Collections and Borrowing

UW Tacoma Digital Commons collects, preserves, and makes publicly accessible the scholarly and creative work of the UW Tacoma campus and affiliated educational partners. The goal is to enhance and share the university's rich intellectual life by gathering in a single online repository materials that support teaching, learning, and research at UW Tacoma. If you have questions about how to get involved, please contact Megan Watson.

• Faculy/Staff request form: Create/Update Author Profile
• Submit New Faculty/Staff Publication to Digital Commons
• Guide to submitting work to UW Tacoma Digital Commons

Tacoma Japanese Language School Oral Histories

The Tacoma Japanese Language School Oral Histories is a selection of oral histories recorded by UW Tacoma faculty, Dr. Lisa Hoffman and  Dr. Mary Hanneman, about Nihongo Gakko, Tacoma’s Japanese Language School. The school was opened on May 21, 1912, by the Tacoma Japanese Association at 411 S 15th Street and was a source of community and education for the Japanese and Japanese American community until 1942, when it was closed due to the incarceration and internment of Japanese and Japanese Americans by the US Government.

Founding Stories

UW Tacoma Oral History: Founding Stories aims to present a rich and complex history of UW Tacoma, which was established with tremendous community support. Its presence in downtown Tacoma has transformed the post-industrial neighborhood and invites inquiries into urban development; historic preservation; public higher education; and the relationships between people, communities, and institutions.

Over fifty oral history projects are available from the Tacoma Community History Project.  UW Tacoma students created these projects in graduate and undergraduate courses that have been offered by Professor Michael Honey since 1990 in the Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences Program.  The collection now includes projects on churches, labor unions, military institutions, ethnic communities, neighborhoods, businesses, civic leaders, and prominent citizens in Tacoma and the South Puget Sound.

Tacoma Then and Again

This database contains re-photography—or what is commonly called “then and now” photography—of buildings, streets, neighborhoods, and parks in Tacoma. High quality digital scans of historic photographs of Tacoma’s urban core have been paired with contemporary digital photos shot from the same vantages.

Other Collections & Resources of Interest

• UW Libraries Digital Collections - Photographs, documents, and audiovisual resources from the UW Libraries, UW faculty and departments, and from UW collaborators.
• Tacoma Public Library Northwest Room - The Northwest Room makes materials related to Tacoma history available through extensive online collections, such as the Northwest Photography Archives, the Tacoma / Pierce County Building Index, and many others
• Washington State Historical Society

The endowed Belinda Y. Louie Children’s and Young Adult Literature Collection includes over 6,000 print books and was formed through a generous donation in honor of UW Tacoma Professor of Education Belinda Louie in 2006. 

The collection supports the School of Education curriculum as well as serving as a browsing collection for use by the university community. The purpose of the endowment is to expand the library’s collection of diverse titles, especially focusing on communities underrepresented in children’s literature. In addition to purchasing award nominees and winners (for example, the Coretta Scott King Book Awards, the American Indian Youth Literature Awards, and the Rainbow Book List), the library endeavors to identify work that reflects the lives of marginalized characters as written by marginalized authors.

The collection is located on the first floor of the Tioga Library Building, and current projects include incorporating inclusive furniture designed to create a welcoming and accessible space for students with children. The library welcomes gifts from the community as we continue to build and enhance the collection and space.

Related links:

• Library to honor professor for gift to children’s collection - UW News
• Dr. Belinda Louie’s website
• UW Tacoma School of Education

The Foundation Center, now part of Candid, is an independent nonprofit information clearinghouse established in 1956. The Center's mission is to foster public understanding of the foundation field by collecting, organizing, analyzing, and disseminating information on foundations, corporate giving programs, and related topics. It is the nation’s leading authority on philanthropy and strives to easily connect non-profits with grantmakers.

The UW Tacoma Library is a Funding Information Network Partner with the Foundation Center and provides free training for the Foundation Directory Online and the Foundation Grants to Individuals databases. Also available are a variety of supplementary materials and services useful to grantseekers as well as the core collection of the Foundation Center’s publications.

For additional resources, see the Grants & Nonprofits subject guide.

Contact Megan Watson.

Using the Media Collection

• Find videos & other media
• Schedule videos for class
• Streaming video collections