Access our library catalogue here
The Library and Archives are based at our Mansion House site in St Albans. We are open by appointment Tuesday-Thursday 9.30am-4.30pm.
Members and Fellows can visit the Library by appointment where they can consult our Library and Archive Collections and borrow items up to 20 items at a time from our Main Collection.
Members and Fellows can access a selection of entomology e-books via CABI Digital Library. Details of how to access can be found on our Member Resources Page. (Login required.)
To book an appointment. make an enquiry, or suggest and item for the Library, contact the Librarian by phone on 01727899387 or email at library@royensoc.co.uk
The Library has existed since the founding of the Society in 1833. You can read about the history of the Library here.
Plate from Donovan, E. 1800 Epitome of the Natural History of the Insects of India
Plate from Merian, M.S. 1730 Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium
Folding plate from Barbut, J. 1781
The Genera Insectorum of Linnaeus
Library on tour at Ento 22 in Lincoln
President Jane Hill (centre) and Past President Helen Roy (left) admiring a work by Maria Sibylla Merian, as shown by RES librarian Rose Pearson (right)
Some of our historic collection
Library and Archive Benefits for Members
As a member of the Society, you can:
- Visit the library and archive Tues-Thurs 9.30am-4.30pm. Email library@royensoc.co.uk to make an appointment
- Borrow up to 20 items at a time from our Main Library Collection of over 11,000 books covering all areas of Entomology and related subjects
- View our collection of 1,500 rare books, dating back to 1609, including a number of early illustrated volumes
- Access a selection of entomology e-books via CABI Digital Library. Details of how to access the books can be found on our Member Resources Page. (Login required.)
- Access our collection of 800 print journal titles and more than 50,000 reprints
- View our archive, covering the history of Entomology, the history of the RES, and the lives of entomologists, including our portrait collection
- Explore our collection of entomological illustration
- Get full, free online access to the seven RES journals
- Get online access to Antenna issues from 2010-present.
- Login to your Membership Account here
- Read online here
- Order items held at other libraries via our Inter-Library Loan scheme
- Suggest items for purchase via the Suggestions Form at the bottom of this page
- Consult the Librarian for assistance with research queries
- Request scans and copies of journal articles and other material at discounted rates
Need help tracking down that hard-to-find article? RES Library can help.
We hold a unique collection of specialised material on aspects of Entomology and related subjects, much of which is not held elsewhere, and not accessible online. RES members have access to our collection of over 800 international journal titles and 50,000+ reprints, and if we don’t hold it in our collections, we can order (almost) anything you might need through our connections to other libraries and our inter-library loan scheme. Your membership comes with 10 free scans annually.
Please e-mail your copy requests to library@royensoc.co.uk using the Copy request form
For copying costs, please see the Copy Fees.
Where material requested for copying is not available within the library, we will endeavor to obtain it elsewhere, for which there may be additional charges.
Library holdings
De Tigny 1831 Histoire Naturelle des Insectes
Members of Harpenden Botanical Painting Group viewing a selection of our 18th century illustrated Entomology books
The Library dates back to the founding of the Society in 1833, and aims to serve the research needs of members and fellows of the RES. While we aim to offer representative coverage of all areas of entomology, we are not a repository for all entomological works. The collections focus on more specialist material that is less likely to be available in more general collections. The collection is particularly strong in the general biology and taxonomy of insects, especially for the Western Palaearctic Region.
We also hold material on related subject areas, including Natural History, Zoology, Botany, Palaeobiology, Arachnology and Non-Insect Hexapods as well as small collections of Entomologist Biographies and Literature featuring insects or entomologists.
The library holds around 12,000 books, with titles dating from 1609 to the present day, including a rare book collection of about 1,500 pre-1850 entomological works. Members and Fellows can access a selection of entomology e-books via CABI Digital Library. Details of how to access can be found on our Member Resources Page. (Login required.)
We hold around 800 print journal titles dating from 1774 onwards, of which around 40 are taken currently. The collection is international in scope, but a particular strength is in publications from small British and Irish Entomological and Natural History Societies.
The library holds a unique Reprint Collection of around 50,000 items, both print and electronic, dating from the 18th Century to the present day including a number of specialist collections belonging to eminent Entomologists.
If you would like to suggest material for purchase by the library, please complete the Suggestions form at the bottom of this page or email library@royensoc.co.uk
Our Library Acquisitions Policy can be read here.
RES Journals
RES currently publishes seven journals, plus Antenna, the Bulletin of the RES. A timeline explaining the title changes over time can be downloaded here.
RES Members and Fellows get free online access to the seven journals we publish via the RES Journals Hub at Wiley Online Library. Login at My Account and then access them here. This includes access to all titles and back issues from 1833.
- The Transactions of the RES 1836-1975 is found under Ecological Entomology
- The Proceedings of the RES is found under Ecological Entomology for 1833-1925 and Physiological Entomology for 1926-1975
History timeline of the RES journals
Antenna
Antenna is the Bulletin of the Royal Entomological Society. Antenna issues from 2010 can be read online here. Issues more than one year old are free to access. Newer issues are only available to Members and Fellows. Logging in at My Account will allow you to access all issues. Issues from 1977-2009 are not currently available online. Print copies are available in the library, and scans and copies of articles can be requested from the Librarian. See ‘Scanning and Copying’ below for details of charges and how to request articles.
All articles, correspondence, obituaries and meeting reports published in Antenna from 1977-1988 and from 2002 onwards are indexed and can be searched within the Library Catalogue. Issues from 1989-2002 are currently being added to the catalogue. Select the ‘Build a Search’ option and select ‘Antenna’ from the ‘Media type’ box to search the indexed articles.
Partnerships with other Societies
We are committed to offering services to the entomological community and to our partnerships with the British Entomological and Natural History Society (BENHS) the Amateur Entomologists Society (AES) and the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) If you would like to access RES library services as a BENHS, AES or ZSL member, please email library@royensoc.co.uk
The Librarian
The librarian, Rose Pearson, may be contacted by phone on 01727 899387 (International +44 1727 899387) or email: library@royensoc.co.uk
Suggest a library resource
Do you have a book, journal, resource or other suggestion for us? Fill in the form below and let us know why you love it.
