Visiting the Niels Bohr Library & Archives

Before your visit

Our reading room is open to all who are interested in using our research materials on the history of physics and allied sciences. While we welcome the public, we do not have amenities such as copiers, public use computers, or general interest books. Researchers interested in using archival collections or rare books are encouraged to make an appointment. Visit our Registration Page for more information and to schedule an appointment.

We are located in College Park, Maryland on the 3rd floor of the American Center for Physics (ACP). If traveling by car, you may use ACP’s accessible visitor parking, and if traveling by Metro/train, you may ride the University of Maryland shuttle 109 from the College Park station to the American Center for Physics stop.

Access to all unpublished collections requires an approved Item Request Form. A few of the collections have special limitations placed on their availability for examination and/or publication; these restrictions can be found in our catalog records and our staff is available to help guide you. Use of our collections is governed by our terms and restrictions

Accessibility

We strive to make our collections and materials accessible to all of our visitors. Our reading room is accessible via elevator, and our book stacks are accessible via elevator and staff assistance. Staff is available to assist researchers in locating and pulling library & archival materials from all collection areas. 

For more information or if you have any questions regarding the accessibility of our reading room, we encourage you to contact us using the information in the contact information found on the left side of this page.

Collections

Books and Serials – Over 17,000 titles including physical science monographs, textbooks, laboratory manuals, instrument catalogs, and published correspondence. The library also holds complete runs of all the journals published by AIP.

Archival Collections – Official repository of AIP and its ten member societies. We also hold a few collections of personal papers along with the following:

  • Oral History Interviews – Includes over 3,000 hours of interviews with over 1,500 physicists and allied scientists.
  • Manuscript Biographies/Biographical Files – Unpublished biographies and biographical material of major physicists.
  • Institutional Histories – Detailed descriptions of a department, laboratory, school, or company, both published and unpublished.
  • Miscellaneous Physics – Small, folder-sized, non-biographical donations that can include manuscripts, reprints, reports, lecture notes, copies of third-party letters or other archival material that is not part of a larger collection.
  • Audio Visual – Films and other moving images along with various audio recordings both commercially and privately produced.
  • Emilio Segrè Visual ArchivesOver 30,000 historical images, photographs, slides, lithographs, engravings, drawings, and other visual materials.