If you have visited Paley Library recently, you may have noticed a number of changes:  a first floor café, new computer desks and chairs for laptops, and a welcoming circular reference desk positioned to greet you. 

These improvements to physical space exemplify just some of the enhancements that have taken place at Temple University Libraries within the past few years.

In a recent ranking of research libraries published in the Chronicle of Higher Education, Temple rose to 60 out of the 113 peer research libraries in the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Investment Index, 2007.

This ranking marks a dramatic increase from 83 in 2004.  It also represents a gain of 12 points over a 2006 ranking of 72 and is the second year in a row that Temple’s rank has increased by 10 or more points in this important indicator of library growth and development.

“President Hart and Provost Staiano-Coico have been very supportive of the Libraries and improving the Libraries’ collections, services and facilities,” said Dean of University Libraries Larry Alford.

“This significant improvement in our national ranking is the direct result of the increase in commitment and investment made in the Temple Libraries over the last few years,” Alford said. 

The ARL Investment Index is a comparison that describes the amount of resources invested in member institutions by comparing total library expenditures, expenditures on library materials and professional staff salaries, and the number of professional and support staff.
 
The growth of the Libraries’ collections, and the amount of money spent annually on library materials has played a key role in Temple’s improved ranking in the ARL Index. The increase in spending allowed the Libraries to acquire, during 2007 alone, over 60,000 new books, 100 new research databases and retrospective additions to library collections.

Thanks to these broader collections with increased relevancy to teaching and research at the university, the number of full-text downloads of electronic resources increased 70 percent in 2007 compared to 2006, and book circulation is up this year by 13 percent.