Edinburgh University Library#Main Library building

The University was founded by Royal Charter from King James VI in 1582 and opened in 1583, however the library pre-dated this by three years. The initial collection was a bequest of 276 theological books from Clement Littill, an advocate who left his collection to the town in 1580.{{cite web |url=http://134.76.163.162/fabian?Edinburgh_University_Library |title=Edinburgh University Library |work=Fabian-Handbuch |access-date=18 May 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120220142544/http://134.76.163.162/fabian?Edinburgh_University_Library |archive-date=20 February 2012}}Finlayson, 1890 Until 1708, the teaching staff consisted of four regents and the Principal, the former taking each class through a year's part of the whole arts curriculum of logic, metaphysics, ethics and physics, which included the elements of mathematics and astronomy. Until the middle of the 17th century, by which time the library must have exceeded the 2,400-odd volumes listed in Robert Lumsden's shelf catalogue of 1637, the teaching tended to be commentaries on Aristotle.

The Special Collections Department has about 200,000 items in all branches of knowledge. There are 1,200 incunabula, about 9,000 printed books from 16th century, 35,000 from the 17th and 18th centuries, and 60,000 from the 19th century. An important part of this collection is German Reformation tracts.

File:Daffodils in George Square (Source).webm]]

File:Lego_Main_Library_(360°_video).webm

Among the many collections of the library are two which were formerly in the possession of the 19th-century Shakespearian scholar James Halliwell-Phillipps. The first collection was acquired by the library between 1872{{cite web | url=https://www.nls.uk/exhibitions/shakespeare/the-collectors/edinburgh-university-library/ | title=Edinburgh University Library }} and 1889, including a Shakespearian collection. The second collection was acquired in 1964 by purchase from Sotheby's.

The University of Edinburgh is also the host of a research project in conjunction with the British Library and ATILF called The Making of the Queen's Manuscript, which focuses on Christine de Pizan's Harley MS 4431.{{Cite web|url=http://www.pizan.lib.ed.ac.uk|title=Christine de Pizan: the Making of the Queen's Manuscript - Homepage|last=Laidlaw|first=James and Andrew Grout|website=www.pizan.lib.ed.ac.uk|access-date=2018-10-26}} The project is housed "partly in the French section of the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures, partly in the Special Collections department of Edinburgh University Library (EUL)" under the supervision of the Project Director, Dr. James Laidlaw and the Project Officer, Dr. Andrew Grout, the Special Collections Digital Library Officer.{{Cite web|url=http://www.pizan.lib.ed.ac.uk|title=Christine de Pizan: the Making of the Queen's Manuscript - Homepage|last=Laidlaw|first=James and Andrew Grout|website=www.pizan.lib.ed.ac.uk|access-date=2018-10-26}}

The Main Library is situated on the south-west corner of George Square, chosen because this was the quietest section of the square. Opened in 1967, the eight-storey building was designed by J.M.Marshall and Andrew Merrylees of Spence, Glover and Ferguson,{{cite web|url=https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/designation/LB50191|title=University of Edinburgh, Main Library, 30 George Square, Edinburgh|website=Historic Environment Scotland|access-date=13 February 2023}}{{Cite web|title=Main Library - Our History|url=http://ourhistory.is.ed.ac.uk/index.php/Main_Library|access-date=2021-06-02|website=ourhistory.is.ed.ac.uk}} The horizontal library exterior is deliberately designed to look like a bookcase{{Citation needed|reason=No it doesn't|date=May 2023}}; the architecture features brutalist elements but also clear oriental features. The exterior columns on the north side feature bracketing and are non-weight bearing. Upon opening, it was the largest university library in the UK, with each floor an acre in size. Today the Main Library is a category A listed building whose design influenced several other university libraries such as those at University of Glasgow, Newcastle Central Library, and University College Dublin.{{cite web |url=https://canmore.org.uk/site/122525/edinburgh-george-square-university-of-edinburgh-library |title=Edinburgh, George Square, University of Edinburgh, Library |publisher=Canmore |website=canmore.org.uk |access-date=31 October 2016}}{{Cite web|title=Main Library - Our History|url=http://ourhistory.is.ed.ac.uk/index.php/Main_Library|access-date=2021-06-02|website=ourhistory.is.ed.ac.uk}}

