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Royal College of Surgeons of England Library
Contact details
Website: http://www.rcseng.ac.uk/library E-mail: library@rcseng.ac.uk Tel: 020 7869 6555/6
Images copyright Royal
College of
Surgeons of England.
About the library
The Library and Information Services has a rich collection of historical and contemporary material focusing on surgical, dental and medically related literature, dating from the late fifteenth century onward, to support current and historical research. The contemporary collections centre on surgery, dentistry, anatomy, physiology and pathology. The historical collections include many unique materials in a variety of formats. There is also a substantial collection of pamphlets:
The tracts and pamphlets collection comprises
an estimated 28,000 items ranging over all aspects of medicine and
dentistry, not only surgery. Natural history and other scientific
subjects are represented, reflecting the work of nineteenth century
College museum curators. The majority of the collection dates from the
19th century, but there are works from as far back as 1570. British,
American and continental European items are joined by exotica from
Calcutta, Shanghai and Rio de Janeiro.
Many of the pamphlets are scarce, or have remained uncatalogued, in British libraries. The collection is rich in individual case reports, university dissertations and addresses to medical societies.
The local library catalogue is available online. It is constantly growing, but most items added before 1850 have not yet been added. If you are doing historical research, you may want to contact the library for help, in order to fully explore the collections.
Accessing materials
Can I see live document availability on Copac? No
Can I obtain items via Inter Library Loan? Copies of items may be available, subject to copyright. Monographs are not loaned to individuals (apart from College Members and Affiliates), but may be loaned to institutional members. See the web site for more information, and to see if your library is a member. You have to request an inter-library loan via a library of which you are a member. Talk to your own library staff about whether they think the document you need is likely to be available for loan and for advice on making an inter-library loan request.
Can I visit the library to view materials? Visit the library's web site for access details. If you wish to visit, please contact the library in advance to ensure the material you need will be available.
How do I find primary source material held at this institution? Visit the Royal College of Surgeons of England's contributor page at the Archives Hub for information.
