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).

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.