Main Content
Tacoma Library Collections
The UW Tacoma Library is part of the greater UW Libraries system and the Summit Consortium, an association of approximately 40 higher education library institutions that readily share collection materials. The Tacoma Collection supports the curricular and institutional needs of the UW Tacoma campus, an urban-serving university with partnerships throughout the local community.
If you'd like to donate materials to the library please follow the 'Donate to the Library' button for more information.
Borrowing Information
General Borrowing Information
- Access Your Library Account (manage checkouts, holds, pay fines, etc.)
- Renewing Materials
- Purchase Request Form
- Library Patron Types and Privileges
- Online applications for Borrowers Cards
Fines and Appeals
Questions about the Collection?
Contact the Research Help Desk
Ask Us! - 253-692-4442
Collections
Highlighted Collections
UW Tacoma Digital Commons collects, preserves, and makes publicly accessible the scholarly and creative work of the UW Tacoma campus and affiliated educational partners. The goal is to enhance and share the university's rich intellectual life by gathering in a single online repository materials that support teaching, learning, and research at UW Tacoma.
- Submit New Faculty/Staff Publication to Digital Commons
- Guide to submitting work to UW Tacoma Digital Commons
Tacoma Japanese Language School Oral Histories
The Tacoma Japanese Language School Oral Histories is a selection of oral histories recorded by UW Tacoma faculty, Dr. Lisa Hoffman and Dr. Mary Hanneman, about Nihongo Gakko, Tacoma’s Japanese Language School. The school was opened on May 21, 1912, by the Tacoma Japanese Association at 411 S 15th Street and was a source of community and education for the Japanese and Japanese American community until 1942, when it was closed due to the incarceration and internment of Japanese and Japanese Americans by the US Government.
Founding Stories
UW Tacoma Oral History: Founding Stories aims to present a rich and complex history of UW Tacoma, which was established with tremendous community support. Its presence in downtown Tacoma has transformed the post-industrial neighborhood and invites inquiries into urban development; historic preservation; public higher education; and the relationships between people, communities, and institutions.
Over fifty oral history projects are available from the Tacoma Community History Project. UW Tacoma students created these projects in graduate and undergraduate courses that have been offered by Professor Michael Honey since 1990 in the Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences Program. The collection now includes projects on churches, labor unions, military institutions, ethnic communities, neighborhoods, businesses, civic leaders, and prominent citizens in Tacoma and the South Puget Sound.
Tacoma Then and Again
This database contains re-photography—or what is commonly called “then and now” photography—of buildings, streets, neighborhoods, and parks in Tacoma. High quality digital scans of historic photographs of Tacoma’s urban core have been paired with contemporary digital photos shot from the same vantages.
Other Collections & Resources of Interest
- UW Libraries Digital Collections - Photographs, documents, and audiovisual resources from the UW Libraries, UW faculty and departments, and from UW collaborators.
- Tacoma Public Library Northwest Room - The Northwest Room makes materials related to Tacoma history available through extensive online collections, such as the Northwest Photography Archives, the Tacoma / Pierce County Building Index, and many others
- Washington State Historical Society
The endowed Belinda Y. Louie Children’s and Young Adult Literature Collection includes over 6,000 print books and was formed through a generous donation in honor of UW Tacoma Professor of Education Belinda Louie in 2006.
The collection supports the School of Education curriculum as well as serving as a browsing collection for use by the university community. The purpose of the endowment is to expand the library’s collection of diverse titles, especially focusing on communities underrepresented in children’s literature. In addition to purchasing award nominees and winners (for example, the Coretta Scott King Book Awards, the American Indian Youth Literature Awards, and the Rainbow Book List), the library endeavors to identify work that reflects the lives of marginalized characters as written by marginalized authors.
The collection is located on the first floor of the Tioga Library Building, and current projects include incorporating inclusive furniture designed to create a welcoming and accessible space for students with children. The library welcomes gifts from the community as we continue to build and enhance the collection and space.
Related links:
Candid, formerly known as the Foundation Center, is an independent nonprofit information clearinghouse originally established in 1956. Candid fosters public understanding of the foundation field by collecting, organizing, analyzing, and disseminating information on foundations, corporate giving programs, and related topics and strives to easily connect non-profits with grantmakers.
Foundation Directory Online can be accessed by visiting community members via library computers. Also available are a variety of supplementary print materials in our Grantwriting collection on the 2nd floor of TLB.
For additional information and resources, see the Grants & Nonprofits subject guide.
Foundation Directory Online (FDO) |
The FDO offers detailed profiles on over 100,000 foundations, corporate giving programs, and public charities, updated weekly. In addition, searchable databases with over 2.4 million recently awarded grants and over 700,000 recently filed IRS Forms 990 are available. Current UW students, staff, and faculty may log in for off-campus access. |
Using the Media Collection