University Libraries

Impact Report 2025

Reflection from the Dean

University Libraries Dean Julie Garrison standing in front of Waldo Library at Western Michigan University.

I’m excited to share our Western Michigan University Libraries 2025 Impact Report. We have made exceptional progress on our strategic priorities to help our Bronco community thrive in the classroom and beyond.  

This report highlights the outstanding work of our library team and elevates collaborations with faculty, students and community partners that embody Western’s mission, “so that all may learn.”

At the heart of every initiative is our commitment to student success, research excellence and expanded access to knowledge. This would not be possible without our outstanding team of dedicated library professionals, who bring expertise, creativity and empathy to all they do.

We remain committed to empowering academic excellence, advancing research that makes an impact in our community and supporting well-being and belonging for all students. From experiential learning opportunities to initiatives that foster belonging and community engagement, this report showcases the many ways our Libraries contribute to the vitality of WMU.  

Our work continues to evolve as new ways of discovering information become a part of everyday life. I have challenged our team to thoughtfully reflect on how we can responsibly and creatively incorporate AI into our work and support our teaching and learning community in using this new technology.

We look forward to building on our momentum in 2026 as we continue our mission to empower our community to discover, explore and shape the information universe.

Julie Garrison,
Dean, University Libraries 

Empowering academic excellence

Fredrick Magi, a doctoral student in Science Education at Western Michigan University, assists a student with his VR headset during a geoscience course that combined 3D printing and virtual reality to help students learn about topography.

No passport required: Students experience fieldwork through virtual reality

A new pilot lets students explore real-world terrain, like Mount Etna, through immersive virtual reality and 3D models.
Read about this innovative approach to learning
Benwin George, Halle Martin and Marianne Swierenga present their Cistercian Women’s Houses project at the Medieval Research Group’s Quaestio event in October 2025.

Unlocking history through digital scholarship

Collage of student art and research works on display at Waldo Library during the fall 2024.

Behind the exhibits: Creating space for student work

A student presses a button on the Story Machine in Waldo Library.

Western students to go 'All In' with short story contest

Usage statistics

289,808

library visits

20,396

questions answered

789,027

Library Search sessions

120,168

library website visits

1.05m+

student pages printed

This data is from FY 2024-2025 and was compiled from a variety of sources1.

Advancing research, scholarly communications, and publishing

Patricia Sebastian, data intern at University Libraries.

Breathing new life into historical collections through data harvesting

An intern and library staff transformed the digitized Kalamazoo County Poorhouse ledgers into searchable datasets, making long‑hidden local history newly accessible to researchers worldwide.
Read about the Poorhouse datasets
The cover of Communicating Environmental Sustainability in Business for Global Audiences is display on a tablet

New open textbooks published by WMU Libraries free for learners worldwide

Instructor at a table talking with students.

Supporting students with open educational resources

Closed Open Access Survey Report over open version of the report.

New report reveals WMU faculty, researcher perspectives on open access publishing

A production photograph from “Death Takes a Holiday,” performed at Central High School Auditorium on March 7, 1934, by the Western State Teachers College Players group.

Libraries debut WMU Theatre digital collection

The University Libraries is excited to debut the WMU Department of Theatre Performance Archives, a new digital collection featuring photographs, fliers, posters and programs from Western’s theatre productions from the 1920s through the 1990s. The first release is available to view online and includes materials from the late 1920s through the early 1940s.

—Photo caption: A production photograph from “Death Takes a Holiday,” performed at Central High School Auditorium on March 7, 1934, by the Western State Teachers College Players group.
Browse the Theatre Performance Archives

Scholarship in action: Research highlights

Collection statistics

2.43m+

books (print and electronic)

558

databases

3,838

ILL and document delivery requests filled

8,821

loans to other libraries

241

ScholarWorks items added

2.35m+

ScholarWorks downloads

This data is from FY 2024-2025 and was compiled from a variety of source2.

Fostering community building

From left to right: Alum Mike Evans, WMU Archives curator John Winchell, and Alum Tom Vance.

