In 1971, a dedicated group of faculty at Western Washington University established the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies as an archives and research institute to foster interdisciplinary study of the region. The Center continues to expand upon that earlier vision through its mission to enhance public and scholarly understandings of the region's past and present through the management and expansion of its archival collections, the development of public programming, and the publication in print or electronic form of select material. 

In the development of its archival collections, the Center seeks those materials that represent significant developments in the region that stretches from Alaska to Northern California, from the Pacific to the Rockies, but the Center maintains a special focus on northwest interior Washington, the Olympic Peninsula, British Columbia, and Alaska. Archival collections are open to the general public as well as students, faculty, and visiting scholars. Current holdings include private papers, corporate and organizational records, and political papers. Most of the collections relate to northwest Washington, but a significant portion contains materials relevant to the Pacific Northwest-- (including British Columbia and Alaska) as well as to broader national issues

The Center also sponsors a range of public and scholarly programs and engages in educational outreach at all levels. The Center publishes Occasional Papers that accompany many of the program initiatives to make the information available on selected regional topics to the widest possible audience. Regular updates of the Center's activities and publications are available on its web page. Suggestions on future programming, publishing, and collection possibilities are always welcome.

In all of its activities, the Center seeks to maintain or surpass accepted professional standards in working with its three key constituencies: Western Washington University including students, faculty, and staff; and local and regional researchers, and scholars from outside the area. To better serve these constituencies, the Center strives for maximum access to its collections through effective cataloging, management, and reference services.

The Center for Pacific Northwest Studies seeks to enhance public and scholarly understandings of the region's past and present through the management and expansion of its archival collections, the development of public programming, and the publication in print or electronic form of select material.

The Center for Pacific Northwest Studies exists as a research facility associated with Western Washington University. Staff includes the director, an archivist, contractual employees, students, and volunteers. The Center's Director acts as chief administrative officer and reports to the Provost. The Provost authorizes the operating budget. An advisory board consisting of representatives from the university and the community provide guidance and advice on matters of development and mission. The director and archivist determine policy regarding the acquisition and disposition of collections.

The Center collects those materials that represent significant developments in the region stretching from Alaska to Northern California, from the Pacific to the Rocky Mountains, but with a focus on northwest interior Washington, the Olympic Peninsula, British Columbia, and Alaska. The Center strives to acquire a wide array of material documenting this geographical region including private papers, organizational, business and institutional records, political papers, correspondence, photographs, printed material, scrapbooks, maps, architectural drawings, diaries, audio and video material, electronic records, artwork, and ephemera. Several hundred individual collections make up the archives at the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies and new holdings arrive regularly. The Center's collections are especially strong in regional political and cultural history, and in the area of economic development reflecting late nineteenth and twentieth century extractive industries. While the collections cover Alaska to Oregon, Idaho, western Montana, and British Columbia, it is richest in the northern Puget Sound area, specifically Whatcom, Skagit, and Snohomish counties. Particular emphasis is given to the collection of materials that document economic development, cultural and social history, and historically relevant trends to the study of the Pacific Northwest.

The Center only collects material that it can responsibly maintain and preserve within the constraints of allocated resources. Authority for the oversight of collection guidelines, the designation of staff and resources for collection development and maintenance, and review and revision of the collection policy resides with the Director.