Library Departments

Access Services

The Access Services Department on the First Floor of Waldo Library is responsible for the circulation of library materials, course reserves, electronic reserves, and the payment of fines and fees.

Administration

The Administrative Office for the University Libraries is located on the third floor of Waldo Library.

Central Reference

The Central Reference Department maintains general materials such as encyclopedias, dictionaries, almanacs, biographical sources, bibliographies, indexes, and statistical works. It includes a wealth of research volumes in the following subject areas: Business, Humanities, Law, and Social Sciences.

Copy Center

The Copy Center is located on the second floor of Waldo Library and offers a variety of services and office supplies for your convenience: copy services, payment of fines and fees, copy cards, change machines, office supplies, fax services, and lockers.

Digitization Center

The Digitization Center produces, maintains, and provides access to a wide range of high-quality digitized images and texts. We focus on digitization technology, standards, and processes in order to facilitate teaching, learning, and research at WMU and beyond. Our goal is to provide an array of state-of-the-art and standards-based services including project planning, image capture and color management, metadata encoding, custom reproduction printing, and database-driven access to collections that result from our processes, to the university and other local and regional communities and organizations.

Government Documents

Government Documents is located on the second floor of Waldo Library and currently receives about 60% of all publications available from the Government Printing Office (GPO). These selections are based on the needs of the University community and the citizens of Michigan's 6th Congressional District. The library is also a depository of Michigan state documents. Access to the holdings of the depository library is free to all. This includes the online and electronic material.

Off Campus Services & Resources

The Off Campus Services & Resources Department provides services and resources to students taking classes off campus through the Office of Extended University Programs. All library services at WMU are available to the off campus community, and we make every effort to meet the needs of our distance learners.

Science Reference

The Science Reference Department maintains the reference and research sources in Biology, Chemistry, Geology, Mathematics, Physics, and all areas of Medicine and Engineering. The Science Reference desk is also the service point for all current periodicals, newspapers, and the associated microfilm editions of periodicals and newspapers.

Technical Services

Electronic Resources and Serials meet user's needs, provide customer service and support the mission of Western Michigan University by investigating, acquiring, and managing print serials and electronic resources which have been carefully selected for addition to the collection of the University Libraries.

Monographic Acquisitions and Gifts on the Lower Level of Waldo Library orders, receives and reports on all materials selected for the collections of the University Libraries to best serve the curricular needs of the University. Materials purchased includes: books, slides, software, sound recordings and videos. Orders are initiated by librarians selecting individual titles and through approval plans where our needs are systematically profiled and materials are ordered automatically.

Metadata and Cataloging is responsible for creating and maintaining bibliographic records in WestCat for print, non-print or electronic resources and the physical processing of materials held by the Western Michigan University Libraries.