17 May 2006
Web Of Libraries Around M25
Imagine a Library so vast that it contained 25 million volumes, had more than 11,000 computers, could seat 45,000 people: a library that was visited by over 20 million people every year, lent 21 million items, answered 100,000 enquiries every week, and spent over £40 million on information resources, says a recent press release.
This Library is not a dream. It already exists – it is the M25 Consortium of Academic Libraries, established to bring together the resources of university and other libraries within the M25 geographical area.
Membership now ranges from large London HE institutions (such as Imperial College, UCL and London Metropolitan University) to smaller ones (such as Roehampton University, and Goldsmith’s College) to specialist collections (like the Wellcome Library and the Courtauld Institute of Art). From outside London, member libraries include the University of Herefordshire, Oxford Brookes and Brighton Universities.
To celebrate the growth of the size and importance of the Consortium, a completely revised website has been launched. This shows how readers can gain access to the rich variety of content held in the member libraries and offers a number of other services. The new Website can be accessed at: http://www.m25lib.ac.uk.
The M25 Consortium of Academic Libraries was formed in 1993 with the aim of fostering co-operation amongst its London-based, higher education member libraries in order to improve services to users.
Early members came from within the London Boroughs. There followed a gradual growth in the number of Higher Education Institutions joining the Consortium from outside the London area, which added to the diversity and richness of the Consortium.
The Consortium now has 55 member institutions. Contacts for each institution can be found at http://www.m25lib.ac.uk//component/option,com_contact/catid,23/Itemid,3/
A list of the member libraries is available at http://www.inform25.ac.uk/Guide/directory
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