The WashU Libraries are a powerful network of academic resources featuring nine University Libraries (seven locations on the Danforth Campus, one on West Campus, and one at the Medical Campus); vast print and electronic collections; and expert librarians whose priority is helping students and faculty find the information they need. 

Libraries 

John M. Olin Library 

The John M. Olin Library is the central library of the WashU Libraries system, housing general-interest materials and collections in the humanities, sciences, and engineering. 

Al and Ruth Kopolow (Business) Library 

The Al and Ruth Kopolow (Business) Library supports the business information needs of those in the Olin Business School and the general university community. When possible, the library also assist individuals and business patrons outside of the university. 

Bernard Becker Medical Library 

Established in 1911, Bernard Becker Medical Library is one of the oldest and most comprehensive medical libraries west of the Mississippi. The library serves as an information resource and services hub for the WashU Medical Center and the global health sciences community. 

Brown School Library 

Serving the research and teaching needs of the Brown School community in social work, public health, and social policy. 

East Asian Library 

The East Asian Library supports the teaching, study, and research needs of WashU’s Department of East Asian Languages & Cultures and other academic departments, schools, and programs. 

Gaylord Music Library 

The Gaylord Music Library collection seeks to meet the academic music information needs of the WashU community by providing a comprehensive collection of music books, scores, sound recordings, videos, and DVDs, and research collections developed to support faculty and student projects. 

Kenneth and Nancy Kranzberg Art & Architecture Library 

Its valuable print holdings and the access it provides to all the major art and architecture databases make this library the best of its kind in the region. 

Law Library 

The Law Library supports the law school’s legal and interdisciplinary scholarship and the curricular needs of its faculty and students. It is committed to educating and empowering students, scholars, and the university community by providing access to legal information, ideas, and resources. 

West Campus Library 

The West Campus Library is a staff facility that houses a variety of library operations as well as general and special collections. Most materials at West Campus circulate to WashU students, faculty, and staff and can be delivered to the Danforth library of your choice. 

Collections 

Digital Collections 

Digital Collections highlight those portions of the Julian Edison Department of Special Collections that have been made or born-digital. 

Dowd Illustration Research Archive 

The Dowd Illustration Research Archive (formerly Dowd Modern Graphic History Library) at WashU is comprised of original art and printed material from many fields of popular American pictorial graphic culture. 

East Asian Library Special Collections 

The East Asian Library houses about 800 volumes of rare and special books, manuscripts, and other types of materials in its special collection. 

Film and Media Archive 

The archive is committed to the preservation of documentary film and other media that chronicles America’s great political and social movements with a particular emphasis on the African-American experience. 

Kranzberg Art and Architecture Library Special Collections 

The Art and Architecture Special Collections is a 4,200-volume collection of rare and unique art and design printed materials. The main focus is illustrated books, prints, and photographs from the 18th and 19th centuries and contemporary book design. 

Local History 

The local history collecting area focuses on the history of St. Louis and the surrounding region. 

Manuscript Collections 

WashU Libraries’ Julian Edison Department of Special Collections Manuscript collections contain a broad range of materials dating from the 2nd century BCE through the present. 

Modern Literature Collection 

The Modern Literature Collection includes more than 175 authors, presses, and journals, with more than 125 of these represented by manuscript materials. 

Music Special Collections 

Special Collections at the Gaylord Music Library include sheet music, manuscripts, rare books, and digital materials. 

Rare Book Collections 

The Rare Book Collections include books from all Special Collection areas. The collections’ primary strengths are in the areas of literature; the material culture of the book, including the history of printing, graphic design, and the book arts; and aspects of American and world history. 

University Archives 

The University Archives chronicle the history of WashU from 1853 to today, with over 300 unique collections including campus publications, reports, photographic prints and negatives, books, film, sound recordings, oral histories, architectural plans, and artifacts.