The Archives and Area Research Center houses three separate but complementary collections consisting of university records, Portage County Historical Society collections, and the Wisconsin Historical Society Area Research Center Network collections.
The main collection of our print resources is organized using the Library of Congress classification system. Large books are shelved separately in the “oversize” section of the collection.
The Libraries’ maintain several browsing collections that consist of new books, current periodicals, leisure/popular reading, and board games.
The Libraries are a depository for both the U.S. government and the State of Wisconsin. As the world’s largest publisher, the U.S. Government Publishing Office issues publications on almost every conceivable topic. Our collection contains historic materials, as well as materials on current events and scientific research. For more information visit our Government Information guide.
The Instructional Materials Collection (IMC) is a selection of k-12 curriculum-related materials, including textbooks, kits, museum displays, children’s juvenile fiction and non-fiction books, posters, and puppets.
The Libraries’ media collection, including video recordings (DVD and VHS) and compact discs (CDs).
The Libraries house a collection of microform, including archival years of academic journals and magazines and a selection of government publications.
The library maintains an in-depth, retrospective collection of scholarly journals, magazines and newspapers in print, microform, and online formats. Periodical titles are chosen carefully to support the university curriculum and research.
The reference collection includes encyclopedias, atlases, dictionaries, and many other sources that can aid in fact-checking and initial research inquiries. For assistance using this collection or for help with your research contact the Reference Desk.
Bound copies of UWSP theses or dissertations.