Library Catalogue
Over 10,000 printed works have been catalogued and can be accessed online on the library catalogue. Many remain uncatalogued so if you cannot find the work you are looking for please contact the library at library@rcpsg.ac.uk.
Journals
The College Library has access to the electronic versions of thousands of medical journals. Help in accessing online journals can be found on the Library Help page.
Journals held in the College Library are listed on the Journals pages.
Information about the very latest medical and dental articles can be found on our journal alerts pages.
If you are a Fellow or Member of the College you are entitled to enhanced range of services from the College Library. These include:
- Document Supply
Inter-library loans and photocopies are available from a variety of sources. These include the Library’s own stock, resources of the British Library, the British Medical Association Library and the holdings of Scottish hospital libraries, as well as local universities.
- Literature Searches
Staff can offer advice and help with literature searching and reference citation searching.
Online Resources
- Access to NHS Knowledge Network. If you are a Member or Fellow of the College please contact the library email: library@rcpsg.ac.uk for details of how to apply for an Athens password to gain access to a wide range of online journal articles and resources. Help guides to using online resources can be found on the Library Help page.
If you are an examination candidate the library provides:
- Access to current reference material including standard medical texts and revision guides
- a quiet place to study before your examination.
For medical historians the library provides a “one stop shop” for medical history resources as a consequence of being the only UK College for surgeons, physicians and dentists. Key historical resources include:
- The printed book collection dating from the 15th century which includes many of the key medical, anatomical and surgical texts of the 16th and 17th centuries. About a third of the Library's printed book collection can be searched using the Library Catalogue.
- The pamphlet collection consists of several thousand items ranging from the late eighteenth to early twentieth centuries. Further details about the pamphlet collection. (PDF)
- The archives which include the administrative records of the College dating from 1602 and also deposited collections of physicians, surgeons and dentists connected with the College and several collections relating to Glasgow and the West of Scotland medical societies. Descriptions for all these can be found listed alphabetically in Archive Collections. A recent exciting development on our web pages is the addition of a digital version of an 18th century book of herbal remedies. This is accompanied by a transcription by retired botanist Dr Agnes Walker.
- The instrument collection containing instruments dating from the 18th century with a particular emphasis on those manufactured in Glasgow. Some of these are highlighted on our Instrument Collection pages.
We have created special pages to help family historians in our dental archives and tracing a medical ancestor pages.
For further information on all our services and resources please contact library@rcpsg.ac.uk.