University of Leeds Libraries are one of the major academic research libraries of the UK, with globally significant collections and a strong service ethos. We play a crucial role in the creation, dissemination, application and preservation of knowledge, critical to the success of the University’s strategic ambitions. We are a major cultural hub, enriching the University and the wider community through our unique collections, rich resources, expertise and innovative services.
We act as agents for knowledge, but as the form and channels through which this knowledge is created, curated, accessed and preserved has changed we are accelerating our journey towards digital, to embrace open education whilst continuing to enrich the academic and cultural life of the University and our communities. We aim to achieve this through our vision for 2030, Knowledge for all.
Knowledge for all consists of four strategic programmes – Digital Futures, Open Higher Education, Sustainable Environments and Enriched Experiences - and three underpinning themes - a Culture of Innovation, Opportunities for All and Meaningful Partnerships. The vision supports the University strategy, Universal Values, Global Change. It builds on our past and acts as a compass for navigating our future. It positions us to become one of the greatest libraries in the world.
We are one of the major HE research libraries in the UK. We have 280 staff, over 3 million physical items as well as access to e-resources, five libraries and two galleries, and provide services to over 39,000 students and 9000 University staff as well as the wider Leeds community.
We partner with peer institutions and consortia (Research Libraries UK, White Rose Libraries,
Institution Website: https://library.leeds.ac.uk/
We host White Rose Research Online (WRRO) for research outputs on behalf of the White Rose Consortium (Universities of Leeds, York and Sheffield). WRRO contains over 46,000 Leeds outputs. We support open data through the University’s research data repository, and provide training on data management along the FAIR principles, sensitive data, research metrics, open access publishing, and copyright.
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Leeds University Libraries host White Rose E-theses Online (WREO) for theses on behalf of the White Rose Consortium (the Universities of Leeds, York and Sheffield). Running for over 15 years, WREO contains over 7000 Leeds theses. We provide guidance to students on submitting their thesis.
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We co-sponsor the White Rose University Press, a digital-first open access academic press, producing peer-reviewed journals and monographs. It publishes five open access journals and has published eight open access monographs. We are funding three contributors from Leeds who were awarded the inaugural Early Career Publishing Prize to take their proposal through peer review and the commissioning process.
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