Science

Our resources support the needs of specialists working in academia and business, and can support multidisciplinary research interests

Collection guides

Science overview
We support the needs of specialists working in academia and business, and can support multidisciplinary research interests
Europe PMC
Free access to biomedical and life sciences research articles, biological and medical patents records, grant data and more
Science electronic resources
We subscribe to a large and growing number of electronic resources and bibliographic databases
Patents
The British Library is the UK’s national patent library
Wildlife and environmental sounds
The largest collection of its kind in Europe and the most comprehensive in the world

Help

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Science Reading Room

Floor 2 focuses on Medicine and Life Sciences, Floor 3 focuses on Physical Sciences and Engineering.

Find information on the open-access shelves
Access online databases and electronic journals
Order collection items to the Reading Rooms via our catalogues
Get help from Reference Specialists at the Enquiry desk

You’ll need a Reader Pass

Mon: 10.00 – 20.00
Tue – Thu: 09.30 – 20.00
Fri – Sat: 09.30 – 17.00
Sun & English Public Holidays: closed

Opening hours for all Reading Rooms

For enquiries, please contact the Reference Service

News stories

TalkScience@BL - Replace, Reduce, Refine

The next TalkScience@BL event: "Replace, Reduce, Refine: Animals in Research"

26 May 2016

Join us to discuss the changing use of animals in scientific research and testing

Training sessions: Science Research and Discovery Tools

22 September 2016

Join us for a series of free training sessions focusing on digital research and discovery tools.

Announcing our next TalkScience@BL event: "Doping in sport: fair game?"

26 May 2016

Join our expert panel to debate the ethical, social and legal implications of doping in sport

Blog posts

Making hydrogen from wax

Friday, January 13, 2017

Philip recently attended an event for other Oxford University chemistry alumni, and one of the speakers drew attention to a recent publication from, among others, Oxford chemists, regarding the production of hydrogen from paraffin waxes by microwave degradation using a...

The first paper on carbon dioxide and global warming

Monday, December 19, 2016

Before 2016 ends, there’s one anniversary we previously didn’t get around to marking, the publication in 1896 of the first articles suggesting that carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere might affect Earth’s climate via the greenhouse effect, by the Swedish...

9 famous scientists and their PhD theses

Friday, December 16, 2016

If you are currently working towards a PhD you might worry that your thesis is destined for life as a handy doorstop, or to gather dust on a forgotten Library shelf. But this work can be a stepping stone -...

Using our science collections

Monday, December 12, 2016

Some of you reading this blog may never have come to the British Library Science rooms, or only have used a small part of our services. Here’s an example, based on real queries from our reading rooms, of what you...

Projects

Access to Understanding

Access to Understanding is a collaboration, led by the British Library, which unites individuals and organisations that want to promote wider understanding of biomedical research findings.

THOR: Technical and Human Infrastructure for Open Research

An EC Funded project to establish seamless integration between articles, data, and researchers across the research lifecycle

All projects

Shop

Gray's Anatomy

Using sumptuous illustrations and clear, matter-of-fact descriptions, Dr. Gray unleashed a classic on the world more than 100 years ago.

£25

How to Cure the Plague

Julian Walker presents a fascinating illustrated compilation of some of the most curious and disturbing cures from history, from the Middle Ages to the 19th century.

£10.00