HathiTrust Digital Library

Collections in the HathiTrust Digital Library are a way to group items for public or private use. The full-text of items within a collection can be searched independently of the full library. However, you must be logged in to create new collections. 

Anyone can search public collections that other users have created and made public by clicking on the "Collections"' tab at the top or the "Browse Collections" link under the search box. You can sort these public collections by number of items, title, and owner.  You may also search public collections by keyword.  There is no advanced search option for collections. 

Examples of some of the full-text collections already in the the digital library include Ancestry and Genealogy, English Short Title Catalog, Records of the American Colonies, Islamic Manuscripts, Patent Indexes, 18th C Cookbooks, Slave Narratives and Histories, American Periodicals Collection, and Shakespeare: Works of the Bard.

Learn more about collections

After logging in, WSU faculty, staff, and students can create their own collections and choose to keep them private or publish them for public use.

To create a new collection:

1. Log in to HathiTrust.
2. From the Collections page, click on 'Create New Collection' in the upper left-hand corner. 
3. Name your collection and provide a short description.
4. Choose whether to make it a private collection (only you can see it) or a public collection (all HathiTrust users can see it). A private collection can be made public at a later time.
5. Click 'Add.'  

Once the collection is created, you can add items from the HathiTrust Digital Library.

To add items to a collection when using the Full Text Search option:

1. On the search results page, check the box next to any item you want to add to a collection.
2. Select the appropriate collection from the drop-down menu at the top of the search results.
3. Click 'Add Selected.' 
4. A message will appear stating the items have been added to your collection.

To add items to a collection when using the Catalog Search option:

1. On the search results page, click on the catalog record you want.
2. In the catalog record click on the link(s) under Viewability.  You may add items available to you in full view or limited view.
3. On the document page select your collection from the drop-down menu on the left.
4. Click 'Add.'
5. Repeat for each document you want to add to your collection.