Helen Crocker Russell Library of Horticulture

Home to 27,000 volumes on all aspects of plant life as well as 350 plant related periodicals and a 1,600-volume children’s botanical library, the Helen Crocker Russell Library of Horticulture is a little known gem located at the San Francisco Botanical Garden in Golden Gate Park.

The library collections are dedicated primarily to practical guides for local plant and garden enthusiasts, with extensive resources available on the cultivation of bay area plant life. The library also houses a small rare books collection, including a 1502 German woodplate botanical and two copies of the first botanical guide ever printed in English.

The libary also houses historical resources related to the history of Golden Gate Park and the botanical gardens and a historic slide collection of images of the park and early city.