Post by De Montfort University

Libraries give us power - and thanks to a new partnerships, hundreds more people across Leicestershire are using theirs. The Open Libraries project was started in February 2025 as part of the Universities Partnership, a collaboration between DMU, University of Leicester and Loughborough University. Working with Leicester City Council, Leicestershire County Council and Rutland County Council, the project gives local residents free membership of all three university libraries. Members can borrow up to 10 books at a time, access specialist academic collections, and use open study spaces seven days a week. Since starting in February 2025, the scheme has attracted 1,708 new members across the three universities, with the University of Leicester welcoming 1,010 new members, DMU 328, and Loughborough 370. That compares to an average of between two and seven public joiners per month across the partnership before the campaign began. Across the partnership, 3,548 books have been loaned to external members since the start of 2025, while Loughborough University Library alone has recorded 2,393 visits from members of the public over the past 12 months. And the scheme has attracted national attention, being used as a case study in several prominent publications. All this in the #NationalYearOfReading, too.