LocationHoursResearch ServicesStaffCollectionsHistoric Steamboat Photo Collection Click here to access the online collection.
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Film of a 1913 La Crosse parade
The Special Collections department is located on the main floor, north, in the Murphy Library Resource Center. It includes the Area Research Center, the rare book and Wisconsiana collections, as well as an oral history collection, maps, photographs, and university archives.
Summer hours start May 20th and run until August 29th. Summer hours are as follow: Monday-Thursday, 1:00pm to 4:30pm. Closed Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Regular semester hours are as follow: Monday-Friday 9:30 am-12:00 pm and 1:00 pm-5:00 pm. We are also open Wednesday evenings 7:00 pm-9:00 pm. We are not open during the weekends.
Researchers are always advised to call ahead of time (608-785-8511) to confirm hours of operation, especially during intersession periods and summer school. The department is closed on and around holidays; researchers should call the department during working hours for details, or call for the library's recorded message at 608-785-8808.
The entire collection is non-circulating and must be used in the department's reading room. Visitors must register and provide positive identification before proceeding into the reading room.
This department is primarily interested in, and used for, aspects of local and regional history. The Special Collections staff, which includes student assistants, can sometimes undertake limited search/research work in readily indexed materials, subject to time available and up to one hour. Student labor is charged at $10 per hour; librarian time is charged at $40 per hour.
Area Research Center | Rare Books | Wisconsiana | Oral Histories | University Archives |
Area Research Center Research Network
Search ArCAT (Archives Online Catalog) for descriptions of manuscript and government records collections available from all area research centers of the Wisconsin Historical Society.

was published by Murphy Library in 1992. It is edited by Douglas Connell and Edwin Hill, and features 250 black-and-white images with brief captions and text. This book was produced to commemorate the 150th year of La Crosse's founding. The photographs, many of them rare and never before published, help recapture and preserve the city's history and evolution. This book makes a wonderful gift for anyone with La Crosse connections. Proceeds from the sale of the book go to the Murphy Library Endowment Fund.
To order, send $40 plus $5 for postage and handling, to:
Special Collections Dept.
Murphy Library
UW-La Crosse
La Crosse WI 54601
Make check payable to: UW-La Crosse Foundation-Library
Or send check and contact by e-mail -
pbeck@uwlax.edu