These collections are created through collaborations among librarians, faculty, and students to create an out-of-classroom learning experience expanding on courses taught in the Hayden Concourse classrooms.
Classroom collections
Arab Heritage
This collection celebrates the rich and diverse literary tradition of the Arab world, showcasing a mosaic of voices and perspectives through prose, poetry, and memoirs. Themes of love, loss, resilience, identity, and transformation invite readers to explore universal human experiences through an Arab lens while delving into the complexities of Arab culture and society.
The Arab world includes 22 countries: Algeria, Bahrain, the Comoros Islands, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.
The Arab diaspora also shapes the global cultural landscape, with millions of Arabs living in the United States, France, Canada, the United Kingdom, and beyond. This vibrant community maintains deep cultural ties while blending with new influences, resulting in a rich, multifaceted expression of identity. Their stories and contributions continue to enrich the global conversation and the legacy of Arab literature.
Thank you to the Arab Student Association, Alivia Homsey and Dr. Andrea Shaheen Espinosa for their contributions to this collection.
Black Voices
This collection is the result of many thoughtful conversations among colleagues, within leadership circles, and with the ASU community about diversfiying ASU Library’s book resources to adequately represent more Black, Indigenous and People of Color authors and researchers. Although there is more work to be done, this collection is one of many projects here at ASU Library that aims to fill the gaps we recognize within our library collection and continue our mission of providing a diverse and inclusive experience for library patrons with our collections.
We dedicate this collection to the countless authors who have uplifted the Black and African American community and brought forth stories of their experiences and culture through their writings of literature, history, memoir, and beyond. This collection is broad in its scope, but we hope that the many genres allow for people with varying interests to find a book that calls to them.
This featured collection was curated by the Community-Driven Archives Initiative/Black Collections team and their student interns.
Cookbooks
Whether you are inexperienced in the kitchen or a culinary expert, food brings people together and is enjoyed by just about anyone. Nowadays, recipes to satisfy any taste and skill-level are within reach. Included in this collection are the inspirations and instructions needed to create meals for just about any occasion and diet: international cuisines, vegetarian, keto, and southwestern cooking, to name a few.
Dust and Shadow
In 2018, ASU faculty and two members of the Copenhagen design team FoAM hiked the Arizona deserts collecting sounds via stereo microphones and contact mics. They shared these recordings with the Library along with their research on how people interact with the natural environment, including how to capture the vast desert landscape using modern tools and technology. The resulting salon featured a vinyl recording exposing students to a learning experience through sense immersion. Visitors to the salon found desert artifacts, maps, and photographs arranged amongst a collection of books expanding on concepts explored in their research. Books curated for this experience range from science fiction to poetry, from photography to philosophy.
Reading Arizona
Whether you were born and raised in the desert or traveled here from across the globe, we invite you to explore texts and stories that examine our state’s past, present and future. This featured collection is presented in collaboration with the State of Arizona Research Library (StARL), which curates Reading Arizona. Available as an assortment of eBooks and audiobooks, Reading Arizona provides a broad selection of nonfiction and fiction for all ages interested in Arizona topics and themes. If you are an Arizona resident, you are welcome to check out the entire collection for free. The ASU Library now presents this collection in print as a means of bringing these diverse titles to new audiences. Many of the titles in this collection came from the featured list “Arizona Voices,” which has over 150 digital titles.
The Open Stacks team added several relevant titles to this collection with additional help from Labriola National American Indian Data Center and Angelina Mann, who is part of the Native Narratives cohort hosted by the Center for Imagination in the Borderlands.
We want to thank the State of Arizona Research Library, a branch of the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records, for partnering on this featured collection!
To learn more about Reading Arizona and to sign up for an account, please visit readingarizona.org.
Unwinding Bindings
Explore the work in our Conservation Lab through Unwinding Bindings! Curated by Suzy Morgan, ASU Library's Conservator, this collection explores the science and art of the conservation and preservation of print materials. Learn about bookbinding, book arts, the history of the book, and how conservators work to preserve cultural heritage in print formats. All of the books in this collection are available to check out. Learn more about the Conservation Lab and Preservation.
Lobby collections
Exploring Censorship and Banned Books
Reading about censorship and banned books offers a glimpse into the myriad ways literature can provoke, inspire, and challenge societal norms. Throughout history, numerous societies and governing bodies have sought to control or restrict access to literature that they deemed threatening, inappropriate, or subversive. Whether due to political content, social critique, sexual explicitness, or unconventional themes, many books have faced bans or challenges. We encourage you to explore this collection to understand the reasons why books can be banned, and to reflect upon the evolving nature of societal values and the eternal conflict between censorship and freedom of expression.
This collection offers insight into the history of censorship and the evolution of the banned books movement. It also features an array of literary works that, at various times and places, have been considered too radical, too challenging, or simply too “different” to be allowed in the public sphere. Each book included here is a reminder about the importance of open dialogue and the danger of silencing diverse voices.By including these titles in our collection, we aim to foster critical thinking and support readers in engaging with books that have pushed boundaries.
