The Special Collections Reading Room is designed to provide access to our collections of rare and unique materials while assuring that they are secure and preserved.

Overview of the Collections There are several unique collections that are under the umbrella of our "Special Collections." Most of these collections are housed in the Special Collections Reading Room. Some of our Campus History is housed in a separate Archives room and can be retrieved for you by the library staff. These collections are available for college and public use, on site. The library will be happy to help you with your search. Some of the collections in our Special Collections are:

The Rare Book Collection

Victoriana

• Nineteenth century boys adventure magazines
• Microfilm: 1898 issues of the Illustrated London News, Weston Mercury, and Somersetshire Herald.

Whatcom Collection

• Works created by WCC's faculty, staff, administrators, students, and alumni

Northwest History Collection

• Shorey Books (created by the Shorey Publishing Company)
• Microfilm: Pacific Northwest Newspapers and History

Campus History (located in the archives room)

• Accreditation reports
• WCC Catalogs
• Photos of the College's past
• Documents related to WCC's curriculum development and program development
• Campus event videos

Materials in our Special Collections Reading Room are listed in our library catalog. To browse a title list, type “Special Collections” in the search box, and select “Call Number” in the “Find Results In” section. A printed Special Collections bibliography is located in the room. Donations Whatcom Community College’s Special Collections depends on donors for the majority of the special collections. Additions to our Special Collections and photographs that document the story of WCC are welcome. If you have materials appropriate for the collection, please contact Room Use Guidelines The Special Collections Reading Room contains many rare, unique and irreplaceable items. To ensure that they will stay preserved, please observe the following guidelines:

• All of the materials in this room are non-circulating and must stay in the Reading Room.
•  Leave library materials for staff to re-shelve when you are finished.
•  We ask users of materials in our Special Collections to make notes in pencil only.
•  Archival gloves are available in the Reading Room. You may either wear gloves while handling our rare books or wash your hands before you enter the room and use the materials.
•  Let the Reference librarian know when you are finished using the room.

Location and Hours The Reading Room is located in Heiner 301A on the library's top floor in the Heiner Center. We invite visitors to use the Reading Room during library hours.