After over 50 years of operations in Monnet Hall, OU’s Western History Collections will close its reading room in the former law building and return to the Bizzell Memorial Library.
On May 20, the Western History Collections will be moved to the fifth floor of the library as part of a campuswide integration of special research collections into a single access point, according to a press release.
Created in 1927, OU’s Western History Collections hosts a variety of research materials on Oklahoma history, Indigenous culture and the American West, according to Michael Szajewski, OU associate dean for special research collections.
“We provide access to archival materials, paper records, historic photographs, rare books, maps, posters, audio, visual materials and the like in a reading room environment,” Szajewski said. “These archives do not circulate, but we provide access to these materials to all members of the general public. That includes, of course, students, faculty at OU, but also visiting scholars, community members, any person who's interested in them.”
Szajewski said the collections have been housed in the Monnet Hall reading room since the 1970s but have always been part of the Bizzell Memorial Library system.
Western History Collection on April 7, 2026.
“They are a part of the University Libraries, organizationally speaking, but they have been in a separate building,” Szajewski said. “What this integration project will do will conjoin and bring together those collections into our other public space where other special research collections are made available.”
In a Friday email to OU Daily, Szajewski elaborated on the integration’s timeline.
“We anticipate that roughly 6,000 cubic ft. of Western History Collections archives will be moved from Monnet Hall to the Library Service Center later this year,” Szajewski wrote.
The Library Service Center is an off-campus storage facility and processing center for new OU materials.
According to Szajewski, the university is currently reviewing the book collections stored in Monnet Hall to assess and identify the appropriate long-term storage plan.
“(We are) looking at factors including frequency of use, rarity, and fragility,” Szajewski wrote. “At the conclusion of this assessment, a timeline and transportation plan will be developed.”
For large moves, University Libraries contracts a professional moving service to safely relocate materials, according to Szajewski. Specialized handling procedures will be used to minimize the risk of damage.
Szajewski wrote some personnel will be fully relocated from Monnet Hall to the Bizzell Memorial Library prior to May 20 to support fifth-floor services.
“Other personnel will work across both spaces for an interim period, maintaining a primary office on Monnet Hall, allowing support for current and forthcoming collections projects in Monnet Hall,” Szajewski wrote.
Szajewski wrote there are no immediate plans for the Monnet Hall reading room as it will continue to serve as a collections storage space in the short-term.
“Once these collections have been redistributed, we look forward to the opportunity to work with the university to have this historic space repurposed to accommodate other university programs and needs,” Szajewski wrote.
Alicia Harris, OU professor of Native American art history, told the Daily Thursday that she uses the collection in her teaching.
“They have an incredible collection of photographs of Native Americans that have been really influential to my students as well. … There are manuscripts by historians, manuscripts by artists,” Harris said. “The School of Visual Arts has an incredible history of Native American artists, and many of their papers are in there as well. Some incredible things in that collection that have been really important for my classes.”
Western History Collection on April 7, 2026.
Harris said introducing students to firsthand historical materials can lead to the discovery of personal connections.
“I have a number of students over the years who have found their own relatives in that space,” Harris said. “Finding their own relatives has been really meaningful for many of our students, and it kind of helps shape their work.”
Szajewski wrote that instructional programs, like Harris’, will continue at the new library access point.
“The fifth floor has two dedicated instruction spaces that will provide greater capacity and flexibility for accommodating class visits and instructional activities,” Szajewski wrote. “Our team has already started using the fifth floor of Bizzell for some Western History Collections instruction sessions as the space provides greater accessibility for all learners.”
The access point will feature a total of eight research collections, including the Western History Collection. Other special collections include:
• University Archives
• Chinese Literature Translation Archives
• History of Science Collection
• John and Mary Nichols Rare Books & Special Collections
• Harry W. Bass Business History Collection
• American School of Architecture Archive
• William Bennett Bizzell Bible Collection
Szajewski said the library’s fifth floor is already host to the History of Science Collections, John and Mary Nichols Rare Books & Special Collections, Harry W. Bass Business History Collection, William Bennett Bizzell Bible Collection and American School of Architecture Archive, so the greatest undertaking will be moving the Western History Collections from Monnet Hall.
Western History Collection on April 7, 2026.
“It's not that all the collections themselves are moving over, but we are combining access points, and that's the place where someone goes to request material, to access material, to participate in instruction sessions, …” Szajewski said. “All those public activities are now going to be happening in one spot — the fifth floor of Bizzell — rather than being dispersed across two different buildings.”
Harris emphasized the importance of the collection and its preservation on campus.
“The Western History Collections is an absolute gem on this campus, and it's an important space, it's an important archive,” Harris said. “It should be preserved and supported in any way that we can.”
The Western History Collections reading room in Monnet Hall will close on May 16 and collections will be accessible at the Bizzell Memorial Library on May 20.
This story was edited by Natalie Armour and Audrey McClour. Chelsea Low, Andrew Higgins and Mary Ann Livingood copy edited this story.
