Libraries

Vast collections and expert guidance propel discovery across many disciplines

The WSU library system is one of the largest in the Pacific Northwest. WSU Libraries support research at locations throughout the state:

Providing access to extensive resources

WSU Libraries is a member of the Orbis Cascade Alliance, a consortium of 37 college and university libraries in the Pacific Northwest. The Alliance’s resource-sharing system gives WSU patrons access to some 9 million titles and 26 million resources from member library collections. It also serves as a gateway to other open-access digital repositories and WorldCat, a global catalog of library collections. Patrons can use a single search box to find journals, books, and digitized collections.

Teaching research skills

Each year WSU librarians take their research skills to the classroom, introducing thousands of students in many disciplines to databases and indexes, advanced article evaluation techniques, the importance of narrowing down research topics, and more.

Among 21 peer institutions, WSU Libraries rank second in the number of library instruction presentations delivered and participants reached.

Annual research instruction by WSU Libraries faculty*

  • 1,200 instruction sessions delivered
  • 110 courses augmented with research instruction
  • 40,000 individuals reached

* Fiscal year 2014 figures

Preserving cultural treasures

WSU Libraries digitize physical collections to make historically valuable resources easily accessible to researchers. The WSU Libraries’ Center for Digital Scholarship and Curation provides standards and sustainable platforms for online cultural heritage preservation. Library faculty members have developed and maintained more than 80 digital collections containing some 200,000 digital objects.

The center trains cultural workers from Native American tribes nationwide in digitizing and managing their own collections. The 15-month Tribal Stewardship Cohort Program places special emphasis on culturally specific protocols.