Open Stack Collections

Two people walking outside of Hayden Library

The Open Stack Collections at ASU Library include millions of print and openly-accessible digital materials for all to explore and use, creating new and ongoing opportunities for library users to discover and engage with previously unknown works.

Print books remain a vital part of the library’s redesigned, user-focused collections. The design of ASU Library’s print collections has been guided in part by the The Future of Print initiative, with support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, which inspired new thinking around the development of inclusive, high-quality and user-focused print collections for research and learning. To explore ASU Library’s open digital collections, visit PRISM and KEEP.

Featured collections

Featured collections are curated by ASU Library staff in collaboration with ASU communities, including students, faculty and external partners. These dynamic, intentionally designed collections respond to research and learning needs, interests related to personal and community exploration and growth, and other priorities.

Collaborate with us on developing our next featured collection!

Current displays

Current displays celebrate cultural and monthly heritage-focused events, in collaboration with partners from Educational Outreach and Student Services, student coalitions and other stakeholders. These topical collections are displayed for short periods of time in different ASU Library locations.

Collection highlights

ASU Authors

The ASU Authors collection features publications by ASU faculty and other academic personnel, supporting curricula and highlighting research and creative works.

Three school-age children read a book from the Curriculum Collection together in ASU's Hayden Library. Photo by Amy Carolyn Watson, ASU Library.

Children and Young Adult Collection

Composed of books written especially for preschool through young adult readers, this collection is used primarily by students and faculty in education and English education classes focused on children's literature, language learning, literacy and young adult literature.

Explore the Children and Young Adult Literature library guide

East Asian Collection

As one of the only two East Asian collections in Arizona, the ASU East Asian Collection was established in the 1970s to provide informational support for programs related to East Asian studies, concentrating in classical literature, history, arts and art history, religious studies, linguistics and anthropology.

President Lyndon Johnson signs Central Arizona Project legislation seated at a ceremonial desk, while advisors and the First Lady Lady Bird Johnson stand behind him.

Government Information Collections

Includes publications, reports, statistics, and studies from federal, state, and local county and city agencies, as well as United Nation documents, all of which are open to the public.

Learn more about Government Documents

Young woman sitting on the floor among the book shelves with a stack of books next to them.

Hayden Library Collections

Books at Hayden Library support academic study, individual learning, leisure reading and much more.

Explore Hayden Library collections

A person rests their hand on a book that is sitting on a book cradle, strings of page weights are on each side.

Latin Americana Collection

This collection supports ASU faculty and students studying the literature, history, culture and languages of Latin America, Spain and Portugal.

Learn about the Latin Americana Collection

Elevation map of the greater Grand Canyon region that employs a combination of true color imagery with elevation values rendered along a false color ramp, created for the Mapping Grand Canyon Conference in 2019.

Maps and Cartographic Materials

Thousands of maps and related cartographic materials—such as atlases, globes, and books on cartography—are available through the Map and Geospatial Hub.

Learn about our maps and cartographic materials

Section of the illustrated front cover of Alexander's Ragtime Band music showing a conductor and band playing in a gazebo.

Music Collection

The collection includes books on a wide range of musical topics: the history of music, biographies of musicians, music theory and composition, music education, music therapy, bibliographic works on various composers and musical genre, catalogs of other libraries, and musical dictionaries and encyclopedias in a variety of languages.

Learn about our Music Collections