University of Leicester Library

Title: University of Leicester Library

Description: The Library possesses high quality resources in all the subject fields covered by the University’s research and teaching programmes. The stock totals over one million volumes, with subscriptions to more than 5,000 periodical titles. A substantial part of the Library’s annual budget is spent on developing these already-rich collections of printed materials, and on subscriptions to a full range of complementary electronic resources.
The holdings for each subject reflect the special interests and needs of the staff and students, and the nature of the literature of individual subjects. It has been the practice to involve academic staff directly in the selection of acquisitions, so the collections have been built up to match local requirements. The Library also maintains a strong reference section. All the key indexing and abstracting publications in the University’s subject range are available in electronic or printed form, and many other specialised reference sources are also taken. The Library is a designated European Documentation Centre, and the Official Publications Collection is a major resource for information relating to British Government and the European Union. Other special collections include microfilms, University of Leicester theses, and a small but important collection of archival material.
Among the degree courses supported by the Library are Sociology, Social Work, Mass Communications, History, Economic and Social History, Education and Economics. Caribbean studies resources and material covering aspects of Black and Asian history in Britain are well represented in our holdings, but are not the subjects of any special collection. However, the size of the Asian community in Leicester has made the city an area of special interest to many researchers in this field. Consequently, many students have focussed on the experiences of local Asian people in their choice of topic for thesis or dissertation work. The Library holds approximately 20 theses, 60 postgraduate and 20 undergraduate dissertations of this nature. Several theses address the history and life experiences of Asian peoples from East Africa who settled in Leicester during the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Strengths: The collection of theses and dissertations.

Size: Over 500 titles pertinent to Caribbean studies; Over 2000 items pertinent to the history of Black and Asian people in Britain.

Catalogue: Unicorn

Catalogue URL: http://www.le.ac.uk/li/catalog.html

Main URL: http://www.le.ac.uk/library/

Access: Single visit free to the general public. Subsequent visits are subject to payment of an annual fee, either for reference only or for limited borrowing rights. Reciprocal arrangements exist for visiting university staff and students. Please see the web page http://www.le.ac.uk/li/libservices/lirecip.html for further information.

Acquisition dates: 1921- ongoing (c.25% acquired after 1980)

Note:

Interest: Asian, Black, Caribbean

Complete: Complete

Subjects

Sociology

Immigration

Interethnic relations

Ethnic groups

Education

Economic history

Personal/Corporate names

Places

Leicester, United Kingdom

East Africa