The Meadville Lombard Library and Archives provide resources not only to Meadville Lombard students and faculty, but also to religious professionals, members of the broader Unitarian Universalist community, and scholars of all (or no) faiths. Our complete library catalog is accessible to search online and most of our books can be shipped directly to users in the United States and its territories who have set up a free library account. Our digital archive is open to all users and new material is added every month.
The Wiggin Library is the onsite library of Meadville Lombard and contains over 35,000 volumes, specializing in Unitarianism, Universalism, and Unitarian Universalism. This collection is available to faculty, students, and community members. Most of the books in our collection can be circulated through the mail.
I-Share Libraries contain over 35 million books from academic and theological libraries across Illinois. Current Meadville Lombard faculty and students are eligible to borrow I-Share books. We circulate I-Share books to you through the mail or you can pick up and return your library books at any I-Share library in Illinois.
At Meadville Lombard, archiving is a form of justice making work. From preservation to digitization, we work to make the richness and diversity of Unitarian Universalism’s history freely and easily available to anyone who seeks it. We have been collecting history for over 175 years and hold material from students and scholars, laity and ministers, and congregations and organizations around the world. As the only exclusively UU archive, we take seriously the trust our community has placed in us to preserve our shared history.
We have over 400 physical and digital archival collections, with topics ranging from Puritanism to Paganism and everything in between. Our emphasis is liberal religion in the west, 20th century Unitarian Universalism, and communities underserved and excluded by traditional archives. We are particularly proud of our UUA Congregational Records, which tell the story of every Unitarian, Universalist, and Unitarian Universalist congregation from the 1920s to the 1990s.
Anyone can request access to books held by Wiggin Library.
This form is for Alumni and Community members.
Graduate and LIGHT students receive accounts automatically at the start of coursework. Most books can be mailed anywhere in the United States.
Our librarians and archivists are ready to help! If you have any questions, please reach out. Our librarians can help you out with account creation, database access, and reference questions. Our archivists can help with accessing archival collections, historical reference, and creating archives at your local congregation.