The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow is SUNCAT’s newest Contributing Library. We invited Andrew McAinsh, Collections Manager at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, to write a few words about the library and its collections.

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The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow was founded in 1599 by the Scottish surgeon Peter Lowe and his compatriots, Robert Hamilton (a physician) and William Spang (an apothecary). More than four centuries later, the College remains the only multidisciplinary Royal College in the UK. We provide career support, education, training, examination and assessment to Fellows and Members around the world, including physicians, surgeons, dentists, and practitioners of travel medicine and podiatric medicine.

Interior of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow Library Reading Room. (© Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow)

The College library was established around 1698, and our collections have grown steadily over the past 320 years to include everything from incunabula (books printed before 1501) to newly published textbooks and exam guides. The collection is particularly strong in medical and surgical publications of the 19^th and early 20^th centuries, and this is reflected in the journal holdings we have recently added to SUNCAT.

The Library is open to members of the College on weekdays from 9am to 5pm. Members of the public are also welcome to visit by appointment. Our library is a treasure trove of research resources for anybody with an interest in current medical practice, the history of medicine, and the history of Glasgow and the West of Scotland. We also have a range of resources for family history researchers, and can help you to trace your medical ancestors.

The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow Library Store. (© Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow)

Beyond the library, our archive collections include the historical records of the College, and over 120 donated collections relating to Scottish medical societies and former College members. We are also an accredited museum, and our object collection includes thousands of medical instruments from the 18^th to the 21^st centuries as well as a diverse collection of paintings and other artworks.

We’re working hard to digitise items from our heritage collections, and lots of our objects, archives and rare books can already be viewed online. Check out our website at http://heritage.rcpsg.ac.uk and follow us on twitter @rcpsgheritage for the latest information on our collections and events. If you’d like to arrange a visit you can contact us by email (library@rcpsg.ac.uk) or telephone (0141 221 6072).

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SUNCAT would very much like to thank Andrew for introducing the library and its journal collection. If you would like to write a post on your SUNCAT Contributing Library and its serials collections or would like to join SUNCAT please contact us at suncat@ed.ac.uk.