University Libraries includes the main Ablah Library, the McKinley Chemistry Library and the Thurlow Lieurance Memorial Music Library, located in the Music and Languages Innovation Center (MALIC). These libraries connect students, faculty and staff to the information, technology and other resources essential to teaching, learning and research at WSU.

University Libraries is dedicated to meeting students’ needs for a variety of services, study environments and convenient hours. Facilities include both quiet and collaborative study spaces with whiteboards, computer workstations, print stations, scanners, SmartTVs, individual focus rooms, group study rooms and a 24-hour study room. Laptops, podcasting equipment, digital cameras and other technologies are available for checkout. C-Space provides the opportunity to collaborate, create and receive assistance in using technologies such as virtual reality, 3D printing, app development, audio and visual recording.

Librarians offer instruction through in-class or online collaboration with faculty, workshops, online tutorials and research guides. Reference and technical help desk personnel are available to assist library users with research and technical needs, including discussing assignments, specific databases and answering other research inquiries. Reference assistance is available by phone, email, Zoom, chat and in person.

University Libraries offers a wealth of electronic, print and non-print resources that can be located through the Libraries’ website. Onsite library collections include more than two million books and research journals, federal and state documents, music recordings and scores, and other materials. The digital collections provide access to a variety of information resources such as full-text research databases, e-books, e-journals, company information, statistics, historical documents, as well as streaming audio and video. SOAR, the University’s institutional repository, provides access to faculty research and institutional documents. In addition to its own collections, University Libraries is able to borrow materials from a worldwide network of other libraries. Ablah Library has been a Federal Documents Depository Library for over 120 years and is an official United States Patent and Trademark Resource Center, the only such depository in Kansas.

University Libraries Special Collections and University Archives includes rare books, historical Kansas maps, photographs, records of the history of the university and a growing manuscript collection. Featured collections include papers of the abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, the Gordon Parks Papers, the Baughman Collection of Early Kansas Maps, the Aitchison Rare Books Collection, Wichita aviation industry documentation, and congressional papers including those of Kansas Congressman and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Dan Glickman. Digital collections presented by Special Collections and University Archives feature rare books, historical papers and photographs, as well as university and local history, including the Wichita Photo Archives.

More information about resources and services is located on the University Libraries website¹. 

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