Formal opening of Templeman Library 19-23 March

Press Office
Templeman library
Templeman library, Canterbury campus

The University will celebrate the formal opening of its enlarged and refurbished Templeman Library during the week 19-23 March after a £27m upgrade.

The library, now the biggest in Kent, has increased in size by 5,000 square metres to 18,750 square meters and now houses a collection of more than one million books and journals. In total the shelves in the library contain 12 miles of books and its floor space is equivalent to 95 tennis courts.

As well as more shelf space, the extended library includes many more study spaces for students, new seminar rooms, digital classrooms and a 260-seat lecture theatre to provide conferencing and teaching space.

Work to refurbish the existing 1960s-built library began in 2015, with the University maintaining full access to services for the 9,000 people using the facility every day.

Both the new section and the older refurbished sections of the library now incorporate the latest in environmental best practice, including maximising the use of natural light and ventilation.

The week of celebrations will celebrate the library’s history, impact and future. Highlights include a special edition of the BBC radio programme ‘The Listening Project’, themed around universities, libraries and students. The show will be hosted by Fi Glover, Kent alumna and Honorary Graduate, and takes place on 22 March from 18.00 – 19.00.

On Wednesday 21 March from 18.00 – 20.30 there will be an edition of the BBC show Dateline. This will feature discussions between University Chancellor Gavin Esler, FTI Consulting’s Head of UK Public Affairs, Alex Deane, and Kent students on topics ranging from Brexit to the future of University funding.

And on Tuesday March 20 Professor Frank Furedi, author of the book Power of Reading: From Socrates to Twitter, will explore the question ‘Why is reading always a problem?’ in a lecture in the library. This event runs from 18.00 – 19.00.

All events are open to the public and free to attend and will take place in the Templeman Lecture Theatre on the Canterbury Campus.

For full details of the programme, see: https://www.kent.ac.uk/events/templeman/index.html