With almost 12 million volumes, the University Libraries system on the CU-Boulder campus is the largest library collection in the Rocky Mountain region.

The system includes five libraries:

Our libraries and collections span sciences, social sciences and humanities. Rare and Distinctive Collections encompasses rare books, archives, government information and maps.

Teaching librarians support curricular and community cultures with tailored research seminars, online course materials, and more. View full offerings.

Through the research database OneSearch, we provide access to a vast array of research resources, the University Libraries collection, holdings of many Colorado libraries, and library systems nationwide.

Norlin Library and the Commons have several group study rooms and art galleries.

Additional materials are stored at our Preservation and Access Service Center for Colorado Academic Libraries (PASCAL). It’s a state-of-the-art, high-density library storage facility located on the Anschutz Medical Campus. CU-Boulder faculty, staff and students may request electronic delivery of articles in journals located in PASCAL.

The University Libraries are affiliated with the best research libraries in the country, with memberships including HathiTrust, the Academic Preservation Trust, FOLIO, the Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries, the Greater Western Library Alliance, the Association of Research Libraries and the Center for Research Libraries. We are ranked 26 of 70 public institutions in the ARL Index (see ARL Statistics 2021).

For more information about the Boulder campus, visit CU Facts and Figures.

Contact us for more information about the Libraries.

2023 Statistics

The University Libraries maintain statistics about our services, collections and people for the Association for Research Libraries (ARL). Below are our figures for 2023:

Collections

Titles: 9,922,250
Electronic books: 2,007,816
Volumes: 11,616,332 (print + electronic)

Materials Expenditures

Total library materials expenditures: $15,592,136

Personnel

Total number of staff, FTE: 142
Number of professional staff, FTE: 99.3
Number of support staff, FTE: 42.6
Number of student assistants, FTE: 29.5

Instruction & Reference

Number of library presentations to groups: 803
Number of participants in presentations to groups: 15,518
Number of reference transactions: 20,041

Circulation

Number of initial circulations: 80,342

Interlibrary Loans

Total filled (ILL) requests provided: 22,199
Total filled (ILL) requests received: 10,796