Linda Hall Library

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Scientific Journals

Long runs of scientific and technical society journals dating from the seventeenth century are a special strength of the library's collections, with more than 40,000 titles currently represented. A long-term acquisitions program has filled in the gaps for older titles, while current acquisitions assure a steady flow of the most recent scientific and technical journals, including those dealing with the history of science and technology.

Subject Coverage

Subject areas of special strength in the History of Science Collection include astronomy, mathematics, physics, electricity and magnetism, and optics. Natural sciences of the Renaissance period are also well represented, especially encyclopedic works, descriptions of natural history museums and collections, works on classification, early herbals, and works on natural magic. Scientific works by Jesuit authors of the Renaissance period have been actively collected, as have works on the history of geology and paleontology, including theories of the earth. Books describing engineering projects, inventions, and machines represent another area of strength.

Classics and Landmarks

Landmarks of science and technology that have become recognized for their seminal influence, groundbreaking ideas, or presentation of initial discoveries are included in the collection.

Examples include:

* Georg Joachim Rheticus, Narratio Prima (Gdansk 1540)

* Nicolaus Copernicus, De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (Nuremberg, 1543)

* Leonhard Fuchs, De historia stirpium (Basel, 1542)

* Galileo Galilei, Sidereus nuncius (Venice, 1610)

* Francis Bacon, Instauratio magna [Novum organum] (London, 1620)

* Isaac Newton, Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica (London, 1687)

* Georges Buffon, Histoire naturelle (Paris, 1749-1804)

* Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species (London, 1859)