Our library is open to all - members visit free of charge and non-members pay a day pass fee of £20. You're welcome to visit any time during our opening hours: 10.30am-4.00pm Wed-Fri and the second and fourth Saturdays of each month.
Not all of our collections are kept on-site, so to guarantee access to the material you need please order one week in advance using the order form link below. If you are travelling a long distance and would like to reserve a library computer it's a good idea to pre-book your visit.
For information on how to book your visit, and other information about visiting us, please see our Visit Us page.
Use the following to find items that may be useful for your research, with details to include in your Collections Order Form:
- SoG Library Catalogue for published works. Look at the location field in catalogue records to find out if an item is held in the library or in our offsite store.
- Archives Finding Aids for items in our special collections, small collections and document collections. Use the information given in the finding aids to order archival items from our offsite store.
- Online Resources for resources members can access at home including digital resources and indexes, memorial cards and family trees.
- Collections Guides (below) give an overall view of what is held in our collections, and some detail on particular subject areas. They are a great way of finding out more information about our holdings, their formats, and their availability. We're regularly creating more research guides and would be delighted to hear from you about any subjects you would like us to cover. To let us know your thoughts or to inquire about specific collections, please contact collections@sog.org.uk
If you’re planning to visit us we recommend that you watch Else Churchill’s insightful video guide here.
Due to the Christmas closure we will not be ordering collection items from our offsite store for visits from 18 December - but supply will resume for visits from 8 January.
If you will require collection items for a library visit during this period, please get your Collections Order Form in by 6 December and we can order in advance.
Can't visit us? See details on accessing collections remotely.
Donating to the Society of Genealogists' collections
Library: Let us know if you wish to donate published works for inclusion in our library collection - library@sog.org.uk. Particular subjects of interest to our members are: family history; local and general history relating to places in the UK, Ireland, British colonies and crown dependencies; genealogical reference and instructional works, such as research and record guides; name-rich resources such as directories; topical resources for military history, heraldry, professions.
Larger collections of published works are subject to a financial contribution towards processing and cataloguing so please send a list to library@sog.org.uk we can check to our catalogue.
Duplicate items and items outside our collection policy are passed to our bookshop to raise funds for the library.
Archive: Depositing your research is a great way to ensure that your research survives, is well cared for and available to other family researchers in the future. Information about donating research collections is given on our Collection Deposit page. Archive collection deposits are subject to an approval process, and usually a one-off financial contribution toward the processing of new collections. The first step is to fill in the form on the collection deposit page to tell us about the content, size and condition of the collection. Enquiries about depositing research can be sent to archives@sog.org.uk
Your favourite collection item
Is there a particular item in our collections that has positively impacted your research?
Please tell us about it!
It may be an item you have used over and over, or that enabled a significant breakthrough in your research, or that you found special for some reason. You can also tell us about an item you'd like to recommend for digitisation and addition to SoG Explore so that members can access them at home.
You can fill in the form more than once if you want to tell us about several items.
Information about favourite collection items will help us in our planning for indexing, cataloguing and digitisation projects.
Collections Guides
1. Online Resources
A guide to our online collections and subscription databases
2. Library Resources
A guide to our library collections
3. Archive Resources
A guide to our archive collections
4. Jewish Genealogy Resources
A guide to sources for researching Jewish ancestors
December 2024 Library Update
· The library will close for Christmas at 4pm on Friday 20 December and will reopen at 10.30am Thursday 2 January 2025.
We will not be ordering collection items from our offsite store for visits from 18 December - but supply will resume for visits from 8 January. If you will require collection items for a library visit during this period, please get your Collections Order Form in by 6 December and we can order in advance.
· Microfiche and CD resources are now available at the library through the ordering process. Add the fiche you would like to view to your collections order form (link at the top of this page) and we'll have it ready for your visit. There are still some gaps in availability which may be resolved in the sorting process but we'll do our best and get in touch before your visit to confirm.
