World University Library Ranking
Abstract
University rankings tend to be bullshit [1]–[3].1 Nonetheless, I give it another shot and rank universities by how long their library is open. – It turns out that 70% of universities have their libraries closed more than half of the time, and a mere 6% are open all the time.
1 An exception is the Nando’s Excellence Framework.
Method
Opening times are retrieved via Google Maps for all universities in the racist list of QS World University Rankings and converted to percentages. Where there are multiple libraries, the one with the longest opening hours is selected. User ratings are also retrieved via Google Maps and reranked using Bayesian averaging. The table is sorted by opening hours first, and by ratings second.
The main limitation is finding the right libraries for the universities. The approach is to simply use “<university name> Library” as a query and let Google Maps figure it out, and it works surprisingly well, but not perfectly. Especially smaller libraries (pertaining to single faculties or colleges) may not be properly represented.
An important piece of information that is missing is whether the libraries are open to the public. For example, most libraries in Germany are open to everyone, but in the UK they tend to be restricted to students and staff.
Code and data are available on Github.
Updated in May 2024.
Rankings
| # |
|
University | Library |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 100% | Tecnológico de Monterrey | BiblioTEC |
| 1 | 100% | Lincoln University | University Library, University of Lincoln |
| 1 | 100% | Essex, University of | Albert Sloman Library |
| 1 | 100% | University of Lincoln | University Library, University of Lincoln |
| 1 | 100% | Panjab University | A. C. Joshi Library |
| 1 | 100% | University of the West of England | Frenchay Campus Library |
| 1 | 100% | Queen’s University Belfast | The McClay Library |
| 1 | 100% | University of Hull | Brynmor Jones Library |
| 1 | 100% | University of Warsaw | Warsaw University Library |
| 1 | 100% | Pohang University of Science And Technology (POSTECH) | PARK TAE-JOON Digital Library |
| 1 | 100% | University of Salford | Clifford Whitworth Library |
| 1 | 100% | Oxford Brookes University | Headington Library |
| 1 | 100% | University of Bradford | JB Priestley Library |
| 1 | 100% | Sungkyunkwan University(SKKU) | Central Library, Sungkyunkwan University (Humanities & Social Sciences Campus) |
| 1 | 100% | Brunel University London | Brunel University Library |
| 1 | 100% | University of East Anglia (UEA) | Library |
| 1 | 100% | Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology LUT | LUT University Library |
| 1 | 100% | Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais | Biblioteca da Face - UFMG |
| 1 | 100% | Indian Institute of Technology Indore (IIT Indore) | Learning Resource Center,IIT Indore |
| 1 | 100% | University of Huddersfield | University of Huddersfield Library |
| 1 | 100% | Lancaster University | Lancaster University Library |
| 1 | 100% | Istanbul Technical University | ITU Mustafa Inan Library |
| 1 | 100% | University of Surrey | University of Surrey Library |
| 1 | 100% | University of Southampton | Hartley Library (36) |
| 1 | 100% | University of Birmingham | Main Library, University Of Birmingham |
| 1 | 100% | University of Hyderabad | IGM Library, UoH |
| 1 | 100% | King’s College London | The Maughan Library |
| 1 | 100% | Canterbury Christ Church University | Augustine House Library, Canterbury Christ Church University |
| 1 | 100% | Northeastern University | Snell Library |
| 1 | 100% | Royal Holloway University of London | Emily Wilding Davison Building |
| 1 | 100% | Boğaziçi University | Bogazici University Library |
| 1 | 100% | Jawaharlal Nehru University | Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Central Library |
| 1 | 100% | Stony Brook University, State University of New York | Frank Melville Jr. Memorial Library |
| 1 | 100% | Sheffield Hallam University | Adsetts Centre |
| 1 | 100% | Coventry University | Lanchester Library |
| 1 | 100% | Newcastle University | Philip Robinson Library |
| 1 | 100% | Koç University | Suna Kıraç Kütüphanesi |
| 1 | 100% | New York University (NYU) | Elmer Holmes Bobst Library |
| 1 | 100% | Hacettepe University | Hacettepe University Beytepe Library |
| 1 | 100% | Chulalongkorn University | Office of Academic Resources (Central Library), Chulalongkorn University |
| 1 | 100% | Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) | All Saints Library |
| 1 | 100% | University of Portsmouth | University Library |
| 1 | 100% | Sabanci University | Sabancı Üniversitesi Bilgi Merkezi |
