The University of Cumbria is looking to increase the number of physical and digital books held in libraries on all campuses.
The initiative, called Get More Books, is aimed at helping undergraduate and postgraduate students enjoy wider access to relevant reading material irrespective of which course they are studying or where.
“We already have a significant collection – 220,000 printed and 330,000 electronic books – but with 1300 model reading lists in existence each including 20 books or so across all our courses, we know demand is increasing,” James Stephens, learning resources and research manager who looks after libraries on campuses, said.
Collaborating with the Student Union the university is asking students to simply log a request for a new publication and the university will purchase a copy, or sometimes multiple copies, in the format preferred by the student, to be available in the library.
“Lecturers and librarians work closely together to buy the books need for student assignments but we welcome this as a way of making sure there are enough copies of the right kind of publications needed,” Lequane Johnson, academic officer of the University of Cumbria’s Students Union said.