COVID-19 Response - Library Update

To ensure the wellbeing of everyone who uses the building, our premises in Burlington House are set to remain closed to visitors until January 2021.

Thank you for your support and understanding and apologies for any inconvenience caused.

Continuing Support

Most types of enquiries can be answered including: collection enquiries; historical / genealogical research; remote access enquiries, including ScienceDirect.

Copies and loans are currently not possible.

Submit enquiries using the webform or by e-mailing library@rsc.org. Please allow 2 working days for a response.

Digital Collections

Please make use of the digitised collections including the Library catalogue, the Historical Collection, RSC Publishing and the Virtual Library (click the tab above for access).

Discover what the Library collections have to offer or start using the Library catalogue now to browse the collections or find a particular item.

When a small group of chemists met in 1841 to form the Chemical Society, one of the original objects for the society was 'the formation of a Library of scientific works'. From a small collection of books, the Library rapidly grew to become one of the finest single collections of works on the chemical sciences in Europe.

Today's collections consist of the virtual (accessible via our Virtual Library) and the physical. The physical collections house loanable books and journals and reference items. The Historical Collection is available both physically, in Burlington House, and online, through our Publishing Platform.

Search the Library catalogue

Borrowing books (and journals)

Members of the Royal Society of Chemistry and associated institutions are welcome to borrow loanable items from the collection. Please read our terms and conditions.

Terms and conditions

Members of the Royal Society of Chemistry

  • Members may borrow up to 10 items for one month
  • Loans can be renewed up to five times (if not placed on reserve by another member)
  • Loans can be sent and returned by post: we will pay the postage to the member; the member must pay the return postage (if not returning in person); the member is liable for the cost of replacing any lost or damaged loans whilst in their possession
  • This service is available to members within the UK. Members outside the UK should contact the Library to discuss alternative arrangements
  • Overdues: Notices will be sent within two weeks past an items' due date.  If a loan becomes one month overdue, the member will be notified that an invoice will be raised for its replacement and that their right to use the Library will be withdrawn until the loans are returned or paid for

Members of the M25 Access Scheme

  • Patrons may borrow up to three items for two weeks
  • Loans can be renewed up to two times (if not placed on reserve by another patron)
  • Loans may only be collected in person but can be returned by post (at the patrons' expense); the patron is liable for the cost of replacing any lost or damaged loans whilst in their possession
  • This service is only available within the UK
  • Overdues: Notices will be sent within two weeks past an items' due date. If a loan becomes one month overdue, the patron will be notified that an invoice will be raised for its replacement and that their right to use the Library will be withdrawn until the loans are returned or paid for

The Historical Collection

With over 3,000 items, the Royal Society of Chemistry's Historical Collection comprehensively covers the development and evolution of the chemical sciences from the 16th century to the 21st century. The majority of the collections are available to view online.

Notable highlights

The Davy Bookcase

Donated to the Chemical Society in 1919, this collection of books formerly belonged to Sir Humphry Davy, John Davy and Lady Davy. As well as some items by Humphry Davy, the collection includes items by William Ramsay, Antoine Lavoisier, John Dalton, Justus von Liebig, Lyon Playfair and William Nicholson.

The Sir Frederick Abel Papers

This collection of papers from former Chemical Society president, Sir Frederick Abel, was donated to the Royal Society of Chemistry by his family in 2010.  The collection includes two of his diaries as well as many of his professional and personal letters.

The Roscoe Collection

Sir Henry Roscoe donated his collection of books and manuscripts to the Chemical Society in 1906. The manuscripts are many of Sir Henry’s lectures, various notes on different aspects of chemistry as well as a number of volumes of letters written to him from his contemporaries.  The 100 books are some of our oldest and most notable and including many Latin titles from the 16th and 17th centuries.

The Nathan Collection

Bequeathed from the estate of Colonel Sir Frederick Nathan in 1934, this collection of books, pamphlets and posters on explosives and firearms covers the period 1598 to 1920.

Society publications & minutes

This collection includes Chemical Society and Royal Institute of Chemistry minutes of meetings from 1841 as well as the Annual Reports, the full collection of Chemistry in Britain and early editions of Education in Chemistry. Also included are the complete collections of Monographs for Teachers and Lectures, Monographs & Reports produced by the former societies.

Historical Collection booklet

We have produced a booklet as a guide to the Historical Collection providing more information on the different collections and highlighting some particularly notable items.  Download the Historical Collection booklet.

