and
institutional records documenting economic, social, cultural and political trends significant to the Pacific Northwest.
Archival collections are open to the general public. Free parking with validation is available.
Children's Collection
The Children's Collection includes reference, Easy, fiction, and non-fiction materials collected to support
the Woodring College of Education course offerings. For location, select Wilson 4 from the linked map,
and look for Children's Books in 4 East. For links to Western Libraries research guides, go to
Literature for Children and Young Adults.
Curriculum Collection
The Curriculum Collection includes elementary and secondary materials covering all subject areas, and
collected to support the Woodring College of Education course offerings. For location, select Wilson 4 from the linked map,
and look for Curriculum in 4 East. For more information, go to
Curriculum Guides and Materials in Western Libraries and Online.
Government Information Services
WWU Library is a Depository Library for U.S., Canadian, and Washington state
documents, as well as some local and regional publications. The Government
Information Collection receives about 10,000 government publications a year in
many formats. The collection's emphasis is on education, environmental studies,
Northwest issues, and demography. The collection is open to anyone. Most
material circulates and can be checked out for three weeks by anyone with
valid identification. For more information, call Reference at (360) 650-3094 or email
Robert Lopresti, Government Information Librarian at robert.lopresti@wwu.edu.
See also the
Government Documents Collection Introduction page for an overview of the
collection and services, and information about availability.
Huxley Map Library
Started in 1957 by the Geography Department, Western's Map Collection is the second largest in
Washington state, and regarded as a major map collection in the United States.
Microform Collections
Western Libraries has an extensive microform collection, including newspapers, journals
and many specialized collections.
Multimedia CD-ROMs
Titles include Leonardo da Vinci, Civil War: A Newspaper Perspective, Scribner's American History,
Historic Supreme Court Decisions, Global Climate Change, and Mental Measurements Yearbook (Buros).
For a list of electronic and print resources, including CD-ROMs, go to Articles and
select a database by subject.
Music Library
The Music Library is located on the third floor of the Performing Arts Center
(PAC376). Our ever-expanding collection of music contains more than 80,000
items, including books, bound periodicals, musical scores, sheet music, records and compact discs.
New Book Display Room
Located in the lounge area on Wilson 2 West, the New Book Display Room showcases books new
to the library's collection, as well as Current Interest titles and the Diversity Collection. For location, select Wilson 2 from the linked map,
and look for New Book Display in 2 West.
New Materials Lists
These online lists of recent acquisitions to the library collections are updated monthly. Browse new books, videos,
government publications, and reference books.
Newspapers
Western Libraries subscribe to a wide selection of national and international newspapers.
Periodicals Reading Room
Browse current magazines and newspapers in the Periodicals Reading Room in Wilson 2 East. Time, Rolling Stone,
Sierra, and The New York Times are just a few of the periodicals available. Current issues of
selected scholarly journals are also located in the Reading Room. For location, select Wilson 2 from the linked map,
and look for Current Periodicals Display in 2 East.
Play Collections and Acting Scripts
Western Libraries collections include many classical and contemporary plats and acting scripts.
Acting Scripts are listed using the
Genre/Form search in the library catalog. See also the guide
Locating Plays and Monologues for more information.
Subject Research Guides and Research Tips
These subject research guides include information about print and electronic
resources available at the Western Libraries on specific topics and links to related Internet
resources. Also available are research tips, or "how-to guides",
designed to help you use a variety of print and electronic
resources, or help you locate specific resources, such as film or book reviews,
speeches, and statistics.
Special Collections
Special Collections houses Rare Books, the WWU Campus History Collection and the Western Collection.
The Campus History Collection documents the history of Western Washington University since it first opened as the
New Whatcom State Normal School in 1899. The Western Collection includes materials written, edited, compiled,
translated, or illustrated by Western faculty, staff and alumni. Go to the Special Collections web site or
call (360) 650-3193 for hours and information.
Specialized Indexes and Databases
Use specialized indexes and databases to find articles, including some full-text, in journals, books
and other resources in specific subject areas. These indexes and databases are
available to the public for use within the libraries. For a list of selected online electronic databases
accessible without restriction from off-campus to community users, go to
Off-campus Access to Online Databases for Community Users.
Subject Areas
Subject areas which are well-represented in Western Libraries are those reflecting course offerings at
the University. In general, research in the following subject areas makes a trip to Western Libraries especially worthwhile:
- Accounting
- American Cultural Studies
- Anthropology
- Art
- Biology
- Canadian Studies
- Classics
- Communication
- Communication Sciences & Disorders
- Creative Writing
- East Asian Studies
- Economics
- Elementary & Secondary Education
- English & American Literature
- Environmental Sciences & Studies
- Finance & Marketing Decision Sciences
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- Gender Studies
- Health
- History
- Human Services
- International Studies
- Journalism
- Linguistics
- Management
- Modern & Classical Languages
- Physical Education & Recreation
- Political Science
- Sociology
- Special Education
- Women's Studies
- World Literatures in English
|
Travel Guides
Search the subject guidebooks in
Western Libraries Online Catalog.
The most recent versions of popular travel guides are located in the Reference Collection on Haggard 2.
Video Collection
The Libraries' video collection is housed at Wilson Library, room 267. The
collection consists of thousands of titles which support the curriculum and
instructors of the the university. Videos range from a large selection of
feature films in both VHS and DVD formats to documentary and instructional
films. A collection of videos relating to music curriculum is also held at the Music Library.
An alphabetical-by-title list highlights Feature Films available at the library.