The current Librarian to the University of Edinburgh is Gavin McLachlan.{{cite web |url=http://www.ed.ac.uk/principals-office/vice-principals-smgt/heads/mclachlan|title=Gavin McLachlan, Librarian to the University|publisher=The University of Edinburgh |website=www.ed.ac.uk|access-date=7 December 2016}} The current Director of Library and University Collections is Jeremy Upton. Previous Directors, Keepers and Librarians to the University include: Kenneth Logie, Andrew Munro, Thomas Spier, Andrew Suttie, Francis Adamson, James Nairne, John Mien, John Stevenson, John Kniland, John Dunlop, William Somerville, William Henderson, Robert Henderson, George Stuart, James Robertson, Andrew Dalzel, George Dunbar, Andrew Duncan, Alexander Brunton, John Small, Hugh Webster, Alexander Anderson, Frank Carr Nicholson,[http://www.docs.is.ed.ac.uk/docs/lib-archive/bgallery/Gallery/records/nineteen2/nicholson.html 1875 – 1962] Lauriston William Sharp, Erik Richard Sidney Fifoot, Brenda Moon and Ian Mowat,Ian Mowat (1946–2002) was University Librarian 1997–2002; he had previously held posts in the National Library of Scotland, and then at the universities of Glasgow, Hull and Newcastle before he reached Edinburgh. His main concern was the survival of academic libraries in the digital age; he also devoted himself to collaborations with research libraries in various eastern European and middle eastern countries, and with British library organizations such as CURL and Sconul. He died in a hill-walking accident in Glencoe.--The Times; Sept. 2002Relay: the journal of the University, College and Research Group, cilip Sheila Cannell, and Dr John Scally.

File:Page from the Brevarium Sarum, formerly the property of Clement Litill, now part of the University of Edinburgh Heritage Collection.jpg|Page from Brevarium Sarum, donated to the library by Clement Litill.

File:30 George Square, University Of Edinburgh, Main Library 01.jpg|University of Edinburgh Main Library.

File:Lego Main Library (4 3) (51264947632).jpg|Detailed Lego model of the University Main Library

File:Library Lit (2).jpg|Exterior of University main library

File:Library (2).jpg|University of Edinburgh Main Library, photographed from The Meadows.

File:University of Edinburgh library.jpg|Library main entrance.

• University of Edinburgh

{{reflist}}

• Finlayson, Charles P.: Clement Littill and his Library: the origins of Edinburgh University Library. Edinburgh 1980.

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• [http://www.lib.ed.ac.uk/ The University of Edinburgh: Library essentials]
• [http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/qa-focus/documents/case-studies/case-study-26/ Edinburgh University Library Online]
• [http://www.collections.ed.ac.uk/ The University of Edinburgh Collections]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120220142544/http://134.76.163.162/fabian?Edinburgh_University_Library Fabian-Handbuch: Edinburgh University Library]
• [http://www.walterscott.lib.ed.ac.uk/ The Walter Scott Digital Archive] at the Edinburgh University Library
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080726173931/http://scholarly-societies.org/history/edinburghcat.html Edinburgh University Library Catalogue]

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{{University of Edinburgh}}

{{Libraries in Scotland}}

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{{Academic libraries in the United Kingdom}}

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Category:Libraries in Edinburgh

Category:Buildings and structures of the University of Edinburgh

Category:Basil Spence buildings

Category:Academic libraries in Scotland

Category:Research libraries in the United Kingdom

Category:1580 establishments in Scotland

Category:Library buildings completed in 1967