Dana Research Centre and Library | Science Museum
Source: https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/researchers/dana-research-centre-and-library
Archived: 2026-04-23 15:42
Dana Research Centre and Library | Science Museum
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View more details on collections site
At the Dana Research Centre and Library, students, academics, independent researchers, and science enthusiasts can access world-renowned archive and library materials from the Science Museum's vast, rich, and varied collection.
In our London reading room, you can browse open shelves containing 6,900 books on a wide range of topics, including museum studies, the history and biography of science, technology and medicine, and the philosophical and social aspects of these subjects.
We also facilitate access to the Science Museum’s extensive archive and library collections, currently held at the Science and Innovation Park, in Wroughton near Swindon. Additionally, we offer a large number of digital resources to users visiting the library.
To learn more about the specific items in our collections, please see our
library catalogue.
You can view our archive catalogue
here.
Related Content
Opening times
Monday to Wednesday: From 10.00–12.30 and 13.30 to 16.00
Contact us
Email
[email protected]
or call
the
Contact Centre on 033 0058 0058 and ask to speak with the Science Museum Library.
More information
The Library entrance is located at 165 Queen’s Gate, London, SW7 5HD.
Please be aware that Queen’s Gate is a different street, parallel to Exhibition Road, where the main Science Museum entrance is located.
When you arrive, please give your name at the reception desk. Then go down the staircase facing the entrance and turn right through the Library entrance. There is also a lift available, which a Science Museum colleague on the front desk can direct you to. Library staff at our information desk will welcome you and can help with your queries.
The library is open
Monday to Wednesday, 10.00 to 16.00
with a one-hour lunch closure between 12.30 and 13.30
.
We are closed on all UK bank holidays.
Everyone is welcome to visit the Dana Research Centre and Library to use the space, enjoy our free public Wi-Fi, and access our modern and special collections materials.
Please note that—to all but Science Museum Group colleagues and Imperial College staff and postgraduates—we are a reference library, meaning users are more than welcome to consult materials in our collections within the library, but resources cannot be checked out or removed from the space.
While drop-in visits are welcome, if you have specific items from our collections currently held at the Science and Innovation Park in Wroughton, that you would like to view, we would appreciate it if you could please contact us at least four weeks in advance, so we can make sure to have them ready and available for you. You can find out where an item is located by looking at the catalogue record. If the “Home Library” is listed at “Science Museum Wroughton,” it is located off-site, and we will need this time to have it brought over to London for you. All archives and special collections materials, except for Corporate Archives, are located at the Science and Innovation Park.
Rare books and archives can be viewed by appointment in our London reading room on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays between 10.00 and 16.00.
If you are interested in accessing rare books or archival materials from our collections, please contact us at
[email protected]
, including the details of the items you would like to see in your message. A member of our team will let you know if it is possible to facilitate your request and when we will be able to make the materials available to you.
The vast majority of our collections are held at the
Science and Innovation Park
in Wroughton, near Swindon. We therefore require at least
four weeks’ notice
to support a special collections research visit.
Please note that it will not be possible for us to provide access to additional special collections materials on the day of your visit, so do ensure that all information about what you would like to see is shared with us well in advance.
Rare books and archives can also be seen by appointment at the
Hawking Building
at our Science and Innovation Park near Swindon or
using our virtual reading room service
.
Please be aware that researchers who have requested a large volume of material or who have requested oversized material will be asked to view it at the
Hawking Building
, as there are limitations on what can be transferred to London and viewed at the London special collections research desks due to space constraints.
Many of the objects in the Science Museum’s collections have associated paper files containing additional information about the item and its history. These files can be viewed by appointment in the Dana Research Centre and Library on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays between 10.00 to 16.00.
We require at least
one week’s notice
to be able to support research visits to see object files.
To request access to these files, please email
[email protected]
with the details of the object which you wish to learn more about. If you know the name of the object or the object number, it would be helpful to include this. This information can be found by
searching our object collections
.
A member of our team will let you know if it is possible to facilitate your request and when we will be able to make the materials available to you.
There are eighteen reader study tables and seats: twelve in the main reading area, two large desks for consulting special collections and four quiet study tables. All have electrical sockets and reading lamps.
