Zoological Society Library and Information Services
Library Mission: The Zoological Society Library supports and collaborates with staff in collecting, organizing, preserving, and providing access to the global resources necessary to enhance and promote the Society's world-class zoological garden and its wildlife conservation efforts. The Library serves as a gateway to information, promoting ongoing learning and scientific discovery for the Society's curators, veterinarians, researchers, educators, and horticulturists.
Located on the second floor of the new Beckman Center, the Zoological Society’s main library occupies 2,000 square feet (186 square meters) and looks out on the San Pasqual Valley Agricultural Preserve. Over the years, the Library has assembled a strong collection of specialized resources concerning animal behavior and husbandry, veterinary medicine, vertebrate zoology, taxonomy, wildlife conservation, ecology, horticulture, natural history, and zoos.
The Library's collection includes approximately 11,500 books and videos, 200 active serial subscriptions, and thousands of online publications. The Library has one of the few extensive collections of IUCN and CBSG documents in the world, and one of the most complete collections of international studbooks. Completing the collection is an archive and rare book room.
The Library is not open to the general public, but through a variety of cooperative agreements with other libraries, many collection resources are made available to other institutions and individuals through inter-library loan. The Library’s Portal to Zoo and Conservation Information is available to all wildlife enthusiasts and will provide you with “virtual access” to this unique collection. Staff members provide assistance.
Staff
- Linda Coates, Associate Director of Library Services
- Kaitlyn Means, Assistant Librarian
