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About the Library
We empower our communities to be active, well-informed global citizens through collaborative learning, discovery and research.
Our library is for everyone, you’re all welcome, so come and visit us and ask us questions! This is your space.
Kirsty Lingstadt Director of Library, Archives and Learning Services
The library is more than our buildings. We're dedicated to providing exceptional support and resources to our staff and students. We take a user-centered approach to designing our services, using UX (User Experience) techniques to gain a deep understanding of your needs. We value student input, and many of our recent improvements have come directly from your suggestions.
Recent examples range from big changes like updating our study space booking policies, creating new signage, and adding more spaces to the library; to smaller but meaningful improvements, such as installing benches on the Fairhurst lawn and adding more plants to our buildings.
We want to work with you to make the library even better. That's why we hold the LibInspo competition, where students can compete for the title of Library Innovator and a prize of £1,000. We invest in the winning ideas to bring them to life: recent projects include the Living Room and the Family Study Room. Currently, we're working on making several 2023 finalists' ideas a reality, including a Sensory Room.
You don't have to wait for the LibInspo competition to suggest improvements though! Contact us with any feedback or ideas you have, at any time.
Main buildings on Campus West
The Morrell, Fairhurst and Burton form our main library, home to incredible facilities, hundreds of study spaces, and over a million books
Other sites and study areas
We also have libraries in King's Manor and York Minster, as well as study areas in the Ron Cooke Hub, the Piazza, and Vanbrugh
Get to know the library in 60 seconds
Our library minute will introduce you to our buildings, the different zones and study spaces within them, and how to find resources and get support.
Who was JB Morrell?
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John Bowes Morrell, after whom our main library is named, was one of York's best known and well-loved citizens, a key figure in the founding of the University, and one of the City's great benefactors. Morrell was an author, historian, and was twice Mayor of York, and he lived from 1873 - 1963.
This year marks JB's 150th birthday.