The Wilson W. Clark Memorial Library serves the University of Portland community as a dynamic teaching library. The Library accomplishes this through interactive instruction, by acquiring and organizing multi-format collections that support the curriculum, and by facilitating access to resources in the library and beyond.
In the early years the University’s library was housed in a succession of campus buildings and finally found a permanent home in Christie Hall in 1935. Although its basement location was not ideal, it offered study space for students and room for the University’s growing book collection. By the end of World War II, the library had outgrown Christie Hall; users and supporters began clamoring for a new facility, dedicated specifically as a library. After a decade of planning and fundraising, the current facility opened its doors to students, faculty and staff in 1958; twenty years later it was remodeled and expanded.
The Wilson W. Clark Memorial Library, named to honor the memory of an Oregon lumberman whose family has generously contributed to the library and financed its expansion, has played a central role in the life of the University of Portland since its dedication in 1979. By combining traditional resources with the latest information technology the library serves the students, faculty, and staff in their search for information and pursuit of knowledge. The Library’s physical collection includes 248,000 bound volumes, 17,000 audio-visual resources, and over 1,200 journals. In the online realm, the library offers access to 120 databases, 24,000 periodicals, and a growing collection of e-books. Collection strengths include Catholic theology, philosophy, and American history.
Over the last decade, University of Portland Librarians have
initiated sweeping changes in research instruction, library collections, and
information access to respond to an increasingly sophisticated and
technology-based learning environment.
Those myriad changes in library services have underscored the need for a
library facility that supports the learning styles and information expectations
of today’s students. In the spring of
2012, the University will undertake an extensive renovation of the library with
a vision that re-imagines the library as a shared learning commons. In the fall of 2013 the library will re-open
its doors as a highly flexible, technology rich, state-of-the-art facility that
actively supports UP students and faculty.
