The John Rylands University Library

With more than 4 million printed books and manuscripts, over 41,000 electronic journals and 500,000 electronic books, as well as several hundred databases, the John Rylands University Library (JRUL) is one of the best-resourced academic libraries in the country.

Our primary aim is to support students and staff of The University of Manchester in all areas of their study. But we are also fully committed to widening participation, and access to many of our services is provided for individual researchers, schools and the local community.

Our long opening hours ensure that JRUL services, facilities and help are available at a time convenient to you. Details of these, and a wealth of other information about what we have to offer to University members and visitors, are available on these webpages.

The John Rylands University Library (JRUL) is the University of Manchester's library and information service. It was formed in 1972 from the merger of the library of the Victoria University of Manchester with the John Rylands Library. On October 1, 2004 it joined the library of the University of Manchester Institute of Science & Technology on the merger of the two universities.[citation needed]

It is the largest non-legal deposit academic library in the United Kingdom[1], has the largest collection of electronic resources of any library in the UK[1] and supports all subject areas taught by the University. The JRUL provides its members with a large number of services and resources, including an extensive range of electronic resources. A range of services is also provided for members of the public, schools and commercial companies. Entry to the main site at Burlington Street, Oxford Road Campus (formerly the Victoria University of Manchester) is via library card activated turnstiles.[2]

The John Rylands University Library is responsible for overseeing a number of satellite libraries in other University buildings, including the Eddie Davies Library (Manchester Business School) and the Joule Library (Sackville Street Building).[citation needed]