Academy Library

Our collections include the Research, Reference, Rare Books, and Serials sections, as well as Map Collections and the Archives—home to materials related to the history of the Academy itself. And that's just for starters.

Items from the Academy Library are available by appointment only for in-house use. In order to facilitate wide research use, materials from our library are non-circulating and cannot leave the California Academy of Sciences. To make an appointment or to receive help finding a book or resource, contact the library at library@calacademy.org.

In addition to providing extensive reference and resource assistance, we challenge ourselves to explore new ways of offering access to information, facilitating interactions with resources, and collaborating with peer institutions to deliver new and cutting-edge ways to learn about science and the history of science.