Library Collections

You can check out circulating books for 2 weeks. Use our online catalog to find books on your topic and to find their call numbers and locations. If you can’t find the book you’re looking for, ask for help at the Circulation Desk.

An exhibition catalog is a publication that documents an art exhibit from a museum or gallery. These books are in the Circulating Stacks, and you can identify them by the green Exhibition Catalog sticker on their spines.

Sotheby's and Christie’s auction catalogs contain images of decorative arts, furniture, paintings, and more. They can be checked out for 2 weeks.

Request movies at the Circulation Desk. You won’t be able to browse the shelves, so use our online catalog to search for movies. Movies can be checked out for three days.

This collection is located along the back wall of the library. Use our online catalog to find screenplays, which can be checked out for 2 weeks.

We have sound effects and motion clips on CD-ROM. You can search for these CDs in our online catalog. They are available at the Circulation Desk. You can check out 3 CDs for one week.

Circulating National Geographic magazines are located on the Quiet Study side of the library. The collection spans the years between 1923 and 2003. You can check these out for 2 weeks.

We have a huge variety of categorized images from print sources stored in filing cabinets next to the scanning stations. Scan them, copy them, or check them out for 2 weeks!

Teaching references geared towards AAU faculty members. Faculty can check these books out for 2 weeks, and students can use them in the library.

Materials from these collections must stay in the library.

Required materials for many classes are available for use in the library. Use the Course Reserve webpage or ask at the Circulation Desk to see which items your teacher has put on reserve for your class.

Our magazine collection contains over 200 current subscriptions. You can search by title or browse our collection on our website. The current magazine issues are located on display shelves and are organized alphabetically. Bound volumes of older magazine are organized alphabetically on shelves next to the current issues.

Reference books can only be used in the library. You can use our online catalog to find books on your topic and to find their call numbers and locations.

Our Materials Library houses a materials collection that provides a wide range of unique, innovative, and sustainable material samples for students and faculty to explore, from textiles to building materials and many areas in between.

Desk Reference materials are rare or unusual in some way, and can only be used in the library. Bring your ID card to the Circulation Desk in order to request these materials.

Projects that past AAU graduate students completed in order to graduate. These projects are located in Special Collections, Library Room 664. This collection is available until half an hour before the library closes each day. You won’t be able to browse these materials, so use our online catalog to search for MFA thesis projects.

Over 100 individual designers and design houses are represented in this continually growing collection of fashion industry ephemera that includes press materials, look books, catalogs, and show invitations. Some of the best-known names in the fashion world are represented in this collection, including Armani, Chanel, Christian Lacroix, Prada, and Versace.The Fashion Files collection was cataloged in 2014, and a description of the contents of each file can now be searched online.

Materials from these collections are available from the hours of 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Thursday, and from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM on Friday. These materials must remain in the library at all times. To view these items, please ask at the front desk.

Art and design titles published before 1950 that are rare, first editions, and/or out of print. The library's acquisition of rare books goes back to the beginning of the University and its library. Today, this collection has over 125 volumes, all related to the art, architecture, and design fields.

We have a small collection of fashion and lifestyle magazines, many of which date from the 1940s and 1950s. Items from this collection must be handled with care, as many of the volumes are very fragile.