In celebration of the National Library Week 2024 (April 7-13), we’ve assembled a list of 10 fun facts about the UNLV Libraries. If you’re interested in joining us for the week-long celebration, stop by one of our Library Week events.
1. Lied Library wasn’t the first central library on UNLV’s campus.
The first central library at UNLV was located in the back half of Grant Hall, one of three buildings first built on the Maryland Parkway campus. In the 1960s, the library moved to a new building and became named the James R. Dickinson Library.
Look familiar? That’s because the Dickinson Library is now home to the Boyd School of Law and Wiener-Rogers Law Library. Lied Library opened in 2001 and is the third rendition of UNLV’s central library.
2. The documented history in Special Collection & Archives would cover most of the Las Vegas Strip.
Special Collections & Archives maintains the UNLV University Archives along with vast collections related to Las Vegas, Southern Nevada, gaming, entertainment history, and more.
Our collections include more than 17,000 linear feet of physically collected materials and 50 terabytes of digital data. That’s long enough to cover the Las Vegas Strip from the MGM to Circus Circus!
3. UNLV actually has six libraries.
In addition to Lied Library, the University Libraries include the Architecture Studies Library in the Paul B. Sogg Architecture Building, the Music Library in Beam Music Center, School of Medicine Library at the Kirk Kerkorian Medical Education Building, and the Teacher Development & Resources Library in the Carlson Education Building. The Wiener-Rogers Law Library, part of the Boyd School of Law, is another excellent library resource on campus.
4. We can help you with your intellectual property.
Lied Library is home to the UNLV Patent & Trademark Resource Center Powered by Switch, the only designated U.S. PTRC in Southern Nevada. Located on the first floor, the PTRC can assist you with researching existing patents and trademarks to help protect your intellectual property rights.
5. Lied Library was designed to be the largest building on campus.
When UNLV’s then-president, Carol C. Harter, began planning for Lied Library in the 1990s, her goal was for the new library building to be one square foot larger than the Thomas & Mack Center to show that the university valued academics over athletics.
6. More than 2.9 million print and digital titles circulate per year!
In total, the University Libraries has more than 927,888 physical books, 1,254,975 physical book volumes, and 1,839,342 digital/e-books. UNLV students, faculty, and staff can access additional materials not available in our collections through Interlibrary Loan.
7. We have more than 1 million visitors per year!
On peak days during the academic year, more than 10,000 visitors come to the UNLV Libraries to consult with our librarians, use a study pod, work on projects in group study rooms, access a computer, or utilize any of our other resources.
8. We can help you with more projects than just an essay.
Our Makerspace is a space for students of all majors, where you can experiment, embrace failure, learn, and innovate again. We are equipped to help you design, print, cut, or build just about any kind of project. All it takes is a quick orientation and the space is yours to use.
9. Lights, camera, action! Everything you need to produce is available in our Multimedia Studios.
At Lied Library, we have two music production studios, two audio production/podcast studios, and a visual production studio equipped with a camera and microphone for any audio/visual projects you might create. After watching a brief online training, you can reserve time in the studios.
10. A celebrity lives in Lied Library… and you can check him out!
Have you met Mandy the Skeleton? Mandy became an internet sensation in 2020 with a photo series wandering the empty library during the early days of the pandemic. These days, Mandy and all of our other anatomical models are available to check out from the circulation desk to help with your studies.
