Next to its faculty, Washburn University’s most important resource is its library because a great university must have a great library at its heart.

Indeed, it is often said that without great libraries-the repository of knowledge, scholarship and wisdom-there are no great universities.

For generations, a university library was primarily a collection of print materials. Now and into the future, the Washburn Libraries make not only books available to their many users, but alongside them provide access to an ever increasing array of technological resources.

The physical libraries, both Mabee and the Curriculum Resources Center, are constant hubs of activity that serve hundreds of students, faculty and community members every day, but technology allows the Libraries to offer many of its services 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.  Both inside the buildings and online, the Washburn Libraries offer an extensive and growing number of innovative educational opportunities that support and extend Washburn’s teaching, learning, research and outreach activities. In the information age, the Libraries serve as the center of academic support on campus because students need assistance in becoming information literate.

Our talented and dedicated professional staff cannot, however, fulfill these many roles without assistance.

THE FRIENDS OF MABEE LIBRARY play a critical role and serve an increasingly important function in supporting the initiatives of the Libraries.  As you consider membership in the Friends, please know that your support impacts directly the lives of students, faculty and the extended community that finds itself at home in the Academic Living Room of Washburn University.