| 1 | 100% | University of Leicester | David Wilson Library |
| 1 | 100% | University of North Texas | Willis Library |
| 1 | 100% | Anadolu University | Anadolu Üniversitesi Kütüphanesi |
| 1 | 100% | Durham University | Bill Bryson Library • Durham University |
| 1 | 100% | The University of Exeter | Forum Library |
| 1 | 100% | The University of Texas at Arlington | Central Library |
| 1 | 100% | University of Hertfordshire | University of Hertfordshire - LRC (College Lane) |
| 1 | 100% | University of Aveiro | Library of the University of Aveiro |
| 1 | 100% | Jeju National University | 제주대학교 중앙도서관 |
| 1 | 100% | Edinburgh Napier University | Edinburgh Napier University Library |
| 1 | 100% | Technical University of Denmark | DTU Smart Library |
| 1 | 100% | Khon Kaen University | Khon Kaen University Library |
| 1 | 100% | University of Plymouth | Charles Seale-Hayne Library |
| 1 | 100% | Swansea University | Swansea University Library (1937) |
| 1 | 100% | University of Kent | Templeman Library |
| 1 | 100% | University of Bath | University of Bath Library |
| 1 | 100% | Middlesex University | Sheppard Library |
| 1 | 100% | La Trobe University | Borchardt Library, La Trobe University, Melbourne |
| 1 | 100% | Aston University | Aston University Library |
| 1 | 100% | Northumbria University at Newcastle | City Campus Library, Northumbria University |
| 1 | 100% | University of Brighton | Aldrich Library |
| 1 | 100% | Oregon State University | Library Quad |
| 1 | 100% | Keele University | Keele University Library |
| 1 | 100% | The University of Edinburgh | Main Library |
| 1 | 100% | Nottingham Trent University | Boots Library |
| 1 | 100% | George Washington University | Gelman Library |
| 1 | 100% | University of Sussex | University of Sussex Library |
| 1 | 100% | The University of Sheffield | Information Commons |
| 1 | 100% | Curtin University | TL Robertson Library |
| 1 | 100% | University of Kwazulu-Natal | Library Building |
| 1 | 100% | The University of Sydney | Sydney Jones Library, University of Liverpool |
| 1 | 100% | Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) | Mundo ITAM |
| 1 | 100% | Leeds Beckett University | Leeds Beckett University, Sheila Silver Library |
| 1 | 100% | University of Agriculture, Faisalabad | Main Library Lawn, University Of Agriculture |
| 1 | 100% | American University | American University Library |
| 1 | 100% | University of Liverpool | Sydney Jones Library, University of Liverpool |
| 1 | 100% | Aberystwyth University | Hugh Owen Library |
| 1 | 100% | Sakarya University | Sakarya University Central Library |
| 1 | 100% | Birmingham City University | Curzon Library |
| 1 | 100% | Marmara University | Prof. Dr. Orhan Oğuz Kütüphanesi |
| 1 | 100% | KIT, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology | KIT Library South |
| 1 | 100% | University of Bristol | Arts and Social Sciences Library, University of Bristol |
| 1 | 100% | Istanbul Aydin University | Istanbul Aydin University Information Center |
| 1 | 100% | Vilnius Gediminas Technical University | VILNIUS TECH Library |
| 1 | 100% | Queen Mary University of London | Mile End Library |
| 1 | 100% | Goldsmiths, University of London | Goldsmiths Library |
| 1 | 100% | The University of Warwick | University of Warwick Library |
| 1 | 100% | De Montfort University | Kimberlin Library, De Montfort University |
| 1 | 100% | Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology (deemed to be university) | Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology |
| 1 | 100% | The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) | LSE Library: The British Library of Political and Economic Science |
| 1 | 100% | Southern Cross University | Southern Cross University |
| 1 | 100% | Akdeniz Üniversitesi | Merkezkütüphane of Akdeniz University |
| 1 | 100% | University of California, Davis | 24-Hour Study Room |
| 1 | 100% | Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCar) | Geladeirateca RU UFSCar |
| 98 | 93% | Imperial College London | Abdus Salam Library |
| 98 | 93% | Tulane University | Howard-Tilton Memorial Library |
| 98 | 93% | University of Reading | University of Reading Library |
No matching items
References
[1]
R. Bowden, “Fantasy Higher Education: University and college league tables,” Quality in Higher Education, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 41–60, Apr. 2000, doi: 10.1080/13538320050001063.
[2]
M. Saisana and B. D’Hombres, Higher education rankings: Robustness issues and critical assessment. 2008. doi: 10.2788/92295.
[3]
B. M. Kehm, “Global University Rankings - Impacts and Unintended Side Effects,” European Journal of Education, vol. 49, no. 1, pp. 102–112, Mar. 2014, doi: 10.1111/ejed.12064.