Research Guides
As members of the Western Regional Storage Trust (WEST) and the Greater Western Library Alliance (GWLA), the UW Libraries collaborates with other research libraries to ensure long-term access to microform and print serials whether or not a digital surrogate exists. Shared responsibility for maintaining retrospective print holdings enables the Libraries to better manage its own collections space.
The University of Washington Libraries is a member of the Orbis Cascade Alliance, a consortium of academic institutions in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. Collaboration among members of this regional consortium expands the print resources available to UW scholars through Summit, the Alliance joint catalog. Access varies across the consortium for borrowing privileges related to cartographic materials.
The Seattle Public Library maintains a map collection comprised primarily of U.S. topographic maps and maps of the local region. Major map collections in the region are located at the University of British Columbia, University of Idaho, University of Oregon, and Western Washington University. The collection at Western Washington University is operated by the Dept of Geography & Regional Planning, is non-circulating, and does not participate in Interlibrary Loan. Other collections of cartographic materials are located at governmental offices concerned with mapping. Access to the materials in these collections varies.