Edinburgh University Library

Edinburgh University Library is the main library of the University of Edinburgh and one of the most important libraries of Scotland. The University Library was moved in 1827 to William Playfair's Upper Library in the Old College building. The collections in Edinburgh University Old College were moved in 1967 to the purpose-built eight-storey Main Library building at George Square, one of the largest academic libraries in the world. Today, Edinburgh's university-wide library system holds over 3.8m books, e-books and e-journals in total. History The University was founded by Royal Charter from King James VI in 1582 and opened in 1583, however the library pre-dated this by three years. The initial collection was a bequest of 276 theological books from Clement Littill, an advocate who left his collection to the town in 1580. Until 1708, the teaching staff consisted of four regents and the Principal, the former taking each class through a year's part of the whole arts curriculum of logic, metaphysics, ethics and physics, which included the elements of mathematics and astronomy. Until the middle of the 17th century, by which time the library must have exceeded the 2,400-odd volumes listed in Robert Lumsden's shelf catalogue of 1637, the teaching tended to be commentaries on Aristotle. Collections