Andersonian Library
The Curran Building, which has been the home of the Andersonian Library since 1980.
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| Country | Scotland |
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| Type | Academic Library (Reference and Lending) |
| Established | 1796 |
| Location |
University of Strathclyde (Curran Building) 101 St. James Road, Glasgow G4 0NS |
| Coordinates | 55°51′48.38″N 4°14′26.29″W / 55.8634389°N 4.2406361°WCoordinates: 55°51′48.38″N 4°14′26.29″W / 55.8634389°N 4.2406361°W |
| Collection | |
| Items collected | Books, manuscripts, journals and electronic resources |
| Size | Over 1,000,000 volumes |
| Access and use | |
| Access requirements | Staff, students and alumni of the University of Strathclyde |
| Members | Approx. 15,000 |
| Website | The Andersonian Library |
University of Strathclyde (Curran Building)
The Andersonian Library is the principal university library of the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland. Established in 1796, it is one of the largest of its type in Scotland.
Access to the Library is restricted to Strathclyde university students and faculty only; upon entering the facility you are greeted with a card reader and security guard. This ensures that no unwanted visitors disrupt students during crucial working times. However, if you have forgotten or lost your card then a visitor's pass can be acquired from reception twice; then after a small fee is required to use the facilities without a Student card.
On 29 April 2010 The library was victim to a bomb scare. The surrounding roads and the library itself were evacuated. Strathclyde Police were called to the scene along with bomb-sniffing dogs. The library was cleared safe shortly after 2 pm and staff were allowed access and students were allowed to re-enter around 3 pm.
The Andersonian was formed in 1796 on the death of John Anderson when he bequeathed his collection, which consisted of over 2000 volumes. This is what formed the nucleus of the library. The Andersonian was originally housed within the buildings of Andersons Institution on George Street, before being relocated to the Royal College Building upon its opening in 1912. The library moved once again to the McCance Building on Richmond Street in 1964, remaining here until a former Collins warehouse on Cathedral Street. It was purchased by the University of Strathclyde in the late 1970s. The university then proceeded and stripped it right back to a skeleton, and rebuilt it as the third home of its Andersonian Library in 1980. The building itself is named after Sir Samuel Curran, the Principal who had masterminded Strathclyde's genesis as a university and served between 1964 and 1980. The current location into which the Andersonian moved in 1981 for the 1980-81 academic year - the new library was officially opened the following year.
John Anderson, a Professor of Natural Philosophy at Glasgow University, left his personal library of 1,500 volumes which formed the basis of the Andersonian Library's historical and nurtured items. Two other important collections were added to the library's stock in the following century: 500 volumes from the library of Alexander Laing, a Professor of Mathematics at Anderson's University, and 1,400 volumes from James Young of Kelly and Durris, who was President of Anderson's College. The library of the Royal College had strong collections in the fields of applied sciences and technology.
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