What we do
A small selection of our contemporary natural history artwork at an event for Museum Members.
The Library and Archives is the national resource for natural historians, researchers, artists and academics. We’re constantly working to develop, maintain and share our collection with visitors, colleagues and researchers around the world.
Collection development and curation
We continually acquire new material through purchases, donations or via exchange partnerships. If you would like to make a donation, our collection development staff will carefully consider any material that will enhance our existing collection.
Our experienced and qualified teams ensure that Library and Archive materials are well looked after and kept in the best possible storage conditions. We are following an ongoing programme to preserve and conserve our collections for current and future use.
Digital collections
We are developing our digital collections by increasing the proportion of new material acquired in digital form and by digitising our legacy collections.
We are a founding member of the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL), an international and collaborative open-access project to make biodiversity literature available online.
Digital copies of our collections
Our digitisation service is currently suspended. Please check that the item has not already been digitised and available via these platforms:
Natural History Museum Library and Archives Digitised Collections
Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL)
Requests from other libraries
We can process requests from UK libraries through the British Library Document Supply System (BLDSS). Please contact us directly via email [email protected] with your details. For those outside the UK, we do not accept IFLA vouchers.
Natural History Museum Images
NHM Images is home to high-quality stock imagery of life on our planet, providing easy access to striking images of the natural world, including a range of beautiful natural history images. For information about the supply of high-resolution and high-quality images from our collections, please visit Natural History Museum images or contact [email protected].
Images of Nature gallery
Highlights of our world-famous collection of natural history artworks are showcased in the Museum’s Images of Nature gallery.
The gallery permanently displays many artworks from the Library and Archives, including oil paintings.
Publications
Our staff have written books on topics ranging from the art of natural history to the history of the Museum.
Available from the Museum's online shop, these books highlight some of the beautiful and unique items held in the Library and Archives, and their scientific and historical significance.
Any Questions?
We will always endeavour to help with enquiries about our collections.
Please note that we cannot conduct extensive research and may advise you to visit the reading room in person.