There are two desks for PCs to access the
Library catalogue
, the
Archives catalogue
and the Library’s
Digital Library
; one of these PCs is also connected to a digital microfilm reader.
Wi-Fi is freely accessible.
There are lockers available for larger items you do not wish to keep with you, and we also ask that you please leave food and drinks (other than bottled water) in these lockers.
A water fountain is available, which the library team can direct you to.
There is an accessible toilet on the ground floor and further toilets are available on the mezzanine floor above.
Magnifying glasses are available on request.
The Dana Research Centre and Library is a member of the M25 Consortium of Academic Libraries. We are able to register any post-graduate students who are members of our library with the Access25 scheme, which allows them to visit
other libraries on the scheme
. Please contact us for more information and to sign-up.
Address:
The Dana Research Centre and Library
165 Queen’s Gate
London
SW7 5HD
Email:
[email protected]
T
elephone:
Call our Contact Centre on 033 0058 0058 and ask to speak with the Science Museum Library.
You may have an item in your possession that you think might be suitable for our library or archive collections. Before you get in touch, please read the below information carefully.
How to donate libray or archive materials
We welcome offers to fill gaps in our extensive collection. If you are interested in offering an item for donation, send us an email at
[email protected]
.
Do not
send the item to one of our sites, as it is our policy not to accept unsolicited donations, and we will not be able to return it to you.
Each donation offer is checked on a case-by-case basis so supply as much information as you can. For books or other printed materials, we would appreciate if you could please share the publisher, date of publication, edition, and ISBN (if applicable).
How to donate an object
If you are interested in donating an object (not library or archive materials), visit our
Donate an Object
page instead.
Why did the museum reject my item?
We can’t take everything that is offered to us, so if we don’t accept your item, please don’t be offended. It may be for one of the following reasons:
We already have a similar item in our collection.
The item doesn’t meet the criteria of our
policy
.
The item isn’t in good condition.
There isn’t enough information about the history of the item.
If your item is not suitable for us, we’ll try to advise you of another institution which may be interested.
Regardless of whether we are able accept your item, we thank you for thinking of our library and archives and for your generous offer.
Skip to main content
View more details on collections site
At the Dana Research Centre and Library, students, academics, independent researchers, and science enthusiasts can access world-renowned archive and library materials from the Science Museum's vast, rich, and varied collection.
In our London reading room, you can browse open shelves containing 6,900 books on a wide range of topics, including museum studies, the history and biography of science, technology and medicine, and the philosophical and social aspects of these subjects.
We also facilitate access to the Science Museum’s extensive archive and library collections, currently held at the Science and Innovation Park, in Wroughton near Swindon. Additionally, we offer a large number of digital resources to users visiting the library.
To learn more about the specific items in our collections, please see our
library catalogue.
You can view our archive catalogue
here.
Related Content
Opening times
Monday to Wednesday: From 10.00–12.30 and 13.30 to 16.00
Contact us
[email protected]
or call
the
Contact Centre on 033 0058 0058 and ask to speak with the Science Museum Library.
More information
The Library entrance is located at 165 Queen’s Gate, London, SW7 5HD.
Please be aware that Queen’s Gate is a different street, parallel to Exhibition Road, where the main Science Museum entrance is located.
When you arrive, please give your name at the reception desk. Then go down the staircase facing the entrance and turn right through the Library entrance. There is also a lift available, which a Science Museum colleague on the front desk can direct you to. Library staff at our information desk will welcome you and can help with your queries.
The library is open
Monday to Wednesday, 10.00 to 16.00
with a one-hour lunch closure between 12.30 and 13.30
.
We are closed on all UK bank holidays.
Everyone is welcome to visit the Dana Research Centre and Library to use the space, enjoy our free public Wi-Fi, and access our modern and special collections materials.
Please note that—to all but Science Museum Group colleagues and Imperial College staff and postgraduates—we are a reference library, meaning users are more than welcome to consult materials in our collections within the library, but resources cannot be checked out or removed from the space.
