The University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) Library is the geographic and academic heart of the campus and an intellectual hub for the university. The Library welcomes over 2.3 million visitors annually, and its websites receive over 6.6 million sessions each year. The Library is dedicated to supporting the university’s research, teaching, and public service mission by providing access to an extensive range of collections, services, and learning spaces.

UCSB Library is part of the UC libraries system, which includes more than 100 libraries across 10 campuses, two Regional Library Facilities (RLFs), and the California Digital Library (CDL). Together, the UC libraries hold nearly 40 million print volumes, making it the second-largest library collection in the United States, surpassed only by the Library of Congress. 

UCSB Library’s collections support the UCSB research community through a combination of on-site print resources, licensed electronic journals and eBooks, and archival and special collections. The Library holds approximately 6 million volumes in print and electronic formats and provides rapid access to the entire collection of the UC libraries and beyond through Interlibrary Loan. Special collections items include over 4,840 manuscripts and archives, 400,000 audio recordings, 400,000 maps, 2.7 million satellite and aerial images, and a large collection of rare books and serials, ephemera, objects, and artifacts. The Library also provides a wide array of services and a variety of study, computing, research, and creation spaces to support the research and learning needs of the university community.

UCSB Library is actively involved in many special projects, institutional partnerships, and academic associations. The Library is the editorial headquarters for The Writings of Henry D. Thoreau, a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) project that is publishing definitive scholarly editions of the complete works of the naturalist and literary artist. The Library is an active member of the Association of Research Libraries, the Center for Research Libraries, the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, the Pacific Rim Research Libraries Alliance, the Coalition for Networked Information, the Digital Library Federation, SPARC, the ORCID U.S. Community, and is a partner in the Samvera Project.

UCSB Library is led by University Librarian Todd Grappone and a Cabinet of Associate University Librarians.

By the Numbers

Fiscal Year 2025-2026 (July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026)

  • 48,312 patrons
  • 209 employees (including 91 student assistants)
  • 2,181,473 physical holdings (books, periodicals, CDs etc.)
  • 3,302,023 electronic holdings (ebooks, databases, e-journals etc.)
  • 2,426 seats available
  • 66,123 books checked out
  • 101,184 ebook downloads
  • 2,085,037 article downloads
  • 4,161,908 database searches
  • 16,592 Tech & More checkouts (laptops, calculators, chargers, headphones etc.)
  • 2,277,181 visits to the Library building
  • 49,796,012 visits to Library websites and digital collections
  • 58,805 group study room reservations
  • 7,476 Makerspace visits
  • 629 research appointments in Special Research Collections
  • 32,687 public computer usage
  • 476 articles published open access by UCSB authors with library funding
  • 11,581 attendees at events, workshops and presentations
  • 80% of graduating students stated that the Library was important to their success at UCSB
  • $925,849 raised in gifts and grants

Recent Awards and Accolades

Organizational Information