Published materials on Architecture are located primarily in the Helen Topping Architecture and Fine Arts Library, Watt Hall. Urban planning materials are found in the Von KleinSmid Center for International and Public Affairs Library, and building sciences materials are also in the Science and Engineering Library. The collection supports teaching and research through the masters level and beyond.

The collection also supports teaching and independent study through the undergraduate level in all areas of Architecture, including landscape architecture and historic preservation.

Books and journals are in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. (Materials in the East Asian vernacular languages that are primarily text are usually collected in the East Asian Library)

Materials on the ancient world through modern times are collected for the entire world, with an emphasis on the United States (particularly California), Central America (particularly Mexico), Western Europe, Southeast Asia, and East Asia (particularly Japan). There is an emphasis on the contemporary architecture.

Reference services & research help

• For research consultation or recommendations to add items to the USC Libraries' collections, contact the Architecture and Fine Arts Library at  (213) 740 1956.

  • Ruth Wallach,  Head Librarian, (213) 740 6917, rwallach@usc.edu
• Standish K. Penton Slide Collection  (for USC faculty use only)