Academy Library
Academy Library
Welcome to the California Academy of Sciences Library
The Academy Library serves the research and educational needs of all Academy staff, docents, volunteers, members, educators and students, and the community at large. Our mission is to facilitate access to scientific information and Academy history
Popular Library Resources
Manzanita Image Project
The Manzanita Image Project is a Web resource of images of plants, animals, fungi, landscapes & habitats and people & culture from the California Academy of Sciences Library. The project is a partnership with CalPhotos, a project of the University of California, Berkeley Digital Library. Use of Manzanita Project images is easy and free for educational use.
Connecting Content
The California Academy of Sciences Library is a bit over two years into a three year IMLS National Leadership Grant project titled "Connecting Content: A Collaboration to Link Field Notes to Specimens and Published Literature." Connecting Content is an effort involving the California Academy of Sciences, Missouri Botanical Garden, Harvard University Botany Libraries, Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology Library, the New York Botanical Garden and the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History. This innovative project is looking at ways to create simple, discoverable, and intuitive relationships between published scientific literature and the field books and specimens from which the literature is derived.
From the Stacks: the Academy Library blog
The Library’s Reading Room exhibit created by former, CIS intern Mollie Cueva-Dabkoski focuses on the Ecuadorian rainforest - the history of Western exploration of the region, and current issues facing the area’s immense biodiversity. She recently sent me an update to the continuing issues of oil exploitation. ” Thought I’d pass along this article I ...
The Remora remora, or common suckerfish, is an odd pelagic marine fish usually found in warmer parts of most oceans. They can be found offshore from San Francisco south to Chile. Their front dorsal fin has evolved into a giant sucker disc that they use to hitch rides on faster swimming sharks, rays, sea turtles, bony ...
Part One: The Einstein Letter As an archivist here at the California Academy of Sciences, it is our job to preserve, organize, and make available for use the records of scientific activity and discovery. We undertake this effort in a variety of ways; from making available new and beautiful images of the natural world freely ...
Happy May! T.S. Eliot famously wrote “April is the cruelest month,” and when I look back on 160 years of the California Academy of Sciences, I am inclined to agree with that sentiment. The Library and Archives are involved in preserving and sharing the history of the Academy, and we all know quite a bit ...
During our ongoing photo collection survey, we came across an image (by Moulin Studios) of a scale model version of the lion diorama that still stands in African Hall. Since the model is dated 1929 and African Hall didn’t open until five years later, it’s a rare glimpse into the early planning stages of the ...
Help
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Who can use the Academy Library?
The Library is open to all staff, students, and volunteers of the Academy during regular business hours (Monday-Friday 9:00am-5:00pm).
Members of the public with a legitimate research interest are welcome to use the collections by appointment.
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Can I check out books from the Academy Library?
Items from the Academy Library only circulate to Academy Staff for in-house use. Members of the public may view items in the Naturalist Center
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How do I contact a Librarian?
Librarians are generally available during regular business hours (Monday-Friday 9:00am - 5:00pm).
We can help you with questions, provide referrals, or schedule an appointment for you to visit the Library.
You can contact the Library by
Phone: (415) 379-5484
Email: library@calacademy.org
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How do I look up a book?
All of the Academy Library and Naturalist Center book, journal, and multimedia holdings are listed in the Academy Library catalog.
Confused? Watch a tutorial on searching the Academy Library catalog.
There are many ways to find items in the Academy Library catalog.
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How do I find journal articles?
The Academy Library offers access to a variety of databases and indexes, both free and subscription services. You must be on-site at the Academy to use the subscription databases.
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I know what I want, now how do I get it?
First, look it up in the Catalog.
If we don't own it, try the following:
Academy Staff ONLY: Place an Interlibrary Loan request.
If you do not have Academy Library borrowing privileges, try searching WorldCat.org to see if a library near you owns the item.
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Can I reuse or publish your photographs or other materials?
In most cases, the answer is yes. Please see Scanning, Reproduction & Use for more information.
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I can’t find any archival collections in the catalog. How do I search for those?
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Can I volunteer at the Library?
We periodically have volunteer opportunities for both short-term, project based and long-term assignments.
Please contact Volunteer Services if you are interested in becoming a Library volunteer.