Library and Archives

Our Library and Archives hold some of the most important ornithological collections in the UK. With material spanning the 19th Century to the present day, our fascinating and diverse collections are open to everyone.

The Chris Mead Library

Our library is situated in the chapel of the old Nunnery at BTO’s headquarters in Thetford.

We hold one of the finest collections of books on birds and the science of ornithology anywhere in the world.

There is something for everyone in the library, from popular science and natural history, to bird ID guides and ornithological scientific journals.

Our library is particularly renowned for its comprehensive sets of county and local materials, such as bird reports from local groups and bird observatories.

More about the library

The Archives

Bittern nestling. Emma Louisa Turner — Taken in Norfolk in 1911, this photo of a Bittern nestling by Emma Turner provided evidence for the rediscovery of the species as a breeding bird in the UK.

The Archives hold nationally important collections of notebooks and personal papers relating to key figures in ornithology, and photographic materials with an emphasis on early bird photography.

We are, for example, privileged to hold some of the photographic plates made by Emma Turner, the pioneering Edwardian ornithologist and bird photographer.

The Archives are also where we store the physical and electronic outputs from BTO studies, together with organisational records dating back to the Trust’s foundation in 1933.

Explore the archives