![[CRL logo]](crl.gif)
Linda Di Biase, Collection Development
Mention the UW Libraries collection and people normally think of the materials housed in some 20 locations on the Seattle campus, with the Bothell and Tacoma Campus Libraries' holdings thrown in. Most are surprised to learn that the Libraries has a satellite collection in Chicago, from which our students, faculty and staff can secure free photocopies or borrow for virtually unlimited loan periods. This collection is known as the Center for Research Libraries.
Founded in 1949, CRL functions as a cooperative research library dedicated to acquiring, cataloging, housing, preserving, and making available to its members materials that complement and supplement the collections of the major research libraries of North America. Since the late 1970s, when the UW became a member, the Libraries has depended on CRL to meet the needs of our campus community for important, but lesser-used research materials. As a result, CRL consistently ranks among the top five lenders to the University of Washington via our Interlibrary Borrowing Service (IBS).
The CRL collection includes 330,000 volumes and 122,000 microfilm reels of monographs; 53,000 serial titles, of which 14,000 are current subscriptions (with heavy emphasis on foreign titles in science and technology); nearly 6,000 foreign newspaper titles and 1,500 U.S. general circulation newspapers; 139,000 foreign document titles and more than triple that number of state documents; 700,000 foreign dissertations; archival and microform sets in excess of 1.5 million volumes, reels and fiche; and various special collections.
CRL's catalog may be accessed through UWIN (Libraries/Libraries on the Internet). Because portions of the CRL collection are uncataloged, campus researchers usually let the IBS office determine if a needed item is at CRL. As evidenced by the many testimonies received from satisfied users, the CRL is indeed filling a unique and important role in the Libraries' total program of providing information.