Library Facts
Each year, we compile statistics about our resources and services for the Association of Research Libraries. Here are some highlights from the last year:
Collections
- 7,805,066 unique print and electronic titles
- 7,267,012 print and electronic volumes
- 2,144,905 e-books
- plus more than 235,000 maps; 85,844 sound recordings and films/videos; and nearly 7,000,000 microfilm/microfiche
Services
- Librarians conducted 646 instruction sessions and workshops, reaching a total of 27,167 people
- The reference staff handled 14,331 questions in person, by phone, and online
- The library borrowed 16,163 items from other libraries for MSU users, and loaned 63,939 items from our collections to other libraries
- The library website was visited more than 1.2 million times, and users retrieved 3,972,264 full-text articles from the library's databases.
- Digital collections created from MSU Libraries' holdings exceed 100 terabytes, and cover the breadth of collecting areas from Agriculture to Veterinary Medicine.
History Highlights
- The first MSU librarian, George Fairchild, was appointed in 1883.
- The first dedicated building for the library (now the MSU Museum) was completed in 1925.
- The library moved to its current location in 1955; the east wing of the building was added in 1967.
- The library catalog went online in 1989.
- The value of the library endowment surpassed $6 million in 2011.
The library's first location was a single room on the third floor of College Hall.