About the Library
Founded in 1853, the Academy Library is a research library devoted to natural history and the natural sciences. Explore our extensive collections, including rare books, serials, maps, and photography.
Throughout the history of science, groups of people who have been marginalized for their identities often do not get credit for their work or are relegated to a footnote—and the California Academy of Sciences, one of the oldest scientific institutions in the West, is no exception to this exclusionary trend.
It is our duty to tell the stories of our staff and affiliates that have yet to be told in order to reveal a fuller and truer picture of the history of our institution, which reflects the history of science as a whole. Academy archivists, including a graduate student, undergraduate students, and Careers in Science high school interns, profiled staff from the past using archival materials from the Academy Library to shed light on stories that have not been told in their entirety until now.