· We now have over 20,500 items on the open library shelves and we have commenced adding tracts for the various categories in the library, commencing with the Textbooks Tracts.
· Our library Featured Collection has a military theme and contains over 500 regimental histories. To see a full list of these items open Advanced Search in the library catalogue, select Location as the search field, then select Library F. Featured Collection from the dropdown list. These items will be onsite until the end of January.
· The December issue of Genealogists' Magazine contains an article about the history and restoration of the pedigree 'Genealogy of the very ancient family of Eyre'. This pedigree is now indexed and free to view on TreeSearch on our website.
· Find out about resources relating to monumental inscriptions and memorials in our collections at Focus on Collections, a free online talk by Else Churchill.
· If you have ancestors in the legal profession then you may be interested in our next Collections Guide 9 : Legal Profession Resources. This new guide is undergoing finishing touches and will be added to this page before mid-December.
· Your favourite collection item: Is there a particular item in our collections that had a positive impact on your research? Please tell us about it! It may be an item that you have used over and over or that enabled a significant breakthrough in your research or that you found special for some reason. Information about favourite collection items will inform a review of our collecting policy, and our indexing and digitisation projects. See above on this page for further information and a link to the form.
· If you have recently visited the library, please do fill in your post-visit survey form to let us know your thoughts about how the library is developing, or if you visit without booking through the system you're welcome to send us an email. Your feedback can help us to plan for improvements.
Thanks so much to all our library volunteers who have worked hard throughout 2024 to progress the library in so many ways from helping library visitors to processing and cataloguing our collections.
Thanks also to the many volunteers at home who have worked hard to expand our indexed digital resources. We look forward to another busy year in 2025!
Wishing all our volunteers, members and library visitors a happy and peaceful festive season.
Christine Worthington
Research Collections Coordinator
collections@sog.org.uk
Access Collections Remotely
- Members who cannot visit us can use our library catalogue and (with your member login) search our online collections, for any items that may assist your research.
- Send your research questions to genenquiries@sog.org.uk. Our genealogy staff can assist our members with general research inquiries and help you identify the right resources for your needs whether they be held in our collections, online or elsewhere.
- If you have identified an item of interest in the Society of Genealogists' library or archive collections - contact our genealogy staff who can interrogate items for you - see Genealogy Search/Copy Service below.
- We are preparing to implement a Virtual Reading Room service in 2025 - keep an eye on this page for information about this.
Genealogy Search/Copy Service
The genealogy team can offer a limited search copy service to look at items within our library and collections and make copies where appropriate.
- To request a search please email genenquiries@sog.org.uk enclosing information about what you wish to be searched. Please include any links to the catalogue or digital collections if appropriate. We will then check the item, order it from the store if needed, and let you know as soon as possible what the search copy fees will likely be and how payment may be made.
- Generally, a search can be made to see if we hold the item and copy the appropriate pages or entries after receipt of the Society’s library handling/search fee of £20 (members £15, please quote your membership number)
- Most searches will not exceed half an hour. Up to five copies of pages are included in the initial handling/search fee.
- Additional pages (if found) will be supplied for 50 pence per A4 sized original and £1 per A3 size.
- If copies are posted overseas postage charges will be applied.
- Alternatively, scanned pdf/jpeg images (as appropriate and if possible) will be emailed at the same price.
Do You Need to Engage a Professional Researcher?
The Society of Genealogists cannot undertake lengthy genealogical research or look at sources outside its collections. If you are looking for a professional researcher to carry out more in-depth or comprehensive research on your behalf, please take a look at our comprehensive guide Employing a Professional Genealogist, which provides details on both the Association of Genealogists and Researchers in Archives (AGRA) and the Register of Qualified Genealogists (RQG).
Join us
As a member, you can make the most of our resources, access our experts, and find a welcoming community of people interested in family history and genealogy.
We all have roots. Let’s find them together.
