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Reference Works, Books, and Journals

At the Library's core is a matchless collection of "primary" printed works of historical importance, mostly from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. including:

  • physical science monographs
  • textbooks
  • laboratory manuals
  • instrument catalogs
  • published correspondence

The collection also includes books and journals on:

  • history of physics and allied sciences
  • biographies
  • institutional histories
  • philosophy of science
  • social aspects of the scientific community

All are acquired through donations, which we welcome. Search the library's online catalog of these resources. In addition to the author, title, and subject entries in our online catalog, one can search for scientific monographs and texts by year of publication.

The Library, in cooperation with the AIP's Public Information Division (which handles contemporary matters), will try to give an answer, or guide inquirers to authoritative information, on any historical or current question concerning physics and allied sciences.

The Library contains a variety of directories, bibliographies, biographies, journals, and other reference works with information on past and present scientists and their academic, industrial, and governmental institutions worldwide. The Library also holds complete runs of the journals published by the American Institute of Physics.

Books and journals are available in open stacks but are not loaned. Photocopies can be made at cost. (To request reprints from AIP journals, call Articles in Physics, 1-800-480-PHYS.)