The Wilma L. West Library (WLW) acquires, organizes and retains literature and other media specific to occupational therapy and occupational science. Patrons may find material from related or supporting disciplines, such as rehabilitation, education, psychiatry or psychology, and health care delivery or administration as it relates to occupational therapy.

The library's catalog is titled OT SEARCH and is available on-line by subscription. However, researchers can access it free of charge in the library. The full text of the indexed resources is not in this database; just the bibliographic information to identify the material and an author's abstract, when one exists. As available, OT SEARCH is adding links to sources for full-text copies. Currently OT SEARCH contains over 37,200 records of materials dating from 1910 to the present.

The WLW Library is open from 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday, by appointment only. Appointments should be made at least twenty-four hours before the planned visit.

Materials published since 1940 are available for interlibrary loan and the library is a member of DOCLINE.

The "Guide to the Archives of the American Occupational Therapy Association" is available on the AOTF website, on www.archive.org and directly upon request form the Wilma L. West Library of the AOTF Institute for the Study of Occupation and Health.

The Archive of the American Occupational Therapy Association

The Archive of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) is housed in a separate room adjacent to the library and is maintained by the library’s staff. This special collection includes: correspondence and early reprints of the founders of the National Society for the Promotion of Occupational Therapy; minutes and reports from the Association's governing boards, the Delegate/Representative Assembly, councils, and committees; records generated by AOTA's national office staff; minutes and/or proceedings from annual and midyear meetings; early legislation and grants important to occupational therapy's development; reports and publications from early occupational therapy schools and programs; records and correspondence concerning AOTA's interaction with other organizations or agencies; photographs of the Association's leaders, of significant events in its history, and of occupational therapists working with patients in various settings.

The collection of the Wilma L. West Library and Archives includes: Over 4300 monographs, dissertations and theses; over 2200 photographic images; Archives: 168 linear feet. Journals: a few of our historical journals include: The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 1947-present; Archives of Occupational Therapy, 1922-1924; Maryland Psychiatric Quarterly, 1911-1922; Occupational Therapy and Rehabilitation, 1922-1952; and WFOT Bulletin, 1978-present. For a complete list of the journals that are held in the library and are indexed in OT SEARCH, please visit the library's website: http://www1.aota.org/otsearch/index.asp. Please note: only selected articles from these titles are indexed. For a Guide to the Archives of the AOTA, please go to: http://www1.aota.org/otsearch/docs/otslit.pdf.