Please note that these books were banned or challenged in different parts of the world. They are presented here without any endorsements or warnings. Readers are encouraged to approach the collection with an open mind and critical perspective.
Special thanks to faculty and staff of the School of Religious, Philosophical and Religious Studies for their work leading to this featured collection. This collection also benefited from the support and expertise of the librarians and staff at the ASU Library.
To learn more about anti-censorship resources and banned books, please visit https://libguides.asu.edu/BannedBooks
Horror
Inspired by 19th century authors like Bram Stoker and Mary Shelley, books in the horror genre cover themes that speak to our deepest fears. They are unsettling, eerie, dark, and deliberately troubling. These stories often contain supernatural elements and gothic landscapes meant to be full of suspense and captivatingly frightening.
Mental Wellness
From practical guides to mindfulness and self-care to insightful reflections on overcoming challenges and achieving resilience, these books offer invaluable wisdom and strategies for navigating life's complexities. Whether you're seeking techniques to manage stress, improve relationships, or cultivate inner peace, this collection provides empowering resources to support your journey towards holistic health and happiness.
We often put our health and wellness on the back burner due to school deadlines, work obligations and other stressors. Research suggests that self-care helps improve your overall well-being, but self-care practices look different for everyone. We hope this collection provides some new ideas for managing stress, tools to promote healthy routines and further unpack what wellness means for you. It is important to center yourself and take breaks when you need it - don’t forget to do this even in the midst of the academic year!
A special thanks to ASU Counseling Services for their partnership on this collection. Check out https://eoss.asu.edu/counseling for more information on their available resources!
Planting the Seeds of Sustainability
University Sustainability Practices and the Garden Commons are celebrating Earth Month! Earth Month focuses on the importance of sustainability and how we as humans impact our natural environment. The University Sustainability Practices team, student workers, and peers worked to compile this collection of sustainable gardening practices books. A significant portion of the collection focuses on Southwest gardening principles. The books in this collection serve as a great resource for the ASU community by introducing sustainable gardening practices into their indoor and outdoor spaces.
The Planting the Seeds of Sustainability collection is part of the Earth Month celebrations hosted by University Sustainability Practices and the Garden Commons. The Garden Commons, a community garden on the Polytechnic campus, is hosting multiple events throughout the month of April to celebrate Earth Month ranging from volunteer opportunities to free produce farm stands.
More information about Earth Month at ASU.
Show Your Fandom
In anticipation of Phoenix Fan Fusion, as well as an overall community celebration, ASU library staff and faculty present to you a diverse collection of works covering fan media, pop culture phenomena and geek pride. This collection covers a broad spectrum of fandom interests: TV shows, movies, comics, video games, book series, bands, sports—you name it! Selected works range from critical essays and fan studies to canon material and behind-the-scenes.
Oftentimes, the media we love helps to define who we are. It makes us laugh; it makes us cry; it makes us irrationally angry when your team loses or someone just doesn’t get your favorite character like you do. More than that, however, fandoms bring together unique and passionate individuals to celebrate the things they care about, as well as pay respect to the creative minds behind our favorite works.
Maybe you’re one of the many fans who finds inspiration to create through fandom. Maybe you’re only a casual fan who likes to observe it all unfold from a distance. Maybe you’re interested in the broader sociocultural phenomenon that is fandom. Wherever you may fall, we hope you will find something to get excited about in this collection.
Staff Picks
As a group of people who choose to surround ourselves with books on a daily basis, we at the ASU Library have selected some of our favorite books to share with you. These books represent works that we can't put down and can't stop talking about, because they are just that good. We hope you'll give them a try!
Travel Arizona with Culture Passes
This collection highlights books and documents about the history and culture of Arizona, and the venues included in the Culture Pass program. Check out any of these books to get more familiar with what these places have to offer!
The Culture Pass program gives you general admission to the following participating venues:
Phoenix Metro Area:
- Cave Creek Museum
- Desert Botanical Garden
- Desert Caballeros Western Museum
- Gilbert Historical Museum
- Heard Museum
- Mesa Historical Museum
- Phoenix Art Museum
- Pueblo Grande Museum
- River of Time Museum & Exploration Center
- Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art
- Superstition Mountain Museum
Central Arizona:
- Besh Ba Gowah Archaeological Park (Globe)
- Boyce Thompson Arboretum (Superior)
Northern Arizona:
- Arboretum at Flagstaff (Flagstaff)
- Arcosanti (Mayer)
- Sedona Heritage Museum (Sedona)
- Verde Valley Archaeological Center (Camp Verde)
Tucson:
- Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
- Reid Park Zoom
- University of Arizona Museum of Art
We thank the Act One Foundation for their generous support that makes this program possible.
Please visit the information desk to get more information about the program or https://lib.asu.edu/culture-pass to check out your Culture Pass today!
Very Short Introductions
Very Short Introductions is a book series published by the Oxford University Press. These books are written by experts to provide a concise overview of a variety of subjects. If you are interested in learning something new or want an academic summary of a topic, you can start by checking out one of these books!