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The Hatcher Graduate Library from the North side

The Shapiro Library ("The UGLi")

The University of Michigan Library in Ann Arbor, also known as the University Library, is one of the largest university library systems in the United States. The library system comprises 24 separate collections, and roughly 8.13 million volumes, 8.8 million microforms, and 18 million graphical objects. The collection grows at the rate of 177,000 volumes, or roughly 8 linear miles (14 km) of manuscripts, per year.^[1] The university was the original home of the JSTOR database, about 750,000 pages digitized from the entire pre-1990 backfile of ten journals of history and economics. The university recently entered into a path-breaking book digitization program with Google. As of August 31, 2006, UM has rolled out the first phase of the Google archive retrieval.

One of the most prominent of the university's libraries is the Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library, whose collection alone numbers over 3.5 million volumes.^[2] Connected by a skywalk to the Shapiro Library, which houses a science library and the Undergraduate Library (previously called the UGLi for its odd modern architecture but recently renovated), the Hatcher Library building also houses numerous other libraries including:

• Map Library, the largest collection of printed maps in the state of Michigan, with over 300,000 maps and atlases.
• Papyrus Collection, one of the largest in the world, with over 7,000 inventory numbers and more than 10,000 individual fragments. UM is also one of the 2 original founding members of the Advanced Papyrological Information System (APIS).
• Special Collections Library, including the massive Labadie Collection of Social Protest Material.

The Duderstadt Center on North Campus, which houses the Art, Architecture & Engineering Library, containing books for art, architecture, and engineering. The Duderstadt Center also contains multiple computer labs, video editing studios, and a 3D virtual reality room.

Viewed from the South, the Clements Library in the foreground, with the new graduate library tower in the background

Other highly regarded university libraries include:

• Asia Library
• Buhr Remote Shelving Facility - Stores in a preservation-sensitive environment over two million items too fragile or rarely-used to be kept in the main libraries
• Dentistry Library - Called "one of the most comprehensive dental collections in the world"
• Internet Public Library - Receives more than seven million patron visits a year.
• Music Library - Ranked among the top five academic research music libraries in the U.S. and recently referred to by the National Association of Schools of Music as "one of the world's major music collections"
• Public Health Library & Informatics - One of the most comprehensive collections of public health books and journals in the US
• Taubman Medical Library - One of the largest medical libraries in the country

There are also several collections that are affiliated with the university, but are not part of the University Library system. Two historical libraries are the Bentley Historical Library and the William L. Clements Library. The former is home of the University of Michigan's archives as well as the Michigan Historical Collections, while the latter houses original resources for the study of American history and culture from the 15th to the early 20th century. The Clements Library is believed to be the first stand alone rare books collection at a public university.

Other libraries include the Law School Library, the Ronald and Deborah Freedman Library of the Population Studies Center, and the Transportation Research Institute Library. The last library is one of the world's most extensive collections of literature on traffic safety. There is also a large number of independent departmental libraries, as well as small libraries in many student dormitories.

Using a variety of metrics such as accessibility, materials expenditures, volumes held, and staff size, the Association for Research Libraries (ARL) has consistently ranked the UM library system among the top ten in the nation.^[3]

• University Library
  • Alphabetical listing
  • Subject listing
• Libraries & Archives Directory for University of Michigan
• UM online FAQs