The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland was established in 1784 and had a library from its foundation. The antiquarian collection of 20,000 books comprises of a number of special collections and covers travel, natural history and literature as well as medicine, surgery, with emphasis on the history of medicine and surgery in Ireland. SERVICES: Antiquarian materials are available for reference only. An appointment is advisable. There is a card catalogue of the holdings. A portion is available on the library's on-line catalogue. The holdings are included in the English Short Title Catalogue (ESTC).

Holdings:

The Arthur Jacob collection bequeathed 1871 (2,000 vols.) includes rare and valuable works in medicine, travel and literature. The Wheeler-Butcher collection bequeathed 1944 (500 vols.) - late 19th and early 20th century surgery. The Doolin collection bequeathed in 1962 (300 vols.) on the history of medicine. Also included is a collection of two thousand pamphlets on a wide range of subjects including medicine and allied subjects. It also holds the Archives of the RCSI and a number of Dublin hospital archives. Access restricted.

Subject Strengths:

History of Medicine; History of Surgery

Last Updated:

29 Jun 2010