{"id":36,"date":"2025-02-28T17:46:44","date_gmt":"2025-02-28T17:46:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/?page_id=36"},"modified":"2026-05-20T17:15:01","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T17:15:01","slug":"about-us","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/about-us\/","title":{"rendered":"About Us"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center\"><div class=\"shortcode sh-p-4 sh-rounded sh-drop-shadow-sm sh-bg-white !sh-text-black !sh-border  \"><div><div class=\"\"><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: left\">Mission Statement:<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">UIUC&#8217;s Global Popular Culture collection supports the University of Illinois community in both their academic and personal lives. We balance research with fun through our collection as we offer guides and programming to reduce the barrier to entry for all to have access to diverse popular culture materials of all formats.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: left\">Vision Statement:<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">UIUC&#8217;s Global Popular Culture Collection team is working to make our materials more accessible, findable, and browsable. This pursuit will be accomplished through the development of browsing and finding aids for our collection as well as through collaborative programming and innovative marketing practices to inform the University of Illinois community about our services.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: left\">Who We Are:<\/h2>\n<div class=\"shortcode sh-grid sh-grid-cols-1 md:sh-grid-cols-12 sh-gap-3\"><div class=\"shortcode sh-col-span-9 sh-pb-3\"><\/p>\n<h2><b>The International and Area Studies Library<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><b>The International and Area Studies Library<\/b> is home to the Global Popular Culture Collection. This collection supports teaching, research, and related student interests on topics and formats related to popular culture and study of popular culture. The collection includes items covering the study of popular culture itself, as well as primary sources and secondary literature covering popular culture phenomena. Electronic books and related materials supporting popular culture are also included. The Global Popular collection began in 2021, formed as a merger of the popular culture collection maintained in the former Undergraduate Library and related materials in the International and Area Studies Library. Collaboration is key to building this collection, which has several related and interdependent collections maintained by other campus libraries.<\/p>\n<p> <button type='button' class='shortcode sh-text-center sh-inline-block sh-align-middle sh-p-2 sh-bg-[#F8F7F7] sh-rounded-md !sh-no-underline hover:sh-bg-slate-200 !sh-border !sh-border-black focus:sh-outline-none focus-visible:sh-ring focus-visible:sh-ring-orange-700  !sh-text-black' style='font-size: 13pt;' onclick=\"window.location.href='https:\/\/www.library.illinois.edu\/ias\/'\" > IAS Library Website <\/button><\/p>\n<p><\/div><div class=\"shortcode sh-col-span-3 sh-pb-3\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-513 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/113\/2026\/03\/IAS3-e1778698033895.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"778\" height=\"1728\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/113\/2026\/03\/IAS3-e1778698033895.jpg 778w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/113\/2026\/03\/IAS3-e1778698033895-135x300.jpg 135w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/113\/2026\/03\/IAS3-e1778698033895-461x1024.jpg 461w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/113\/2026\/03\/IAS3-e1778698033895-768x1706.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/113\/2026\/03\/IAS3-e1778698033895-692x1536.jpg 692w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 778px) 100vw, 778px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"shortcode sh-grid sh-grid-cols-1 md:sh-grid-cols-12 sh-gap-3\"><div class=\"shortcode sh-col-span-3 sh-pb-3\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-602 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/113\/2026\/03\/ACES3-scaled-e1774392224319.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1417\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/113\/2026\/03\/ACES3-scaled-e1774392224319.jpg 1417w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/113\/2026\/03\/ACES3-scaled-e1774392224319-166x300.jpg 166w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/113\/2026\/03\/ACES3-scaled-e1774392224319-567x1024.jpg 567w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/113\/2026\/03\/ACES3-scaled-e1774392224319-768x1387.