About the Western History Collection
The Western History Collection of the Denver Public Library is one of the foremost special collections devoted to the American West. It was founded in 1935 by Malcolm Glenn Wyer, Denver's fifth City Librarian, at the suggestion of novelist Willa Cather, at a time when the Denver Public Library had already become a significant repository in the sparsely populated Rocky Mountain West.
In 1995, a merger with an older department established the Western History and Genealogy Department, building on a legacy of open access that traces back to John Cotton Dana, Denver's first City Librarian in 1889, who advocated open stacks for patrons. Today the materials are part of the Special Collections and Archives at the Central Library, which opened in 1995 to a design by architect Michael Graves.
Collections and Resources
The department provides access to unique materials drawn from a wide range of collections, including:
- Photographs and digital collections documenting the people, buildings, and neighborhoods of Denver and the West.
- Manuscript collections, finding aids, and archival research materials for the history of Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region.
- Genealogy and family-history resources for tracing heritage in the West.
- The Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library, a partner repository focused on the history of African Americans in the West.
Planning Your Visit
The collection is housed primarily at the Central Library in downtown Denver, with related holdings at the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library. Researchers can plan a visit, browse digital collections, and explore finding aids online. For hours, tours, and current news and events, visit the official website at history.denverlibrary.org.
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