Welcome to the UIUC pop culture collection website. Our materials are spread throughout a variety of libraries and locations here on campus – read more about them below!
Cookbooks
Cookbooks at UIUC are housed at the Funk ACES Library. Our collections spans almost 1,500 volumes, and can be browsed in the library catalog by searching for “cookbook” in advanced search as a “Genre”
Comics & Manga
UIUC has a robust collection of comics and manga, with over 18,000 titles spanning the Main Library’s stacks and Uni High Library. On a weekly basis, the global popular culture team orders crowdfunded comics to continually expand the collection and support small creators! Comics and manga can be browsed in the library catalog by searching for “comic books, strips etc” in advanced search as a “Genre.”
Movies
Movies at UIUC are housed primarily in the Main Library’s stacks and at the Communications Library. Our collection is closing on 26,000 films, and can be browsed in our library catalog by searching for “feature films” in advanced search as a “Genre” and limiting to “Videos” as a “Resource Type” in the left-hand facet sidebar.
Popular Fiction
Popular fiction is found in several campus libraries, especially the Main Library and Grainger Engineering Library and Information Center’s popular collection. Within the Main Library, the Literatures and Languages Library offers a wide variety of genres, such as poetry, romance, literary fiction, science fiction, mystery/ thrillers, etc., and the Social Sciences, Health, and Education Library (SSHEL) hosts the Leisure Reading Collection comprising New York Times bestsellers. In addition, the Main Stacks has a wealth of popular fiction, and some new international titles can be found in the International and Area Studies Library’s New Books collection.
Popular Nonfiction
Popular non-fiction leisure reading can be found in various departmental libraries across campus and in the Main Stacks. The browsable leisure and popular collections in the Grainger Engineering Library and Information Center and the Social Sciences, Health, and Education Library include best-selling non-fiction titles on a variety of popular subjects.
Tabletop Games
Grainger Engineering Library Information Center holds UIUC’s tabletop gaming collection, which is located behind its main circulation desk. While these stacks are not open for patron browsing, they are visible from the desk, and there is a binder at the desk that allows for easy browsing of the collection via complexity, then by title. In the library catalog, almost 300 games can be found by searching for “BOARD” in advanced search as a “Call Number.”
Television Series
Television Series at UIUC are housed primarily in the Main Library’s stacks and at the Communications Library. Our collection is closing on 26,000 films, and can be browsed in our library catalog by searching for “televisions series” in advanced search as a “Genre” and limiting to “Videos” as a “Resource Type” in the left-hand facet sidebar.
Video Games
Grainger Engineering Library Information Center holds UIUC’s contemporary video gaming collection, which is located behind its main circulation desk. While these stacks are not open for patron browsing, there is a browsing aid in the works that will allow patrons to easily read through all the games in our collection. Older games are held at the Main Library’s stacks. In the library catalog, video games can be found be searching for “GAME” in advanced search as a “Call Number.”
Game Consoles
Game consoles are available for checkout at the Main Library’s Media Commons locations in rooms 220 and 306, and at Grainger Engineering Library’s IDEA Lab makerspace. Presently, the Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, and Playstation 5 are our loanable offerings. For more information, visit the UIUC Gaming Collections libguide.
Zines
At UIUC, Zines are primarily housed at Ricker Art and Architecture Library. There is a robust collection located on a shelf to the left of its entrance, and a table of materials available for the creation of your own zines! For more information about Zines at UIUC, visit the Introduction to Zines libguide.
Additional Resources
If you cant find what you’re looking for in the catalog, consider suggesting its purchase! Additionally, if you’re interested in working with us or our collection for a class or event, please take a look at our collaboration options. Lastly, take a look at our libguides for more detailed information about specialized parts of our collection!
Suggest a Purchase
The Global Popular Culture Collection primarily supports interdisciplinary curricular and research needs related to popular culture. Popular culture is defined broadly as topics including (but not limited to): genre fiction, video and board games, film, audio and video production, crafting, cooking, and related recreational activities, and those treatments of art, photography, and music related to any of the above items. If there’s an item you think is missing from our collection that you’d like to use, please suggest a purchase.
Collaborate With Us
UIUC’s Global Pop Culture Collection is a powerful tool to emphasize content in a class, add fun to a club meeting, and much more – we recognize that it can be intimidating to navigate our collection! To that end, we offer collaborative services that can aid in the planning and execution of patron events. Fill out our intake form for more!
Global Popular Culture
The University of Illinois Library has a wealth of materials on popular culture from around the world. This guide will help you access physical and digital resources ranging from music recordings to streaming films to scholarship on popular music, TV, film, video games, sports, comics, and more.
Ambassadors Program
The Pop Culture Ambassadors program is a four-day, paid internship program in which a cohort of five undergraduate students learn about the behind-the-scenes work of libraries, and visit local book and game stores to select materials for the Popular Culture collection. Books, comics, and games selected by the students are added to the Grainger Engineering Library and Information Center’s Popular Materials collection. Learn more about the program from the libguide below.