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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.
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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.
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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?
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Library services

The Daniel Solander Library is currently closed while we complete refurbishments to the Brown building. You can still access the online catalogue here. If you need to return a current book loan, please contact Miguel.Garcia@botanicgardens.nsw.gov.au.

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