A study of information from 2013-14 revealed that Penn State’s libraries are among the continent’s best in research. The Association of Research Libraries published their data in the 2015 Almanac of Higher Education, and included a ranking of 115 universities. The index included expenditures, salaries, staff size, collections size, and capacity to deliver information to students, among other criteria.

Harvard, Yale, and the University of Toronto rounded out the top three spots in the index while Penn State came in at No. 8 (No. 3 of public U.S. universities). Other notable schools on the list are the Big Ten’s Michigan (No. 5), Ohio State (No. 14), and Illinois (No. 15), while another nine rank in the top 50.

Penn State’s total library expenditures for 2013-14 were $54,748,383 — a figure that includes over $12 million spent on salaries and $20 million on library materials.

“Penn State students, faculty, and visitors tell us regularly how much they value the scope and scale of our Libraries, and this ranking validates their views,” dean of University Libraries and Scholarly Communications Barbara I. Dewey said to Penn State News. “Having such robust collections of research materials and services is a significant factor in helping Penn State recruit and retain top students and faculty. We are able to provide critical support for knowledge creation and student academic success at Penn State and in research collaborations with highly regarded peer libraries across the continent.”

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