Points of Distinction

KU libraries continue to be leaders in the Open Access movement. KU was the first public institution in the United States to adopt an open access policy and became one of the first American universities to sign the Berlin Declaration on Open Access Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities.

The goal of open access is to make scholarly research more accessible to a broad section of researchers and the public by using the advantages provided by digital and electronic communication.

The American Library Association has listed the University of Kansas Libraries as one of the top 50 libraries in the nation by volumes held.

KU Libraries is ranked 47th among all U.S. libraries and 25th among public universities in the United States with 4,235,542 total cataloged items available to patrons.

“We’re pleased with the designation,” said Lorraine Haricombe, dean of KU Libraries. “The number of volumes we hold reflects deep collections of world-class materials that enhance the quality of scholarship here at KU. An even more important measure of our success is the number of students, faculty, and community members we serve — and the level of quality we achieve in both service and collections.”