Library Collections

Our General Collection includes non-fiction and fiction adult books, children’s books and DVDs on various gardening, botanical and horticultural topics. Our Explore More! section also includes Adventure Packs, games and activity books. Most materials in our circulating collections check out for three weeks to members. 

Our children’s collection includes books for all ages. There are fiction books, including chapter books and other series, and non-fiction books such as Eyewitness books, books about explorers, gardening, science experiments and more. From board books to picture books to novels, there is something to delight and enlighten all ages!

Find more information about children’s programming on the library programs & events page.

In the LEaRN aisle are ready reference materials, departmental collections, frequently used materials, and course reserves. These materials are for use in the library and are not available to check out. Additional copies may be found in the main stacks for check out. Ask a librarian for assistance locating them.

Here you will find games, kits, DVDs and other non-book materials. These materials are available to check out.

Visit the library electronic resources page to learn more about ways to access the library from home including checking out eBooks, searching the catalog for digitized rare books, searching the Gardens' natural history collections and more.

Our collection of periodicals covers subjects of interest to the academic researcher and general gardener. This collection is not available to check out. Current and back issues are available for use in the library.

The rare books collection includes early European herbals, exploration and expedition accounts, early botanical studies of the New World and many other unique works related to the study of botany and gardening in both the trans-Mississippi West and globally.

Items from our rare books collection are available by appointment for consultation in the library’s Edward P. Connors Rare Books Reading Room. Contact us at library@botanicgardens.org to make an appointment.

The archival collection contains materials related to the history, founding and development of the Gardens as well as other historical botanical and horticultural collections, including:

• Correspondence and photographs
• Scrapbooks and botanical postage stamps
• Blueprints and architectural drawings
• Nursery and seed catalogs
• The Green Thumb

The special collections include items published by or about the Gardens and staff, as well as publications written by the Gardens’ staff, past and present. Special collections may also include materials that are used for educational purposes that do not have a direct historical tie to the Gardens.

Archives and Special Collections are available for research in the Reading Room by appointment only. Contact us at archives@botanicgardens.org with research questions and for details about making an appointment.