Facts and figures
History
The Library, which was officially opened by Lord Pilkington on the 19th December 1980, was the successor to several other libraries that were used by the predecessor Colleges of the University. Our first ever library was opened in 1911, in one room of the building in Loughborough town that housed the original Loughborough Technical Institute.
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Basic statistics
The Library covers 7,777 square metres over three floors with 900 study places, including 165 workstations. It has over 500,000 books; 90,000 bound serials and access to approximately 19,000 e- journals. Its has 87 members of staff; 55 full-time equivalents (32 full-time; 55 part-time).
Other "fun facts" about the Library
- The most borrowed book is a copy of "Modern banking theory and practice" by Shelagh Hefferman, which has been borrowed over 760 times
- Since 2003 the number of e-journals available has increased by over 500% (3754 in 2003 and 22,764 in 2011)
- In the 2010/11 academic year 711,208 people visited the Library (an average of 1948 per day)
- In 2001 the Library had 777 study spaces, this has grown to 1058 in 2011
- In 2010/11 the Library enquiry desk answered 132,813 queries (an average of 364 a day or one every two minutes)
Frequently asked questions about the Library
Q: Is the Pilkington Library sinking?
No.
As a result of a story published in Label Magazine (published by Loughborough Students Union) as an April fools there is an ongoing urban myth that the Library building is sinking due to the weight of the books contained within the building not being taken into account at the design stage.