XSL, the X-Shooter Spectral Library: Overview and status

We present an overview of and status report on XSL, the X-Shooter Spectral Library. XSL is an ESO Large Programme that is using the X-Shooter three-beam spectrograph to collect moderate-resolution (R=7000--11000), high signal-to-noise spectra of more than 700 stars across the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram with a large range of compositions. XSL is designed primarily as an input library for stellar population synthesis models but has already been used for a wider range of topics, a few of which are discussed here. The first data release of XSL, representing near-ultraviolet and optical spectra of the first ˜250 stars, will be available in early 2014, with later data releases to include the near-infrared spectra and the complete library