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/113\/2026\/03\/ACES3-scaled-e1774392224319-850x1536.jpg 850w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/113\/2026\/03\/ACES3-scaled-e1774392224319-1134x2048.jpg 1134w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1417px) 100vw, 1417px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><\/div><div class=\"shortcode sh-col-span-9 sh-pb-3\"><\/p>\n<h2><b>Funk Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences Library<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><b>Funk Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences Library<\/b> is home to a Cookbook Collection and a Graphic Science Collection, supporting both recreational and educational interests. Funk&#8217;s wide-ranging cookbook collection includes cuisines from around the world, plant-based diets, and quick and easy recipes. The Graphic Science Collection, which began in 2022, features comic literature exploring scientific themes and disciplines. Both collections support teaching, research, and scientific curiosity.<\/p>\n<p> <button type='button' class='shortcode sh-text-center sh-inline-block sh-align-middle sh-p-2 sh-bg-[#F8F7F7] sh-rounded-md !sh-no-underline hover:sh-bg-slate-200 !sh-border !sh-border-black focus:sh-outline-none focus-visible:sh-ring focus-visible:sh-ring-orange-700  !sh-text-black' style='font-size: 13pt;' onclick=\"window.location.href='https:\/\/www.library.illinois.edu\/funkaces\/'\" > Funk ACES Library Website <\/button><\/p>\n<p><\/div><\/div><div class=\"shortcode sh-grid sh-grid-cols-1 md:sh-grid-cols-12 sh-gap-3\"><div class=\"shortcode sh-col-span-9 sh-pb-3\"><\/p>\n<h2><b>Grainger Engineering Library and Information Center<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><b>Grainger Engineering Library and Information Center<\/b> holds UIUC&#8217;s collection of tabletop games as well as a selection of the most current video games behind its circulation desk. While these stacks are not open, browsing aid binders for both collections are available at the desk for patron use. If you would like to play a game, but do not have access to the prerequisite console, both GELIC&#8217;s Idea Lab Makerspace and the UIUC Media Commons provide access to lendable consoles to UIUC patrons. On the shelves surrounding the first-floor cafe area, GELIC holds a popular reading collection.<\/p>\n<p> <button type='button' class='shortcode sh-text-center sh-inline-block sh-align-middle sh-p-2 sh-bg-[#F8F7F7] sh-rounded-md !sh-no-underline hover:sh-bg-slate-200 !sh-border !sh-border-black focus:sh-outline-none focus-visible:sh-ring focus-visible:sh-ring-orange-700  !sh-text-black' style='font-size: 11pt;' onclick=\"window.location.href='library.illinois.edu\/enx\/'\" > GELIC Website <\/button><\/p>\n<p><\/div><div class=\"shortcode sh-col-span-3 sh-pb-3\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-512 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/113\/2026\/03\/Grainger3-scaled-e1774392382545.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1003\" height=\"1940\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/113\/2026\/03\/Grainger3-scaled-e1774392382545.jpg 1003w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/113\/2026\/03\/Grainger3-scaled-e1774392382545-155x300.jpg 155w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/113\/2026\/03\/Grainger3-scaled-e1774392382545-529x1024.jpg 529w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/113\/2026\/03\/Grainger3-scaled-e1774392382545-768x1485.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/113\/2026\/03\/Grainger3-scaled-e1774392382545-794x1536.jpg 794w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1003px) 100vw, 1003px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"shortcode sh-grid sh-grid-cols-1 md:sh-grid-cols-12 sh-gap-3\"><div class=\"shortcode sh-col-span-3 sh-pb-3\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-514 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/113\/2026\/03\/LitLang1-scaled-e1774392462841.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"963\" height=\"1672\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/113\/2026\/03\/LitLang1-scaled-e1774392462841.jpg 963w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/113\/2026\/03\/LitLang1-scaled-e1774392462841-173x300.jpg 173w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/113\/2026\/03\/LitLang1-scaled-e1774392462841-590x1024.jpg 590w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/113\/2026\/03\/LitLang1-scaled-e1774392462841-768x1333.