The Mark O. Hatfield Library serves the College of Liberal Arts, the School of Education, and the Atkinson Graduate School of Management. Originally housed in Smullin Hall, the library moved to its new location in 1986. The new building is a gracious, modern, glass-walled structure that overlooks the Mill Race and Jackson Plaza, one of the main gathering places on campus.

The Hatfield Library offers the Willamette community a diverse, well-chosen collection of over 400,000 volumes, over 5,000 current journal subscriptions, and direct access to the Summit database, a shared academic collection of more than 26,000,000 items. The library also provides electronic access to information resources and documents of all types from around the world. The facility also houses an extensive collection of United States Government documents, a collection of Northwest materials, and a small collection of rare and/or old materials. The Hatfield Archives houses the political papers of Oregon's former United States Senator Mark O. Hatfield, which are currently being processed and are not yet open to the public. Senator Hatfield's memorabilia are available for viewing in a public display area, and his book collection is cataloged and available for in house use.

A highly qualified staff of librarians and support personnel, committed to developing and maintaining strong collections and services, supports the research needs of both students and faculty. A program of course-related instruction ensures that students not only find the information they need to satisfy course requirements, but also learn the search strategies they need to retrieve and critically evaluate information in a society that places increasing importance upon these skills. Librarians are also available at the reference desk and by appointment to help students with their research needs.

The print collection, developed over more than a century, provides strong support for undergraduate and some graduate research. The library's holdings also include a collection of musical scores and sound recordings. A collection of over 6,000 video recordings of classic motion pictures, documentaries, and other films supports courses across the curriculum. An efficient interlibrary borrowing service utilizes a national computer network and a developed electronic document delivery system for locating and rapidly retrieving material not available locally.

The library participates in Summit, a consortium of academic libraries in Oregon and Washington that share an online catalog. Summit Borrowing makes it possible to use the library resources of the member libraries as a single collection. Students, faculty and staff can request materials any time and expect rapid delivery. Participation in Summmit enhances the strong local collection and the traditionally strong interlibrary borrowing services.

The Mark O. Hatfield Library is an important public space on campus and includes many attractive areas suitable for study and reflection. A variety of displays are hosted, and lectures, readings, and recitals are frequently held in the popular Mark O. Hatfield Room. A 24-hour study room equipped with vending machines provides student space during the hours the library is closed.