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Library Facts: By the Numbers

Washington University has 14 libraries on three campuses: 12 on the Danforth Campus and one each at the Medical School Campus and West Campus. Here's the complete list. The Libraries are a member of the Association of Research Libraries, the Center for Research Libraries, the Greater Western Library Alliance, and MOBIUS, among other organizations. See the Welcome to the Libraries page for more information.


  2005-06 2004-05 2003-04
Volumes Held 3,891,802 3,694,504 3,647,459
Books Purchased (print & electronic) 23,570 27,942 27,596
Current Journals (print & electronic) 41,339 44,806 47,266
Video and Film 56,953 34,993 33,389
Loans to Other Libraries 48,775 40,603 42,343
Loans from Other Libraries 48,880 51,110 61,970
Group Presentations (library instruction sessions) 906 862 1,070
Reference Questions 81,599 58,129 68,242
Items Checked Out 268,438 278,705 262,738
Use of Electronic Journals * 3,025,460 2,626,715 1,985,666
Website Page Views * 7,695,812 7,736,467 5,782,501
Online Catalog Searches * 4,711,113 2,841,040 2,518,463
Database Searches * 1,143,347 1,036,088 860,464
Professional Staff 113 108 107
Support Staff 135 133 131
Student Assistants (FTE) 63 57 56
Expenditures for Books $2,044,272 $1,397,670 $1,214,364
Expenditures for Journals $7,275,964 $7,203,389 $7,088,406
Total Materials Expenditures $10,646,463 $9,969,715 $9,259,923
Total Library Expenditures $37,908,474 $36,484,185 $29,416,653

* May not include figures from the Becker Medical Library, Law Library, and/or Social Work Library.