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/113\/2026\/03\/LitLang1-scaled-e1774392462841-885x1536.jpg 885w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 963px) 100vw, 963px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><\/div><div class=\"shortcode sh-col-span-9 sh-pb-3\"><\/p>\n<h2><b>Literatures and Languages Library <\/b><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>The <b>Literatures and Languages Library<\/b> houses the literature of North and South America (the latter in conjunction with the International and Area Studies Library) and Western Europe in original languages and English translation. Moreover, it has English, French, Greek, and Portuguese literature from around the world. Traditional and contemporary authors writing in a wide variety of genres, such as poetry, romance, literary fiction, science fiction, mystery\/ thrillers, etc., are featured. To find a new read or author, stop by the New Book section located to the left of the central main door of the Reading Room.<\/p>\n<p> <button type='button' class='shortcode sh-text-center sh-inline-block sh-align-middle sh-p-2 sh-bg-[#F8F7F7] sh-rounded-md !sh-no-underline hover:sh-bg-slate-200 !sh-border !sh-border-black focus:sh-outline-none focus-visible:sh-ring focus-visible:sh-ring-orange-700  !sh-text-black' style='font-size: 13pt;' onclick=\"window.location.href='https:\/\/www.library.illinois.edu\/litlang\/'\" > Literatures and Languages Library Website <\/button><\/p>\n<p><\/div><\/div><div class=\"shortcode sh-grid sh-grid-cols-1 md:sh-grid-cols-12 sh-gap-3\"><div class=\"shortcode sh-col-span-9 sh-pb-3\"><\/p>\n<h2><b>Music and Performing Arts Library<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>The<b> Music and Performing Arts Library<\/b>\u00a0holds popular music materials from around the world in multiple formats. This includes everything from sheet music for Taylor Swift songs and video game music, to Kendrick Lamar CDs, to LPs of Ukrainian folk music, and performance and documentary DVDs. MPAL has playback equipment to loan and listening rooms that support all of our media formats. We also have streaming audio and video resources like <a href=\"https:\/\/proxy2.library.illinois.edu\/login?url=https:\/\/search.alexanderstreet.com\/pops\">Popular Music Library<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/proxy2.library.illinois.edu\/login?url=https:\/\/search.alexanderstreet.com\/qwst\">QwestTV<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/guides.library.illinois.edu\/audiovisual\">more<\/a>. In addition, we have books at all reading levels about popular artists and genres. These collections support teaching, research, and recreation.<\/p>\n<p> <button type='button' class='shortcode sh-text-center sh-inline-block sh-align-middle sh-p-2 sh-bg-[#F8F7F7] sh-rounded-md !sh-no-underline hover:sh-bg-slate-200 !sh-border !sh-border-black focus:sh-outline-none focus-visible:sh-ring focus-visible:sh-ring-orange-700  !sh-text-black' style='font-size: 13pt;' onclick=\"window.location.href='https:\/\/www.library.illinois.edu\/mpal\/'\" > MPAL Website <\/button><\/p>\n<p><\/div><div class=\"shortcode sh-col-span-3 sh-pb-3\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-516 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/113\/2026\/03\/MPAL2-scaled-e1774392595316.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"798\" height=\"1425\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/113\/2026\/03\/MPAL2-scaled-e1774392595316.jpg 798w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/113\/2026\/03\/MPAL2-scaled-e1774392595316-168x300.jpg 168w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/113\/2026\/03\/MPAL2-scaled-e1774392595316-573x1024.jpg 573w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/113\/2026\/03\/MPAL2-scaled-e1774392595316-768x1371.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 798px) 100vw, 798px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"shortcode sh-grid sh-grid-cols-1 md:sh-grid-cols-12 sh-gap-3\"><div class=\"shortcode sh-col-span-3 sh-pb-3\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-521 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/113\/2026\/03\/SSHEL1-scaled-e1774392671760.