The Dana Library and Research Centre (formerly the Dana Centre) on

Queen's Gate Queen's Gate is a street in South Kensington, London, England. It runs south from Kensington Gardens' Queen's Gate (the edge of which gardens are here followed by Kensington Road) to Old Brompton Road, intersecting Cromwell Road. The street i ...

South Kensington South Kensington is a district at the West End of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with the advent of the ra ...

, London, is a venue where researchers and visitors can access the library and archives of the

Science Museum Group The Science Museum Group (SMG) consists of five British museums: * The Science Museum in South Kensington, London * The Science and Industry Museum in Manchester * The National Railway Museum in York * The Locomotion Museum (formerly the Na ...

History

Designed by Sir Richard MacCormac of MJP Architects, the building opened in 2003 as a public event venue for contemporary science debate, run largely by the

Science Museum A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, Industry (manufacturing), industry and Outline of industrial ...

. The building itself houses offices used by the Science Museum and the

British Science Association The British Science Association (BSA) is a charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA). The current Chief ...

(formerly known as British Association for the Advancement of Science). The Dana Centre is not directly accessible from the main museum, and is on the nearby

street. Previously an events space and café, the building re-opened in late 2015 as the Dana Library and Research Centre, aiming to "provide a world-class environment for academic research, bringing together the Science Museum's Research and Public History Department and access to its library and archive collections".

Opening times

The centre is currently open to researchers and visitors alike by appointment only, Thursdays and Fridays from 11.00 to 17.00. It is closed on Bank Holidays during the Christmas and New Year holiday periods.

Access to the collection

Visitors to the Dana Centre can access almost 7,000 volumes on the history and biography of science, technology and medicine and their philosophical and social aspects. Journals are also available in physical and digital formats, with core titles being mainly available electronically. As 99% of the Science Museum Group's library and archives are held at the Library and Archives at the National Collection Centre, in Wiltshire, most material will need to be ordered in advance.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Event venues established in 2003 Buildings and structures in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Science Museum, London Museum education Libraries in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Richard MacCormac buildings