The Library in Numbers: 2022

2022 was a great year for the Teresa and Alexandre Soares dos Santos Library.

The number of visits to the library was around 207.000 people, an increase of around 156% compared to the previous year.

This high number of people in the library lead to a higher number of users. Compared to the previous year, there was a 37% growth in the number of users enrolled in our library system.

The number of book loans decreased in comparison to 2021 by around 6%. This reality contrasts completely with the use of almost all electronic resources in which the metrics show an increasing trend. This will be the case, for example, of downloads from the UNL Repository, which grew by about 7% and the number of eBook downloads, growing in all subscribed publishers, except for ProQuest. The trend is the same in most subscribed electronic resources.

These data shows that the library’s focus on digital resources has been accompanied by a growth in the use of electronic resources in the library.

In 2023, the Library will continue to invest in the acquisition of digital resources, which has proved to be extremely important for our community. The use of the book collection will also be analysed, to find ways to promote greater use of these resources, especially non-recommended books.