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"885\" height=\"1590\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/113\/2026\/03\/SSHEL1-scaled-e1774392671760.jpg 885w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/113\/2026\/03\/SSHEL1-scaled-e1774392671760-167x300.jpg 167w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/113\/2026\/03\/SSHEL1-scaled-e1774392671760-570x1024.jpg 570w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/113\/2026\/03\/SSHEL1-scaled-e1774392671760-768x1380.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/113\/2026\/03\/SSHEL1-scaled-e1774392671760-855x1536.jpg 855w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 885px) 100vw, 885px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><\/div><div class=\"shortcode sh-col-span-9 sh-pb-3\"><\/p>\n<h2><b>Social Sciences, Health, and Education Library<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><b>Social Sciences, Health, and Education Library<\/b> (SSHEL) is home to the Leisure Reading Collection of New York Times best sellers. This collection supports recreational reading interests in fiction and non-fiction. SSHEL also houses the youth literature collection which includes popular young adult novels, picture books for young children, and graphic novels. The youth literature collection supports teaching and research in children\u2019s literature, especially for the programs in teacher education and youth services in libraries, as well as for families!<\/p>\n<p> <button type='button' class='shortcode sh-text-center sh-inline-block sh-align-middle sh-p-2 sh-bg-[#F8F7F7] sh-rounded-md !sh-no-underline hover:sh-bg-slate-200 !sh-border !sh-border-black focus:sh-outline-none focus-visible:sh-ring focus-visible:sh-ring-orange-700  !sh-text-black' style='font-size: 13pt;' onclick=\"window.location.href='https:\/\/www.library.illinois.edu\/sshel\/'\" > SSHEL Website <\/button><\/p>\n<p><\/div><\/div><div class=\"shortcode sh-grid sh-grid-cols-1 md:sh-grid-cols-12 sh-gap-3\"><div class=\"shortcode sh-col-span-9 sh-pb-3\"><\/p>\n<h2><b>Ricker Library of Architecture and Art<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><b>Ricker Library of Architecture and Art<\/b> houses the Social Justice Zine Collection which provides access to stories and voices underrepresented or missed in mainstream and academic publications and media. In addition to the zine collection, Ricker\u2019s collections include other materials about popular art.<\/p>\n<p> <button type='button' class='shortcode sh-text-center sh-inline-block sh-align-middle sh-p-2 sh-bg-[#F8F7F7] sh-rounded-md !sh-no-underline hover:sh-bg-slate-200 !sh-border !sh-border-black focus:sh-outline-none focus-visible:sh-ring focus-visible:sh-ring-orange-700  !sh-text-black' style='font-size: 13pt;' onclick=\"window.location.href='https:\/\/www.library.illinois.edu\/arx\/'\" > Ricker Library of Architecture and Art Website <\/button><\/p>\n<p><\/div><div class=\"shortcode sh-col-span-3 sh-pb-3\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-520 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/113\/2026\/03\/Ricker-ext2-scaled-e1774392821169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1292\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/113\/2026\/03\/Ricker-ext2-scaled-e1774392821169.jpg 1292w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/113\/2026\/03\/Ricker-ext2-scaled-e1774392821169-227x300.jpg 227w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/113\/2026\/03\/Ricker-ext2-scaled-e1774392821169-775x1024.jpg 775w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/113\/2026\/03\/Ricker-ext2-scaled-e1774392821169-768x1015.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/113\/2026\/03\/Ricker-ext2-scaled-e1774392821169-1163x1536.jpg 1163w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1292px) 100vw, 1292px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mission Statement: UIUC&#8217;s Global Popular Culture collection supports the University of Illinois community in both their academic and personal lives. We balance research with fun through our collection as we offer guides and programming to reduce the barrier to entry for all to have access to diverse popular culture materials of all formats. Vision Statement: [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":869,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-36","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/36","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/869"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/36\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":708,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/36\/revisions\/708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/popculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}