Cline Library ∙ About the Library

Northern Arizona University's Cline Library is named in honor of Platt and Barbara Cline, distinguished alumni and benefactors of education, who were long-time residents of northern Arizona.

A Cline Library building addition and renovation were completed in 1991 and 1992. The two architectural firms involved in the design and construction were Architecture One and Sasaki Associates. Materials on the building's exterior are primarily brick and Coconino sandstone.

A Northern Arizona University centennial commemorative sculpture by Budapest artist Péter Párkányi Raab is on display at the main entrance. Párkányi Raab completed "1996: The Year of Science" during his appointment as an NAU visiting artist. The limestone and bronze sculpture was placed at the entrance in the fall of 1996.

The current facility is more than 200,000 square feet and includes a four hundred seat assembly hall. The Cline Library Assembly Hall offers a venue for large university and community events. Consult the Assembly Hall Calendar for public lectures, film showings, etc. Next to the Cline Library Assembly Hall you’ll find Scholars’ Corner, a small coffee shop offering Starbuck’s coffee, tea, soft drinks, snacks, and more.

The six stained glass windows installed in the east and west walls above the Jean Collins Reading Room were a gift to the library and the university from Jean Collins, Emeritus Dean and University Librarian, upon her retirement. Local artist Vickie Belman of Spiral Mountain Designs created the windows from a joint design with Dean Collins.

The Cline Library offers more than 1.4 million volumes in its collections, including books, periodicals, videos, sound recordings, government publications, and archival materials related to the Colorado Plateau and Northern Arizona University. Annually the library licenses access to more than 100 electronic resources and find more than 80,000 electronic journals and books, searchable via our Web site, library.nau.edu.

Students may use one of the more than 160 desktops throughout the library to access the Web as well as productivity software such as Microsoft Office. You’ll find wireless connectivity throughout the building. Community users have access to a limited number of these computers for up to 2 hours each day.

“Studio B” offers NAU students access to leading edge technology including pod-casting; a large flat-panel display with smart-board technology; a comfortable and professional production environment.

The library is building 28, on Knoles Drive on the Flagstaff campus. For more information, see our Location and Directions page. Call 928 523-2173 with general services and information questions. For research assistance call 928 523-6805. In addition, you can call toll-free at 1-800-247-3380 or drop us a line at

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