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Glasgow University Library

1451 establishments in Scotland1968 establishments in ScotlandAcademic libraries in ScotlandBrutalist architecture in ScotlandDeposit libraries
HillheadLibraries established in the 15th centuryLibrary buildings completed in 1968Research libraries in the United KingdomSkyscrapers in GlasgowUniversity of Glasgow Library collectionUse British English from January 2016William Whitfield (architect) buildings
Glasgow University Library 000 0124
Glasgow University Library 000 0124

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. 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. The University also holds extensive archival material in a separate building. This includes the Scottish Business Archive, which alone amounts to 6.2 kilometers of manuscripts.The current 12-storey building, opened in 1968, is a prominent landmark in Glasgow's West End, and its distinctive outline can be seen from several kilometers around. In 2014, there were over 1.7 million visits made to the library.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Glasgow University Library (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Glasgow University Library
Kelvin Way, Glasgow Hillhead

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N 55.8733 ° E -4.289 °
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University of Glasgow (Glasgow University)

Kelvin Way
G12 8LX Glasgow, Hillhead
Scotland, United Kingdom
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gla.ac.uk

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Glasgow University Library 000 0124
Glasgow University Library 000 0124
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University of Glasgow

The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as Glas. in post-nominals; Scottish Gaelic: Oilthigh Ghlaschu) is a public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in 1451 [O.S. 1450], it is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Along with the universities of Edinburgh, Aberdeen, and St Andrews, the university was part of the Scottish Enlightenment during the 18th century. In common with universities of the pre-modern era, Glasgow originally educated students primarily from wealthy backgrounds; however, it became a pioneer in British higher education in the 19th century by also providing for the needs of students from the growing urban and commercial middle class. Glasgow University served all of these students by preparing them for professions: law, medicine, civil service, teaching, and the church. It also trained smaller but growing numbers for careers in science and engineering. The annual income of the institution for 2021–22 was £923.6 million of which £196.1 million was from research grants and contracts, with an expenditure of £998.5 million. The university has the sixth-largest endowment of any university in the UK. It is a member of Universitas 21, the Russell Group and the Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities. The university was originally located in the city's High Street; since 1870, its main campus has been at Gilmorehill in the City's West End. Additionally, a number of university buildings are located elsewhere, such as the Veterinary School in Bearsden, and the Crichton Campus in Dumfries.Glasgow is the largest university in Scotland by total enrolment and with over 19,500 postgraduates the second-largest in the United Kingdom by postgraduate enrolment. The university places within the world's Top 100 universities. More specifically, it ranked 81st and 82nd globally in the 2023 QS World University Ranking and 2023 Times Higher Education World University Rankings respectively, as well as placing top 15 nationally in domestic rankings. According to the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021, Glasgow was ranked joint 13th in the UK for the quality of its research (GPA), an improvement of 11 positions from the previous exercise. The university was awarded the "2020 THE University of the Year" in recognition of its contribution to reparative justice.The alumni of the University of Glasgow include some of the major figures of modern history, including James Wilson, a signatory of the United States Declaration of Independence, 3 Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom (William Lamb, Henry Campbell-Bannerman and Bonar Law), 2 Scottish First Ministers (Nicola Sturgeon and Donald Dewar), economist Adam Smith, philosopher Francis Hutcheson, engineer James Watt, physicist Lord Kelvin, surgeon Joseph Lister along with 8 Nobel Prize laureates and numerous Olympic gold medallists, including the current chancellor, Dame Katherine Granger.

Lion and Unicorn Staircase
Lion and Unicorn Staircase

The Lion and Unicorn Staircase, at the University of Glasgow, is located next to the university's Memorial Chapel on the west side of the Main Building. It consists of two flights connected by a landing, the upper flight turning ninety degrees to the left from the lower flight. There is a balustrade adorned with sculptures of a unicorn on the left and a lion on the right. Along with the Memorial Chapel and the adjacent Gilbert Scott Building, it is protected as a Category A listed building.The staircase originally formed part of the university's Old College site on High Street, situated in the Outer Court and leading to the Principal's Residence and the Fore Hall. On 20 June 1690, the university instructed William Riddel, a mason, to place stone bannisters on the staircase with figures of a lion and a unicorn on the first turn, for which he was paid twelve pounds sterling. Work began on 30 June and finished on 15 August that year.When the university moved to its new site in Gilmorehill in 1870, the staircase was transported and incorporated into the new building, along with parts of the High Street gatehouse, which were rebuilt as Pearce Lodge. When the Main Building of the university was originally built, the West Quadrangle was not enclosed on all sides; instead, on the west side, a staircase stood at each end of a small landscaped garden leading from the elevated grass of the quadrangle to the lower level of The Square, where the Principal's and Professors' houses were. The Lion and Unicorn Staircase was the southern of these.The quadrangle was subsequently enclosed when the new Memorial Chapel and additional facilities were built along that side between 1914 and 1929, and the Lion and Unicorn Staircase provided access to these from The Square. When first installed in Gilmorehill, the staircase turned right at its middle landing (as it did in its original site), but was altered at this time to turn left. At its original site in the Old College, the staircase had led to the Fore Hall; amongst the new rooms created with the 1929 Gilmorehill expansion was a new hall, also named the Fore Hall.