Celebrating and preserving 75 years of ROTC history

Two WMU alumni spent over two years capturing 75 years of Western’s ROTC program history and cadet stories, resulting in a 10‑volume collection now housed in the WMU Archives.
Read how ROTC history was preserved
Western Michigan University employee talking during a Presidential Listening Tour session in 2025 in Waldo Library Multipurpose Room 3016.

From vault to venue: Waldo’s new event space opens

Waldo Library transformed its former Special Collections area into a modern multipurpose event space, creating a more flexible hub for campus programs and community gatherings.
Read about Multipurpose Room 3016

From preservation to collaboration: Space highlights

Program statistics

213

workshops and events

371

instruction sessions

363

research consultations

1,668

Tech Lab sessions

1,882

3D printing requests

This data is from FY 2024-2025 and was compiled from a variety of sources3.

Cultivating well-being

Student standing in the stacks at Waldo Library looking at a map.

Interactive wayfinding maps help library users locate materials with ease

Navigating the library is now easier than ever with new interactive maps that guide users directly to the materials and spaces they need.
Read about interactive maps
Dungeons and Dragons dice with text that reads 3DND Adventure.

Building belonging, one roll at a time

Students are connecting, creating and discovering library resources through a popular new program that combines Dungeons & Dragons gameplay with hands-on 3D printing.
Read about 3DnD Adventures

Well-being in action: Programming highlights

University Libraries
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5353 USA
(269) 387-5059 for information
(269) 387-5155 for hours

Data in the University Libraries' 2025 Impact Report is from FY 2024-2025 unless otherwise noted and is compiled from our integrated library system and other sources.

1. Usage statistics sources

  • Library visits: Number generated by security gates at the entrances of Waldo Library and Zhang Legacy Collections Center.
  • Question answered: Reference Analytics and LibChat transactions in LibAnswers, a ticketing system by Springshare. Includes all question formats (in-person, email, live chat, web conference, etc.) and all question types (reference, scheduled consultations, directional, etc.).
  • Library Search sessions: Session count in Primo, the patron-facing discovery service by Ex Libris for our integrated library system.
  • Library website visits: Engaged sessions count for webpages filtered by wmich.edu/library subdirectory in Google Analytics, a website tracking tool.
  • Student printing pages: Total pages count in PaperCut, a print management tool that provides printing access to students across campus.

2. Collection statistics sources

  • Books (print and electronic): Sum of total titles count for physical and electronic items in Alma Analytics, a data analysis and reporting tool by Ex Libris for our integrated library system.
  • Databases: Electronic collections count in Alma Analytics.
  • ILL and document delivery requests filled: Borrowing and document delivery requests count from Fill Rate Statistics web report in ILLiad Client by Atlas Systems, an interlibrary loan management tool. Includes both returnable and non-returnable materials.
  • Loans to other libraries: Lending requests count from Fill Rate Statistics web report in ILLiad Client. Includes both returnable and non-returnable materials.
  • ScholarWorks items added: Works posted count in Digital Commons, an institutional repository and publishing platform for scholarly works.
  • ScholarWorks downloads (current year): Downloads in the past year count in Digital Commons.

3. Program statistics sources

  • Workshops and events: Number of records for Events, Orientations, Workshops, Tours dataset in LibInsight, a data and usage analytics platform for libraries by Springshare.
  • Instruction sessions: Number of records for Research Instruction Analysis dataset in LibInsight. Includes all online and in-person sessions, both synchronous and asynchronous.
  • Research consultations: Reference Analytics transactions in LibAnswers; includes scheduled consultation question type only.
  • Tech lab sessions: Total bookings in LibCal, a calendar and reservation system by Springshare, for the Virtual Reality Lab, Flight Simulator Lab, Learning Glass Studio and Media Studio/Respondus Testing Room. Also includes manually tabulated class visits, campus events, and offsite visits for all spaces and walk-in data for all spaces except for the Media Studio.
  • 3D printing requests:  Number of recorded responses for the 3D Print Request Form in Qualtrics, a platform for creating and distributing surveys.

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