Wellcome Digital Library programme

The Wellcome Library has embarked on an ambitious plan to develop a world-class digital resource for the history of medicine. Large-scale digitisation of entire collections, and redevelopment of the Library website, will enable improved access to content for researchers, and provide engaging interpretive content for non-specialists.

The programme kicked off in 2010 as a pilot phase under the theme 'Modern Genetics and its Foundations'. It is due to be completed by late 2012.

This pilot will see the digitisation of the following collections:

• Archival collections: Several collections held at the Wellcome Library will be digitised in full, including the papers of Francis Crick. Over 250 000 images have been digitised so far, to be made available in late 2012. [ Further information].
• Key printed books: up to 2000 books published between 1850 and 1990. We are currently copyright-clearing these books (a list [PDF 7MB] arranged by author is available, and copyright holders are encouraged to contact the Library).
• Digitisation of non-Wellcome Library collections: The archives of James Watson and Sydney Brenner, held at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York, will be digitised and added to the Library website. Other external collections are under consideration.
• Early European books: We are working with ProQuest to digitise and make available over 15 000 books printed before 1700.

We are establishing a new digital library technical infrastructure to manage and provide access to digital content.

Visit our Wellcome Digital Library blog for more information. You can see highlights from our collections that have already been digitised, or search our image library, Wellcome Images.