Connected

Building The Library’s Bookshelf

Three years on from our last fundraising appeal, we look at the impact of your generous support in helping our students. 

In 2017, we asked you to help us purchase necessary books and journals for the University Library, to help facilitate learning and improve the student experience. Each year, over 17,000 students attend the University of Reading, most of whom spend huge amounts of time studying in the Library.

Thanks to your incredible support, we raised more than £27,000, allowing the University to purchase over 300 books and several journal subscriptions for our students. The book purchases covered a variety of subjects and courses – from law to agriculture – and we estimate that an excess of 3,000 students will have been directly impacted by the generosity of your donations in the last three years alone.

Words of wisdom

Not only did you help us purchase such a wide selection of books and journals, you also inspired students to succeed with some words of encouragement. Inside every donation envelope we placed a bookplate that offered you the opportunity to write an inspiring message to students, which our Library staff then placed inside the new books. And now, even three years on, whenever students open any books that were purchased by our donors, they will find a message encouraging them to work to the best of their ability.

Thanks to your support, we know that the making of a library is not all in the bricks and mortar, but in the books that line the shelves and the learning resources that it offers. The books and journals that you helped us purchase in 2017 are a vital part of the University, and to the success of our students. From its humble beginnings on the London Road campus, to the newly refurbished and transformed space at Whiteknights campus, you have ensured that our Library continues to grow.

Thank you.

Find out more about our fundraising and volunteering campaign, IMAGINE, and our latest projects here.