In addition to welcoming IUCN Secretariat staff, IUCN Commission members, and staff of IUCN Member organisations, the IUCN Library also welcomes visiting researchers and members of the public.
The Library’s reading room may be used for reading or quiet study, or to consult library material.
Please get in touch to arrange your visit in advance.
Electronic access to IUCN publications is provided by the Library via the IUCN Library System.
Use our library catalogue to search for the physical items in the library's collection and request them in advance from the IUCN Library. Please do not remove material from the shelves yourself. Access to certain material, such as fragile or rare material, may be limited.
Food and drink are not allowed in the Library while consulting library material.
You may copy (take photographs of or scan) library materials for your own personal use.
Please do not re-shelve library books, documents or periodicals; you can return them to the Librarian or leave them on one of the Reading Room tables and the Librarian will return these titles to their proper locations.
Unfortunately, the IUCN Library does not have the capacity or resources to respond to individual requests for the scanning or digitization of material from the library.
IUCN does not have an archivist or an archival unit. However, some historical materials are available in the library’s collection. Please refer to the library catalogue.
Unfortunately, the IUCN Library does not have the capacity or resources to conduct archival research on behalf of researchers or to respond to individual requests for the scanning or digitization of material in the library.
Other archives and libraries with IUCN archival records in their collections include:
Loans of library material are limited to staff based in the IUCN Conservation Centre in Gland, Switzerland.
Items are not loaned to other institutions, but the Library accepts
from participating libraries for the scanning of titles (1 voucher per 15 pages)
IUCN publications are digitised on a strategic basis as resources become available. The IUCN Library does not have the capacity or resources to respond to individual requests for the scanning or digitisation of specific titles.
All IUCN publications which have been digitised are made available electronically on their publication record in the Library System. If a PDF is not made available, then the publication in question is not available online and is only available for in-house consultation.
The IUCN Library has been immeasurably enriched by gifts over the years, and the generosity of donors is greatly appreciated.
However, the Library has limited physical capacity as well as limited resources for processing donations. The Library respectfully retains the right to decide the final use and disposition of gift material. Once offered and accepted, gifts become the property of the Library and cannot be returned to the donor. However, if the donor so requests, books not required by the Library can be returned. This should be clearly communicated, in writing, at the outset of the donation process.
The Library also encourages donors to consider donating financial resources or volunteer time to enable the Library to operate at a fuller capacity. Please get in touch.
IUCN Secretariat staff, staff of IUCN Member organisations, and IUCN Commission members are encouraged to send copies of books they have written or contributed to so that they can be added to the library collection.
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