Alaska Colleges & Universities
Top college and university libraries in Alaska
These college and university libraries stand out for their collections, special collections and archives. Public access varies, so each entry says how visitors can use the library.
Elmer E. Rasmuson LibraryUniversity of Alaska Fairbanks
UAF's Rasmuson Library describes itself as the premier research library in Alaska, with one of the world's finest collections of Alaska and Polar Regions materials. Completed in 1970, it is named for Elmer E. Rasmuson, a University of Alaska regent from 1950 to 1969 and a major donor. Its Alaska and Polar Regions Collections & Archives include the Alaska Film Archives, oral histories, rare books and maps and the Alaska Native Language Archive. Alaska residents whose public library belongs to the Alaska Library Catalog can borrow with their public library card.
UAA/APU Consortium LibraryUniversity of Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Pacific University
Shared by the University of Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Pacific University, the Consortium Library opened in 1973. A Foucault pendulum demonstrates the rotation of the earth, and a gold LED "Beacon of Knowledge" shines from the roof (it was green until 2016). Archives and Special Collections, which serves both the university community and the public, documents Alaska's past and present and is open for in-person research by appointment. Alumni and members of the public can come in to use the library's resources.
Egan LibraryUniversity of Alaska Southeast
The University of Alaska Southeast's library in Juneau is named for William Allen Egan, Alaska's first governor. Its 50,000-square-foot building opened in 1990. Anyone with a library card from a member of the Alaska Library Consortium can borrow here with government-issued photo ID, and statewide collections can be requested through the Alaska Library Catalog.
The most beautiful college library in Alaska
Egan LibraryUniversity of Alaska Southeast
Designed jointly by the architecture firms BOOR/A and Jensen Douglas, the Egan Library on the Juneau campus won a 1991 Honor Award for Excellence in Architecture from the American Institute of Architects, a year after it opened.
Last verified: November 2, 2026. Visitor rules, hours and borrowing policies change, so check the library's website before you go.
About colleges and universities in Alaska
There are not a lot of higher education schools in Alaska due to the low population of the state, but it is still home to several institutions that offer two and four year degrees.
The largest university by far in the state is the University of Alaska with a total enrollment of over 30,000 distributed among its three campus locations in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau. It is pretty remarkable to see a university with that many students given that the US Census Bureau reported that the population of all of Alaska was only 722,000 in 2011.
The University of Alaska campus in Fairbanks was founded in 1917 in part due to a federal land grant from the United States. This was 42 years before Alaska became the 49th state in 1959.
The operating and capital budgets for higher education are set by the legislature and the Governor of Alaska. An estimated one-third of the jobs and income in Alaska is dependent on the federal government so a large portion of the funding for universities indirectly comes from federal money.