Welcome to the University of Washington Libraries! You are now connected to one of the premier research libraries in the world.
Each day, 25,000 people enter the doors of our 21 libraries that stretch from Friday Harbor to Bothell to Seattle to Harborview to Tacoma. Even more people visit us electronically, with over 100,000 accesses daily from around the globe.
The Libraries connects people with knowledge for life. Connecting students to books. Connecting scientists to e-journals at their keyboards. Connecting the aspiring poet to Theodore Roethke’s handwritten manuscripts. Connecting the nurse in Alaska with the latest medical protocols. Connecting the middle schooler to digital images of the Japanese Internment Camps. Connecting future generations to the knowledge we are creating and preserving today. We are building the Any Time Any Place Library to keep you connected to information and knowledge 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Among the largest academic research libraries in North America and winner of the 2004 Association of College and Research Libraries Excellence in Academic Libraries Award, the Libraries has a collection of more than six million volumes, an equal number in microform format, more than 50,000 serial titles, and several million items in other formats. Beyond the strength of collections and digital resources, excellent service programs, superb staff, and diverse facilities, the Libraries is known for innovation, responsiveness and an integrated planning and assessment process that makes the user-centered library not just a goal, but a reality.
The Libraries’ award-winning staff, extensive collections, and strong commitment to diversity enable it to achieve its Mission of enriching the quality of life and advancing intellectual discovery by connecting people with knowledge. Our Strategic Plan guides our work in fulfilling our vision of anticipating and meeting the community’s information needs.
I invite you to visit our libraries in person as well as through the Libraries web site. The major facilities on the Seattle campus include the Suzzallo and Allen Libraries, Odegaard Undergraduate Library, the Health Sciences Library, and the East Asia. In addition, there are 15 subject-oriented branch libraries located near academic departments throughout the Seattle campus, in downtown Seattle, and on San Juan Island. The UW Bothell and UW Tacoma libraries support their respective campuses. The UW Bothell Library also supports the co-located Cascadia Community College.
We are always looking for ways to improve the Libraries, and I welcome your comments and suggestions. I hope you will use the rich resources and expertise of the UW Libraries—any time and any place!
- Lizabeth (Betsy) A. Wilson, Dean of University Libraries
Office of the Dean, University of WA Libraries, Box 352900, 482 Allen Library, Seattle, WA 98195-2900 USA
Phone (206) 543-1763, Fax (206) 685-8727