Visiting the Library
Find out our opening hours and how to book a visit
ScienceDirect access for Fellows
Extensive resources available on ScienceDirect using an OpenAthens login
Mary Anning Exhibition
Discover Mary Anning's presence and influence in our collections through her relationships with our Fellows
Postal loan and scanning services
Did you know that you can borrow books by post and order scans of documents? Find out more
Library and Information Services
Library opening hours: Tuesday-Thursday, 10am-5pm
To ensure staff availability, we kindly ask you to let us know you are coming in advance. To make an appointment, please email [email protected] with your preferred date. Find out more about visiting the Library
Library closures in December and January
Christmas & New Year
The Library will close for the Christmas period on Thursday 21 December, reopening on Tuesday 2 January 2024.
Library closed 8 - 12 January 2024
The Library will be closed to all visitors on the second week of January, and it may take us longer to respond to email enquiries. This is to allow Library staff to carry out some essential housekeeping with the collections. The Lower Library will be available should Fellows require a space to work. We thank you in advance for your patience and apologise for any inconvenience caused.
The Geological Society Library houses one of the finest collections of geoscience literature in the world. Run by a friendly and professional team, who are on hand to provide advice and support, the library offers Fellows and other users a wealth of resources including rich historical archives, an unrivalled map collection and the latest scholarly research delivered straight to your device or desktop.
Explore our extensive library and map collections through our library catalogue and discover our archives through the dedicated archives catalogue
Benefit from postal loans, digital document delivery from our own collections, or an inter-library loan from a worldwide network of libraries
Access electronic journals and a growing portfolio of ebooks via our OpenAthens authentication system
Find out about the latest research through our database search service or access GeoRef when you are on-site
Enjoy our online exhibitions and discover hundreds of images in our Picture Library
Visit the library at Burlington House, browse the open shelves and study in our beautiful reading rooms