Skip to section
Visiting
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.
It’s not necessary to book your visit, but if you are travelling a long distance and would like to reserve a library computer, it’s advisable to pre-book using our Visit Booking & Collections Request form.
Not all our collections are kept on-site. Use the form above if you would like to order items from off-site storage for your visit.
See our Visit Us page for information about our opening hours, location, transport links and other information about visiting.
Find out more about our collections
Library Resources
Over 150,000 resources and over 32,000 are available on the open library shelves, including research and record guides, general and local history.
Archive Resources
Over 700 large and small research collections, thousands of original documents, pedigrees, card indexes and bound manuscripts.
Digital Resources
Over 20 million index and images records in SoG Explore, 10,000+ scanned trees from our collection and databases in the library.
Access Collections Remotely
Use our search tools:
If you can’t visit us, you can use our Library Catalogue, Archives Finding Aids and (with your member login) our digital resources database, SoG Explore.
Ask a question about a collection item:
If you identify an item we hold and would like to know more about it, send your question to collections@sog.org.uk. We can retrieve the item and provide more information about it, such as a scan of the title and contents pages, and if required, pass it to our Genealogy Copy Service if you would like a copy of a section or chapter.
Use our genealogy search/copy service:
Send your research questions to genenquiries@sog.org.uk. Our genealogists can assist you with general research enquiries and help you identify the right resources for your needs, in our collections or elsewhere.
If you have identified an item of interest in our collections, our genealogy team offer a limited search/copy service to examine items in our library and archives and make copies where appropriate.
- To request a search, please email genenquiries@sog.org.uk and include details of 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 you can pay.
- 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 30 minutes. The initial handling/search fee includes up to five copies of pages.
- Additional pages (if available) will be supplied at 50 pence per A4-sized original and £1 per A3-sized original.
- If copies are posted overseas, postage charges will be applied. Alternatively, we can email scanned PDF/JPG images (as appropriate and if possible) at the same price.
Use our Virtual Reading Room:
Members can book an online session via Zoom to peruse a collection item: find out more
Do You Need to Engage a Professional Researcher?
The SoG 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 see our guide, Employing a Professional Genealogist. The guide provides details on both the Association of Genealogists and Researchers in Archives (AGRA) and the Register of Qualified Genealogists (RQG).
Contact the Collections Team
Christine Worthington,
Research Collections Coordinator
Alex Andreou
Library Assistant
Rebecca Carlton
Archives Assistant
Harry Purvis
Digital Librarian