Photo provided by Huntington Library
Author: Sereen Suleiman
While botany is the science of plants, a botanical library, or horticultural library, is a type of special library that focuses on the collection of literature and materials about plants. These libraries are typically located in botanical gardens, research institutions, horticultural societies, conservatories, governmental offices, colleges, and universities as part of a larger university library. Moreover, similar to other special libraries, botanical libraries have been established worldwide, which is why these libraries have their own designated council, the Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries, Inc. (CBHL).
The Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries, Inc. (CBHL)
The Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries, Inc. (CBHL) is an international council of individuals, organizations, and institutions that primarily focuses on development, maintenance and utilization of botanical libraries and horticultural literature. The vision of the CBHL is to “empower its members to lead in botanical and horticultural information services.” Every spring, in May, an annual meeting is hosted by a member organization, in which members have an opportunity to explore any important issues regarding botanical libraries. These meetings discuss topics such as preservation of various plant collections, garden literature, botanical art, and even computer systems. Locations of past meetings include New York City, Atlanta, Ottawa, Chicago, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Columbus, Seattle, Santa Barbara, and Montreal. Oftentimes, these members at these meetings visit historical gardens.
- For more information about the CBHL or if you wish to become a member, please visit their official website at https://www.cbhl.net
- Check out the CBHL online catalog to find locations of botanical libraries throughout the country: https://www.cbhl.net/plant-libraries
- In addition, the CBHL has their very own newsletter, which notifies members and nonmembers alike of key events along with information from other botanical library organizations, such as the American Public Garden Association and the Botanical Society of America. https://www.cbhl.net/cbhl-newsletter
Botany and Horticulture Library
At the famous Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, they have their very own Botany and Horticulture Library. This botanical library was established in the winter of 1965-1966, after the Botany Department gathered its collections of botanical literature into one separate library of its own when asked to move into the West Wing of the museum. Ever since then, it supports research for the Botany Department and botanists around the world. The library also has guides for many botanical gardens as well as botanical periodicals stretching back from 1980 to the present.
Botany Special Collections
Within the Horticulture Library, there are several collections, each specializing in a different type(s) of plant species. For example, there is the John Donnell Smith Collection for general botany purposes. Then there is the Hitchcock-Chase collection for those interested in grasses. Additionally, the E. Yale Dawson collection specializes in algae, marine botany, and the lichen portion of the John S. Stevenson collection on mycology. All are fully cataloged.
Horticulture Collections
Since it is a library and plant preservation, the Horticulture Library stores more than 5,000 books, 2,700 volumes of periodicals, 10,000 trade catalogs, 40 running feet of subject files, and a growing collection of videotapes covering subjects from historical and practical horticulture, garden history, and landscape design in America. Within these broad subjects are, but not limited to, the following: floriculture, garden preservation, interior plant scaping, botanical art, pomology, and garden ornaments, to name a few.
Of course, this library is in Washington, D.C. Let’s go to a botanical library in California, specifically the Bay Area.
San Francisco Botanical Garden
A garden in SFBG. Photo provided by SFBG.
There’s a botanical library in a city not very far from San Jose: the San Francisco Botanical Garden (SFBG) located in beautiful San Francisco.
The SFBG is home to a variety of gardens including Andean Cloud Forest, Australian, Californian, Mediterranean, Mesoamerica Cloud Forest, Chilean, New Zealand, South Africa, and Southeast Asia Cloud Forest. There are even gardens for children and succulent gardens.
Also, inside the SFBG is the Helen Crocker Russell Library of Horticulture, established in 1972. According to the SFBG, the Helen Crocker Library of Horticulture, or “the Library” as it is called, is “northern California’s most comprehensive horticultural library.” The Library stores approximately 27,000 volumes and 250 current plant and garden periodicals. Furthermore, the collections at the Library cover all aspects of horticulture including gardening, garden design, botanical art, ethnobotany, and pest management.
SFBG especially makes an effort to cater to children, as there is a 2,000-volume children’s botanical library, a Children’s Story Time & Family Garden Walk program, and rotating Botanical Art Exhibitions among other options.
In terms of transportation, should San Jose State University students not wish to use a car, then those in the San Jose area and Bay Area have several alternative options to reach these gardens, such as the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), Sam Trans, and Golden Gate Transit. Keep in mind that tickets need to be purchased prior to entering the gardens, unless you are a San Francisco resident.
For more information, please visit their website at https://www.sfbg.org/
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It is plainly clear to see that botanical libraries play a major role in the collection, preservation, indexing, and information management of many species of plants throughout the world, whether it is through a simple library or a spacious botanical garden. This only goes to show how many opportunities are available from special libraries and how they play an integral role in shaping our world.
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