Wellcome Library
| Wellcome Library | |
|---|---|
| Location | Euston Road, London, England |
| Established | 1949 |
| Architect(s) | Septimus Warwick |
| Collection | |
| Items collected | Books, journals, archives, manuscripts, sound and music recordings, films, videos, databases, ephemera, prints, drawings, paintings, and photographs |
| Size | 2.5 million items |
| Access and use | |
| Access requirements | Open to anyone with a research or study interest in the history and progress of medicine. |
| Other information | |
| Website | wellcomelibrary |
51°31′33″N 0°08′06″W / 51.5257°N 0.1349°W The Wellcome Library is a free library and Museum based in central London. It was developed from the collection formed by Sir Henry Wellcome (1853–1936), whose personal wealth allowed him to create one of the most ambitious collections of the 20th century. Henry Wellcome's interest was the history of medicine in a broad sense and included subjects such as alchemy or witchcraft, but also anthropology and ethnography. Since Henry Wellcome's death in 1936, the Wellcome Trust has been responsible for maintaining the Library's collection and funding its acquisitions. The library is free and open to the public.