While drop-in visits are welcome, if you have specific items from our collections currently held at the Science and Innovation Park in Wroughton, that you would like to view, we would appreciate it if you could please contact us at least four weeks in advance, so we can make sure to have them ready and available for you. You can find out where an item is located by looking at the catalogue record. If the “Home Library” is listed at “Science Museum Wroughton,” it is located off-site, and we will need this time to have it brought over to London for you. All archives and special collections materials, except for Corporate Archives, are located at the Science and Innovation Park.
Rare books and archives can be viewed by appointment in our London reading room on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays between 10.00 and 16.00.
If you are interested in accessing rare books or archival materials from our collections, please contact us at
[email protected]
, including the details of the items you would like to see in your message. A member of our team will let you know if it is possible to facilitate your request and when we will be able to make the materials available to you.
The vast majority of our collections are held at the
Science and Innovation Park
in Wroughton, near Swindon. We therefore require at least
four weeks’ notice
to support a special collections research visit.
Please note that it will not be possible for us to provide access to additional special collections materials on the day of your visit, so do ensure that all information about what you would like to see is shared with us well in advance.
Rare books and archives can also be seen by appointment at the
Hawking Building
at our Science and Innovation Park near Swindon or
using our virtual reading room service
.
Please be aware that researchers who have requested a large volume of material or who have requested oversized material will be asked to view it at the
Hawking Building
, as there are limitations on what can be transferred to London and viewed at the London special collections research desks due to space constraints.
Many of the objects in the Science Museum’s collections have associated paper files containing additional information about the item and its history. These files can be viewed by appointment in the Dana Research Centre and Library on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays between 10.00 to 16.00.
We require at least
one week’s notice
to be able to support research visits to see object files.
To request access to these files, please email
[email protected]
with the details of the object which you wish to learn more about. If you know the name of the object or the object number, it would be helpful to include this. This information can be found by
searching our object collections
.
A member of our team will let you know if it is possible to facilitate your request and when we will be able to make the materials available to you.
There are eighteen reader study tables and seats: twelve in the main reading area, two large desks for consulting special collections and four quiet study tables. All have electrical sockets and reading lamps.
There are two desks for PCs to access the
Library catalogue
, the
Archives catalogue
and the Library’s
Digital Library
; one of these PCs is also connected to a digital microfilm reader.
Wi-Fi is freely accessible.
There are lockers available for larger items you do not wish to keep with you, and we also ask that you please leave food and drinks (other than bottled water) in these lockers.
A water fountain is available, which the library team can direct you to.
There is an accessible toilet on the ground floor and further toilets are available on the mezzanine floor above.
Magnifying glasses are available on request.
The Dana Research Centre and Library is a member of the M25 Consortium of Academic Libraries. We are able to register any post-graduate students who are members of our library with the Access25 scheme, which allows them to visit
other libraries on the scheme
. Please contact us for more information and to sign-up.
Address:
The Dana Research Centre and Library
165 Queen’s Gate
London
SW7 5HD
Email:
[email protected]
T
elephone:
Call our Contact Centre on 033 0058 0058 and ask to speak with the Science Museum Library.
You may have an item in your possession that you think might be suitable for our library or archive collections. Before you get in touch, please read the below information carefully.
How to donate libray or archive materials
We welcome offers to fill gaps in our extensive collection. If you are interested in offering an item for donation, send us an email at
[email protected]
.
Do not
send the item to one of our sites, as it is our policy not to accept unsolicited donations, and we will not be able to return it to you.
Each donation offer is checked on a case-by-case basis so supply as much information as you can. For books or other printed materials, we would appreciate if you could please share the publisher, date of publication, edition, and ISBN (if applicable).
How to donate an object
If you are interested in donating an object (not library or archive materials), visit our
Donate an Object
page instead.
Why did the museum reject my item?
We can’t take everything that is offered to us, so if we don’t accept your item, please don’t be offended. It may be for one of the following reasons:
We already have a similar item in our collection.
The item doesn’t meet the criteria of our
policy
.
The item isn’t in good condition.
There isn’t enough information about the history of the item.
If your item is not suitable for us, we’ll try to advise you of another institution which may be interested.
Regardless of whether we are able accept your item, we thank you for thinking of our library and archives and for your generous offer.