Scientists from around the world depend on hundreds of years of accumulated botanical information maintained in the Garden's Library.

The Library's collections of modern to centuries-old botanical literature are essential for scientists who name and describe plants. While the collections focus on plant names and descriptions, the Library is also rich in other subjects such as the study of edible and medicinal plants, the art of botanical illustration, and the history of scientific exploration.

The Library includes more than 250,000 items! And the collections contain more than books. Botanical artwork, field books, photographs, as well as modern and historical maps are but a few of the other objects housed in the Garden's Library.

The Library's collections are divided into two major categories: the General Collection and the Special Collection. The Special Collection includes the Rare Book Collection and the Garden Archives.
 

General Collection	Rare Book Collection	Garden Archives

The Peter H. Raven Library is a research facility, and its vast holdings do not circulate. However, the Imaging Lab has digitized more than 8,000 volumes—approximately 2.5 million pages!—from the Library's collections making them freely available to the world at the Biodiversity Heritage Library.
 

The Peter H. Raven Library also includes two labs: an Imaging Lab and a Book Conservation Lab. Both labs protect the Library's 250,000 items from wear-and-tear while increasing accessibility to the collections.

Imaging Lab		Book Conservation Lab