Guides and databases: Biosciences: Books and E-books

Books and e-books

The library catalogue (called Explore) is the principal tool to find books, journals and other materials (either in print or in electronic format) held in UCL libraries.

E-books can be accessed through Explore on any device, from anywhere and at any time. More information about e-book services and electronic resources at UCL.

How can you tell if a book is available online?

On UCL Explore, you can look at the results of your search to quickly discover if a book is available in print or/and online: View Online means that the book is available electronically, while Available means that the book is available in print. In some cases a book is available both in print and online.

E-book collections for Biosciences

Collections of e-books may be browsed or searched. All full text services are included in Explore and the database list.

Darwin Online
Online collection of the writings of Charles Darwin, including more than 50,000 searchable text pages and 40,000 images of both publications and handwritten manuscripts.
ClinicalKey Student - Medical Education and Pharmacy
Access for UCL students and staff only. If you see a Choose organization pop-up, just click continue. You will need to login with an Elsevier account. If you don’t already have one please register with your UCL email address on initial login. Information will be processed by Elsevier in accordance with their privacy policy. UCL username and password still required for off-site access.

To download books for offline reading use the ClincalKey Student Bookshelf app for iOS or Android. First access the book on your computer and create your Elsevier account as described above. Go into any of the book sections and click Add to bookshelf. Then download the app and click sign in. Scroll down and click on Log in via your institution. Search for and select UCL (University College London). Sign in on the UCL single sign on screen and you will then be recognised by the app and the book will appear in your library. Click on the book to download it. Accessibility statement for Clinical Key Student.
Elsevier Reference Collection in Biomedical Sciences
This resource is designed to serve as an in depth and comprehensive compendium of Biomedical sciences
Elsevier Reference Collection in Life Sciences
This resource is designed to serve as an in depth and comprehensive compendium of life sciences. Accessibility statement for ScienceDirect.
Elsevier Reference Collection in Earth Systems and Environmental Science
This reference collection contains content relevant to Environmental Sciences, including 36 major reference works.

Print collections

The physical book and journal collections for Biosciences are located in the S cience Library (the DMS Watson building). On the catalogue, you will find the details with the details of the location of the materials you are looking for: library site, collection and shelfmark.

Key collections include:

Biology (UCL Science Library, 1st floor) - Biological studies (general), mathematical and statistical biology, ecology and biogeography, microbiology, genetics and evolutionary biology.
Botany (UCL Science Library, 1st floor) - Specialist areas include plant pathology, conservation and fungi.
Medical Sciences (UCL Science Library, 2nd floor) - The main Medical Sciences collection consists of all areas of studies including human anatomy and physiology, cellular biology, molecular biology, developmental biology, genetics, biochemistry, neuroscience, pharmacology, pathology, immunology and history of medicine.
Zoology (UCL Science Library, 1st floor) - Animal ecology, conservation, physiology, biochemistry, developmental biology and animal behaviour. Specialist areas include entomology, vertebrates and marine and freshwater biology.

A number of other subject collections and biomedicine and health libraries at UCL Library Services also hold relevant material.

If a book location is listed as 'Stores', the item is kept in UCL Stores and you will need to place a store request.

Due to the current circumstances, Library Services are offering a click & collect service for print materials.

The following UCL Biomedicine and Health Libraries may hold relevant material;

UCL Cruciform Hub - general clinical and medical sciences.
UCL School of Pharmacy Library - particularly strong in the pharmaceutical sciences, pharmacognosy and pharmacology, but spans the whole biomedical spectrum and beyond.
UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, Queen Square Library - is the principal specialist library for neurosciences & neurology within UCL and is a shared resource between the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology and the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (part of the UCLH NHS Foundation Trust). The Library covers neuroscience, neurology, neurosurgery and related topics, as well as some general medical and biomedical topics, and also houses Queen Square Archives.

The following Science Library collections and subject guides may be relevant;

Anthropology - 2nd floor.
Chemistry - 3rd floor.
Computer Science - 4th floor.
Earth Sciences - 3rd floor.
Engineering - 4th floor.
Science & Technology Studies - 3rd floor.
Physics - 3rd floor.
Psychology - 1st floor.

Finding e-books in Explore

A brief guide to finding and accessing e-books via UCL Explore.

Search Explore

Check out our Explore guide to find out more about how to use Explore for your research.

Explore guide

Suggest a purchase

Suggest a purchase
Is there a book or resource you would like to see in our collection? Perhaps you've noticed something missing on your reading list? Please let us know by filling out our suggest a purchase form.

ReadingLists@UCL

ReadingLists @UCL is an online service that gives students easy access to materials on their reading lists wherever they are, and allows academic staff to create and update their own reading lists.

ReadingLists@UCL webpages