Research Guides
These are the guidelines by which materials are purchased for the Human Rights collections of the UW Libraries (Seattle Campus). For questions or more information, please contact Emily Keller, Human Rights Librarian.
The UW Libraries envisions our collections as a purpose-built service and aligns collection development with institutional research and curricular requirements to "advance discovery and enrich the quality of life by connecting people with knowledge." Collections as a service is grounded in sustainability and our responsibility to be good stewards of the cultural and scholarly record that we are committed to preserving, as well as the budgets and spaces that have been entrusted to us by the University of Washington.
Human rights is an interdisciplinary subject that incorporates scholarship from various fields, including international studies, law, sociology, and the social sciences, to examine, protect, and promote the basic rights and dignities of all people. It encompasses the study of human rights laws and treaties, human rights violations, advocacy, and specific protections for vulnerable groups.
This fund works cooperatively with Government Publications, Political Science, Sociology, Law, and other library departments to guarantee strong resources as warranted by student and faculty research needs. Coordination with various programs across the three campuses is important. Intergovernmental organizations (the United Nations, World Health Organization, the European Union, etc) as their activities relate to human rights, are usually acquired by Government Publications. Legal publications are frequently collected by the Gallagher Law Library. Sociological materials are collected by the Sociology Librarian. Geographical emphasis varies, reflecting interest and expertise of the teaching faculty. Local human rights issues are of high interest, as are human rights issues in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Materials in Chinese, Korean, and Japanese are collected exclusively by the Tateuchi East Asia Library.
Human rights resources are found in almost every social science and some humanities disciplines. Consequently, LC classifications range widely. Most typically, materials are found in:
Additionally, literary output is found with the literature of the country, throughout: