Western Libraries Heritage Resources is responsible for the development and care of Western’s archives and special collections. 

Our Vision

Heritage Resources creates engaging and empowering learning experiences for faculty, students, staff and the broader community. Through the collection of historical resources such as rare books, manuscripts, photographs, and oral histories, we seek to enrich the university’s mission to provide quality instruction and public programming. These services are designed to foster 21st century skills such as critical thinking, digital and media literacy, and active learning in multi-disciplinary contexts that illuminate the issues and ideas that have shaped our world.  

Our Mission

Heritage Resources provides for the professional stewardship of rare, unique, and archival resources in support of teaching, learning, and research. The staff and units of Heritage Resources work together to document the culture and history of Western, our community, state, region, and world.

About

The units that comprise Heritage Resources are the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, Special Collections, and University Archives & Records Management. Each is committed to providing access to cultural heritage materials that support original research, active learning, and public dialogue. 

Your Impact 

• Create innovative teaching and learning spaces for class visits, exhibitions, speakers, and public events.

• Develop a world-class rare book collection that meets the teaching, learning, and research needs of the Western community. Additional funding for the acquisition of primary source material, such as rare books, would allow Western’s students to participate more fully in a nationwide trend involving the use of primary sources in the classroom and will enhance the university’s reputation among humanities scholars and other interested users.

• Sustain the James Scott Regional Research Fellowship which empowers original research that advances interdisciplinary understanding of the Pacific Northwest region. This research opportunity has supported critical publications in regional studies by a range of emerging scholars and promotes Western’s teaching mission through public presentations attended by faculty, students, staff and the local community.

• Facilitate access and discovery of our collections online by supporting the digitization of our resources.