Remembering the First World War

To commemorate the contributions made by past members of the Chemical Society and the Institute of Chemistry, we have produced a booklet 'Pro Patria'.  Download the 'Pro Patria' booklet.

The Image Collection

Including a diverse range of formats and subjects, the Image Collection comprises many photographs, prints, paintings and glass slides. Some of the subjects included are Vanity Fair cartoons, caricatures and drawings of laboratory equipment and processes but the bulk of the collection comprises photographs of individual chemists.

Accessing the images

Many of the images in the collection came to the Royal Society of Chemistry as donations; one unique group of images that was donated to us is the Rose Collection donated by Sir Harold Rose.  This is a collection of ‘artistic photomicrographs’; the subject of this collection are crystals that Rose himself grew and photographed, magnified many times their original size, through a microscope.

Many thousands of the images in this collection have been digitised and are available for purchase, please contact the Library for further information.  In order to give you a more accurate quote, we will need to know which images you require and how to intend to use them.

Advice on how to search for (and see a preview of) an image is available on the Library catalogue’s Advanced Search page.

If you are able to visit the Library at Burlington House, we provide a Members' Room with four computers as well as free wi-fi and tea & coffee. Please ensure to check our opening times prior to your visit.

The majority of services are for members-only but if you are not a member, we may still be able to assist so please ask.

Historical enquiries

One of our most widely accessible enquiry services, not solely for the use of members, is the historical enquiry service.

As more people are keen to research their family history, they sometimes come across information to suggest that an ancestor was a past member of the Chemical Society or Institute of Chemistry; if this proves to be true, we can often provide some information.

Not limited to genealogy, we can also help with a wide range of biographical enquiries of scientists and more general history on the chemical sciences.

The Royal Society of Chemistry's Library Catalogue can be used to search for information on individual chemists and other scientists.

Technical enquiries

Whilst unable to provide a detailed or technical search for information, we have many resources available to assist you.  The main resources can be found in the Virtual Library) or you could search the Library catalogue or the Publishing Platform.

We would also recommend looking through the Directory of Consultants to locate someone with the expertise to help you.

M25 access scheme

The M25 access scheme allow members to visit and borrow library material from other participating institutions.

Under this scheme, members can access the collections of other academic institutions and in return their members have access to the collections of the Library of the Royal Society of Chemistry (some restrictions may apply).

If you wish to take advantage of this scheme, please contact us for further information or visit the M25 website for conditions of access and a list of participating libraries.

The Virtual Library provides members with free access to a range of chemical resources from several different publishers.

Notice:

Due to a system upgrade, you may experience problems accessing EBSCO eBooks & Knovel.  We are working to reinstate access as soon as possible, apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.

Problems logging in?

  • Ensure you are accessing via the sign-in button (and not via any direct links to the resources)
  • Enter your username as your 6 digit RSC number.  If you have forgotten your ID or password, you can reset them on the Members' area sign-in page
  • Clear the cookies from your browsers’ cache
  • Try using a different browser
  • ScienceDirect requires a separate account that you can request from the Library (accounts expire at the end of each year)
Virtual Library sign-in

EBSCO eBooks

Access to over 100 titles on the chemical sciences, including many on the history of chemistry, and more than 3,000 general interest titles.

Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology

Features over 1,300 regularly updated articles on chemical substances: their properties, manufacturing, and uses.

Also includes information on industrial processes and unit operations in chemical engineering, as well as fundamentals and scientific subjects related to the field.  Environmental and health issues concerning chemical technology are also addressed.

Knovel eBooks and Databases

Engineering data resource including eBooks & Databases on a range of related topics.  Other research tools include:

  • Material property search
  • Interactive equations
  • Periodic Table
  • Engineering unit converter

ScienceDirect eJournals and eBooks

Over 300 eBooks and 18 journal archives (c. 1995 to 2016).  Journal titles include Analytica Chimica Acta, Journal of Chromatography A and Tetrahedron Letters.

Springer eJournals and eBooks

Access to over 400 eBooks and the journal archives of over 100 titles, e.g. Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry; Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology; Physical and Engineering Sciences in Medicine.

Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry

Complete coverage of the science and technology in all areas of industrial chemistry containing over 1,000 major articles by some 3,000 authors.

Locations & contacts

Library

Burlington House, Piccadilly London W1J 0BA
Tel:
+44 (0) 20 7440 3373
Library online enquiry form

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