Our library is open to all members and to non-members (for a day pass fee). You are welcome to visit at any time during our opening hours; however, not all of our collections are kept on-site, so to guarantee access to the material you need or to reserve a computer, please book in advance.
For information on our opening hours, how to book your visit, travel to our new home, and pre-order collection items 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:
If you’re planning to visit our Research Hub, we recommend that you watch Else Churchill’s insightful guide here.
Can't visit us? See details on accessing collections remotely.
Our comprehensive guides below explain the range of resources available at the Society of Genealogists. 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 librarian@sog.org.uk.
A guide to our Online Collections
A guide to our Library Collections
A guide to our Archive Collections
A guide to our sources for Jewish Genealogy
A guide to our sources for Huguenot Genealogy
A guide to JSTOR's 19th Century British Pamphlet and Ireland Collections.
It's been a pleasure welcome visitors to our new library, and great to see how many of you have come into the new building to research, take a tour, and have a look around the facilities. The new library is still very much a work in progress, and we appreciate all the feedback we have received from visitors in your post-visit survey forms - your comments and suggestions will help us to make improvements to library collections access and services.
The library is open 10am-4pm Wednesday-Friday every week plus opening two Saturdays per month (on the second and fourth Saturdays). Information and links to help you find library and archival collection items for your research have been updated and appear at the top of the page. Members don't need to book a visit, but it is a good way to ensure there is a computer or desk space ready for you, especially if you are travelling a long distance.
If you require collection items from offsite storage, do make sure you fill in your collections order form (link given above) at least one week before your visit so we can be sure to have your material ready for you.
Get in touch anytime if you have any questions at all about accessing our collections and services.
Christine Worthington, Library Coordinator
librarian@sog.org.uk
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).
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.