University of Washington Libraries records, 1926-2024

For its first fifty years, the University of Washington library had been housed in a succession of temporary spaces culminating in a series of inadequate quarters in Denny Hall. It was then moved to a building originally constructed in 1909 for the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, but considerably remodeled to accommodate a collection of 40,000 books. Ground was broken for President Suzzallo's proposed library in April 1923 and the new library was opened in January 1927, with 175,000 volumes and a spectacular reading room. The South Wing was completed in 1935, but the original plan for a 300 foot high carillon book tower was finally abandoned. More space was gained in building projects in 1947 and 1963. The most recent addition was the massive addition of the Kenneth S. Allen Library in 1990, necessary to house the multi-million volume collection and various public and technical services.

University of Washington Libraries welcome 5 million users annually. The collection is the largest in the Pacific Northwest, housing over 9 million books, journals, microforms, maps, rare books, film, audio, and video recordings while also providing access to thousands of online resources. (Source: UW Libraries, accessed August 2023).