The Northwestern Libraries are an intellectual nexus for the Northwestern community and international scholars.
Visitors come for immense and varied collections, databases and electronic journals, governmental information and more. Northwestern’s Libraries rank 13th among private universities in the United States, according to 2023 ARL rankings.
Northwestern University Libraries
The libraries' holdings include robust digital collections, extensive backfiles of newspapers and periodicals, scientific documents, medieval manuscripts and the full text of every book, pamphlet or broadside published in the United States between 1639 and 1829.
- Collected holdings:
- Printed books
- E-books
- Manuscripts
- Print journals
- Electronic journals
- Audio files
- Film and video
- Graphic images
- Maps and charts
- Microforms
- Archives
9 million
print and electronic volumes in the combined collections
Additional Libraries and Collections
Libraries
In addition to the main library on the Evanston campus are the Boas Mathematics Library and the Seeley G. Mudd Library. The Chicago campus is home to the Galter Health Sciences Library and Pritzker Legal Research Center.
Unique Collections
Deering Library is home to the Charles L. Deering McCormick Library of Special Collections and University Archives.
The main library is home to other distinctive collections, including the Melville J. Herskovits Library of African Studies and the Governmental Information and Maps Collection.
Online Tools
Access library materials, electronic resources and course reserves 24/7.