Libraries

Help us maintain our extraordinary archive of horticultural resources and artefacts, while preserving the knowledge from generations of gardeners

Showcasing a unique collection

In our Libraries team, you’ll be working with one of the finest horticultural collections of its kind in the world. A collection, awarded ‘designated status’ by the Arts Council for its national and international significance, includes beautiful botanical artworks, photographs, and scientific and historical materials dating back to the 1500s.

With 33 permanent staff and more than 60 volunteers, we manage and share this unique collection with thousands of people every year. From young children to PhD researchers, we welcome more than 100,000 visitors to our exhibitions each year at our three library sites

“We’re a nationally designated collection of importance. Just seeing how people are inspired by the material we’ve got, that’s really inspiring.”

Simon, Librarian

Our Libraries teams

Library Reader Services

Join one of our three libraries in London, RHS Wisley and RHS Harlow Carr, and you’ll be helping a variety of readers find the information or publication they want. From RHS students, who want reliable sources to support their research to RHS members looking for information on particular plants, or members of the public who need gardening advice. We point them in the right direction so they find what they’re looking for, and make it available to them, either in the library or through our postal loan service.

Heritage collection curation

Our libraries are home to a huge range of rare materials covering the history, science, art and practice of horticulture. This includes all the RHS archives, as well as artworks, nursery catalogues, rare books, pamphlets, and both historic and specialist current periodicals. In this team, we give thousands of researchers access to this incredible collection every year. This means managing appointments to view specific material, as well as arranging for scans and photos to support studies or research. It’s a fascinating and rewarding job, working with such a unique collection every day.

Digital collections

We’re always looking for new ways to share our unique collections with even more people. Join this team and you’ll play a major role, helping to document and digitise more of our collections, so we can make them available online. You’ll be contributing to an on-going project that’s opening up some of our most fragile historic documents to people who wouldn’t be able to see them otherwise. At the same time, you could also be helping to expand our e-book collection, and bringing the joy of gardening to even more RHS members through a dedicated website and app.

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What you could be working on

We get involved in so many different things, that you could be working on all kinds of projects.
Only at the RHS could you:

  • Find innovative ways of using our collections to engage with new audiences
  • Unlock the potential of unique historic collections to support people of all ages on their gardening journey
  • Expand our e-book service and develop learning resources for schools

  • Showcase historic collections and stories in our exhibition gallery at RHS Wisley
  • Digitise and share unique horticultural documents with a worldwide audience online
  • Develop an engaging events and exhibition programme for three libraries

Explore more careers with the RHS

Get involved

The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.