Skip to content
Donate

Daniel Solander Library

The Daniel Solander Library was established in 1852 and is Australia's oldest botanical research library. Its world-class collections contain over 250,000 items, including books, journals, botanical illustrations, historic photographs, manuscripts, maps, archives, archaeological artefacts, and memorabilia.

Why does a garden need a library?
The Daniel Solander Library has more than just books in its collections! It has been a unique repository of horticultural and botanical knowledge since its inception in 1852.
Find out more
Medieval herbals for botanical bookworms
Unearthing medieval herbals: people believed that the features of the natural world were made of the flesh of gods, and medicinal plants were inextricably linked with religion and the supernatural.
Find out more
Zombies in the Garden
A century-old ‘zombie fungi’ collected back in the 1890s is housed in the Daniel Solander Library. Want to take a look?
Find out more

The Garden's history

Digging into our history – 1800s
Take a trip back in time in our three-part series about the history of the Garden. In part one we learn about the 1800s, when the Garden was first conceptualised.
Find out more
Digging into our history – 1900s
Discover the changes brought about by the modernisation of the Garden in part two of our three-part series about the history of the Royal Botanic Garden.
Find out more
Digging into our history – 2000s
Read about the revolutionary work undertaken during the 21st century in the final instalment of our three-part series about the history of the Royal Botanic Garden.
Find out more

Institutional journals

Telopea
The National Herbarium of New South Wales, Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust's open-access peer-reviewed journal, Telopea covers systematic botany in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region, with an emphasis on the flora of New South Wales.
Find out more
Cunninghamia
The National Herbarium of New South Wales, Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust's open-access journal Cunninghamia publishes original research related to plant ecology with an emphasis on the vegetation and flora of eastern Australia.
Find out more

Library services

In addition to servicing the research needs of the active science staff within the Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust, the Daniel Solander Library's collections are open to everyone by appointment Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.

So that we may assess your specific needs in advance of your visit, 1-2 days' notice and details of the research topic are required.

Browse the Library Catalogue

Contact us

Daniel Solander Library

Royal Botanic Garden Sydney
Botanic Gardens & Centennial Parklands 
Mrs Macquaries Road, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia

T: +61 (02) 9231 8153
F: +61 (02) 9254 3384
E: Miguel Garcia

Other libraries and resources

Biodiversity Heritage Library
Harvard University Herbaria Libraries
Missouri Botanical Garden Library
Natural History Museum (London) Library
New York Botanical Garden L.U. Mertz Library