Libraries & Collections
This page highlights library facilities that have housed collections for Indiana University since the time of its founding to the present day. These facilities are divided into three groups: historic and primary library buildings, branch libraries on IU's Bloomington campus, and libraries at IU's other campuses throughout the state of Indiana.
Historic Library Facilities
Seminary Square
1836 – 1883
Initially, Indiana University was located on eleven acres of land in Bloomington at the foot of what is now South College Avenue.
Wylie Hall
1884 – 1890
Housed the library collection after the campus moved to Dunn's Woods. The library shared the building with several academic departments.
Maxwell Hall (formerly Library Hall)
1891 – 1907
The second location for the library on IU's new campus, Maxwell Hall was the fourth building constructed at Dunn's Woods.
Franklin Hall
1908 – 1969
This was the third location for IU's library. Franklin Hall was also the site of the 1969 library fire.
Herman B Wells Library (formerly Main Library)
1969 – Present
The current location of the central library at Indiana University Bloomington.
IU Bloomington Branch Libraries
Business/SPEA Library
Serves the students and faculty of the Kelley School of Business and the School of Public and Environmental Affairs.
Chemistry Library
The Chemistry Library exists to support the research and teaching of the IUB Chemistry Department.
Education Library
The mission of the Education Library is to support and strengthen teaching, learning, and research by providing the collections, services, and environments that lead to intellectual discovery.
Fine Arts Library
The Fine Arts Library houses IUB's books and journals in the fields of the visual arts, art history, architecture, design and related disciplines and supports the academic needs of the Henry Radford Hope School of Fine Arts, and the Indiana University Department of Fine Arts.
Geography and Map Library
The largest general map library in Indiana, possessing over 250,000 maps. The library collects books and atlases, journals, abstracts, air photos, and electronic resources.
Geology Library
The Geology Library contains the earth sciences materials in the IU Libraries. The collection contains publications by the Indiana Geological Survey and is also a Federal Depository Library for government publications from the United States Geological Survey and US Bureau of Mines.
HPER Library
The Health, Physical Education and Recreation (HPER) Library supports the School of HPER in meeting the teaching, research, and service commitments of Indiana University.
Journalism Library
The library's collections, electronic resources and staff services are developed to assist teaching and research in journalism and mass communication and supports the academic programs in the School of Journalism.
Life Sciences Library
The Life Sciences Library exists to support the research and teaching of the IUB Department of Biology, the Medical Sciences Program, and since 2006, the Nursing Program.
Lilly Library
The Lilly Library is the principal rare books, manuscripts, and special collections repository of Indiana University, serving as a resource for scholars throughout the world as well as a center of cultural enrichment. The Library is open to anyone interested in its collections.
Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center Library
The library is a hub of information networking, cultural research, and bibliographic instruction. Begun as an informal reading room in 1972, it grew into a distinguished reference and information center, and was established as a branch library in 1991–92.
Optometry Library
Supports the teaching and research missions of the School of Optometry, the graduate program in vision science, and all vision-related studies at IU and serves as a vision science resource and information center for optometric practitioners and residents of the state.
Swain Hall Library
Serves the research, teaching, and learning needs of Indiana University faculty and students primarily in physics, astronomy, mathematics, computer science, and the School of Informatics, but service is not limited to these departments or these majors.
William & Gayle Cook Music Library
Ranked among the top academic music libraries in the United States, its collections include more than 537,000 cataloged items on 56,733 linear-feet of shelves.