Glasgow University Library
University of Glasgow Library | |
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![]() The Main Library Building, prior to 2012, with the McMillan Reading Room in the foreground. | |
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55°52′24″N 4°17′20″W / 55.8733°N 4.2890°W | |
Location | Glasgow, Scotland |
Type | Academic library |
Established | 1475 |
Branches | 8[1] |
Collection | |
Items collected | Books, manuscripts, journals and electronic resources |
Size | 2.5 million physical volumes across all campus libraries, (4.3 million including e-books). |
Legal deposit | Formerly (1709–1836) |
Access and use | |
Access requirements | Staff, students and alumni of the University of Glasgow |
Other information | |
Director | Susan Ashworth (librarian) |
Employees | 334 |
Affiliation | University of Glasgow |
Website | www |
Glasgow University Library in Scotland is one of the oldest and largest university libraries in Europe. At the turn of the 21st century, the main library building itself held 1,347,000 catalogued print books, and 53,300 journals.[2][vague] In total, the university library system including branch libraries now holds approximately 2.5 million books and journals, along with access to 1,853,000 e-books, and over 50,000 e-journals.[3] [4] The University also holds extensive archival material in a separate building. This includes the Scottish Business Archive, which alone amounts to 6.2 kilometres of manuscripts.[5]
The current 12-storey building was opened in 1968 and is a prominent landmark in
History
The first explicit mention of the Library is dated November 1475, when the first donations by the University's Chancellor, Bishop
By 1888 the holdings of the Library had risen to around 150,000 volumes, due in part to large donations and contributions by wealthy private collectors, such as William Hunter,[9] John Smith of Crutherland,[10] George A. Walker Arnott, William Euing and David Murray.[11]
Following the considerable expansion of the university buildings in the 1630s onwards, the first purpose-built Library for the university was designed by William Adam and opened in 1744 at the Old College in High Street. From 1870 until 1968, the University Library was housed within the main Gilbert Scott Building in Gilmorehill. The old Library closed in July 1968 and the new building opened to readers on 30 September 1968.
Current building
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/GlasgowUniversityLibrary2017.jpg/220px-GlasgowUniversityLibrary2017.jpg)
Designed by
Open 361 days of the year, the library provides a resource not only for the academic community in Glasgow but also for scholars worldwide. There are study spaces for more than 2500 students, with over 800 computers. Wi-Fi access is available throughout the building. A new cafe and social learning space was opened in 2009, followed by an exhibition gallery, and a level dedicated to post-graduate study. In 2016 the main entrance level was totally reconstructed in an open configuration, including a new Conservation Studio, and at the same time, the basement area has been reformed to become a further study area.
The library staff comprises a team of over three hundred daytime, evening, and weekend staff. The University Librarian from 1 August 2015 is Susan Ashworth. The Friends of Glasgow University Library, an educational charity formed in 1976, is open to public membership, promotes the Library and its work, and each year presents a series of talks and events.[13] The first fully illustrated account of the Library and its unique and distinctive collections, from 1451 to the present day, "The University of Glasgow Library: Friendly Shelves" was published in June 2016, with Forewords by The Chancellor Professor Sir Kenneth Calman and the Principal Anton Muscatelli.[14]
Notable collections
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/63/Europe_a_Prophecy_copy_B_object_1_Bentley_1%2C_Erdman_i_Keynes_i_Europe_a_Prophecy.jpg/220px-Europe_a_Prophecy_copy_B_object_1_Bentley_1%2C_Erdman_i_Keynes_i_Europe_a_Prophecy.jpg)
The Library incorporates the Archives of the University of Glasgow[15] accumulated since 1451, and the Scottish Business Archive [16] of internationally important collections of business records covering the whole of Scotland and its global trades from the 18th century to the present.
The Library's Special Collections are classed as being of national and international importance. Its subject strengths include art, languages, literature, history, and the history of law, science, and medicine, represented by over 200,000 manuscript items and around 200,000 printed works (1,060 of which are
The library is the only European Documentation Centre (EDC) in the west of Scotland, and one of the largest in the UK. The EDC is part of the Maps, Official Publications, and Statistics Unit on Level 7. The centre contains full texts of legislation and proposed legislation, as well as reports and statistics from the European Union.[17]
Specialist collections for veterinary medicine, dentistry, and chemistry are held in separate branch libraries around campus. Other notable collections include music scores, Russian and East European material, and significant 18th- and 19th-century print books and journals at the Library Research Annexe.[18] The 2015 public exhibition in the adjacent Hunterian Art Gallery, Ingenious Impressions -The Coming of the Book, showcased the incunabula collection.[19] A web catalogue of these rarities has been created.[20]
See also
Notes
- ^ "University of Glasgow - MyGlasgow - Library - Opening hours and locations".
- ISBN 9780993518508
- ISBN 9780993518508
- ^ University of Glasgow Library
- ISBN 9780993518508
- ^ "Library Review 2013" (PDF). University of Glasgow. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
- ISBN 9780262035316.
- ^ University of Glasgow Special Collections: "The World of Chaucer"
- ^ "University of Glasgow - the Hunterian - About Us - History - Dr William Hunter".
- ^ "John Smith's Ephemera".
- ^ "University of Glasgow - MyGlasgow - Archives & Special Collections - Discover our collections - Special Collections A-Z - Murray Collection".
- ^ "Library Cladding Project". University of Glasgow. Archived from the original on 1 May 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
- ^ "University of Glasgow - MyGlasgow - Library - Friends".
- ^ "University of Glasgow - MyGlasgow - Library - Friends".
- ^ "University of Glasgow - MyGlasgow - Archives & Special Collections".
- ^ "University of Glasgow - MyGlasgow - Archives & Special Collections".
- ^ Europe and Documentation Centre Archived 30 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine, glasgow.ac.uk, retrieved 20 December 2011.
- ^ "University of Glasgow - Services A-Z - Library - Using the Library - Branch libraries - Library Research Annexe". Archived from the original on 22 August 2015.
- ^ "University of Glasgow - The Hunterian - Visit - Exhibitions - Exhibition Archive - Ingenious Impressions". www.gla.ac.uk. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
- ^ "University of Glasgow - MyGlasgow - Glasgow Incunabula Project".
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Official website
- Flickr account for the University of Glasgow Library
- The Friends of Glasgow University Library an associated charity open to all