The Brotherton Library is a 1936 Grade II listed Beaux-Arts building with some art deco fittings, located on the main campus of the University of Leeds. It was designed by the firm of Lanchester & Lodge, and is named after Edward Brotherton, 1st Baron Brotherton, who in 1927 donated £100,000 to the university as funding for its first purpose-built library.
The Brotherton Library is a hub in what has become Leeds University Library. Initially, it contained all of the university's books and manuscripts, with the exception of books housed in the separate Medical Library and Clothworkers' Library. Its contents cover the main collections in arts and languages and the Special Collections' Research Centre. It also houses part of the University Library's administration. Science, engineering and social science research collections are located in the Edward Boyle Library, opened in 1975. The Laidlaw Library opened in 2015 contains core texts for undergraduates and a high demand collection. The Health Sciences Library, housed in the Worsley Building since 1977, contains the University Library's medical and related collections, with a small satellite library at St James's University Hospital. Leeds University Library is also responsible for the University Archives, the Stanley and Audrey Burton Gallery, the Treasures Gallery and the International Textile Collection.
