About half of the 850,000 government documents are on microfiche. The Special Collections Department contains historical records of northeastern Wisconsin, fine print books, rare materials including old maps and manuscripts, and the University archives. Students can conduct their research at computer workstations which provide access to the Cofrin Library's online catalog and reserve systems, as well as CD ROM databases, full text electronic newspapers and journals, census data and other resources. These computers give library access to all the UW System libraries and a database of 37 million items held by libraries throughout the world. Students can access Internet resources directly or through selected links available on the Cofrin Library website.
Librarians are available to assist students in their research during most of the open access hours.
The library catalog and databases are available from remote sites even when the library is not open. Students from a variety of majors and professionals from across the country make use of the unique resource. The museum is based on a large collection of bird eggs, nests, and study skins gathered by the late Carl H. Richter, who was one of North America's foremost amateur oologists. It includes more than 10,500 egg sets, some of which are dated as early as 1884. The collection includes a large series of vertebrate specimens, Indian artifacts, mollusks and butterflies, geological specimens, historical document, and photographs.