Research project support at the Wellcome Library

The Wellcome Library is keen to support students working on their Extended Project Qualification, International Baccalaureate or other research project. The Library is free and open to anyone with an interest in the history of health and medicine.

About the Wellcome Library

The Wellcome Library is located in Euston, London. It offers its members free access to books, online journals, manuscripts, paintings, digital images and films that come from around the globe and cover more than 2000 years of human culture.

Library materials cover a vast array of subjects and are particularly rich in cross-curricular topics. These include:

• anatomy and physiology
• anthropology
• alternative medicine
• art and literature
• biomedical ethics and policy
• crime
• food and cookery
• the history and philosophy of science
• personal accounts of illness
• public health
• the relationship between science and art
• religion.

The Wellcome Images collection contains more than 200 000 digital images relating to medicine, science, art and history. These range from HIV awareness posters and microscopy images of insects to photographs of tattoos and artworks from 19th-century Japan. They are all available online and are free to download and use for private study.

The film, video and audio material collection covers all aspects of medicine, health and welfare. It includes footage from public health campaigns, interviews with artists and scientists, and medical training films. Many items from this collection have been digitised and are freely available on the Library website or YouTube.

The Library also provides access to many electronic resources including academic journals, ebooks, popular science magazines, newspapers and databases. Several of these can be accessed remotely after joining the Library.

Joining the Wellcome Library

Anyone wanting to join will need to visit the Wellcome Library in person. People aged 18 and above are required to provide photo identification and proof of address. People aged 16 or 17 will also need to supply a referral letter from their school confirming that the Library's collections are relevant to their studies. If students are unable to provide proof of address, the referral letter should also include confirmation of the student's home address. People under 16 are admitted only by exception and must be accompanied by an adult at all times.

Not a member?

Non-members can access the Wellcome Images and Wellcome Film collections online.

Starting to search

The best way to begin exploring the Library's collections is to search the online catalogues. This will give you an overview of the range of material available in your area of interest and allow you to view digital archives, books, films and images.

You can also use the catalogue to discover a large number of online full-text research articles. These are drawn from the many journals and databases that the Library subscribes to, which cover subjects across the biomedical sciences and the humanities.

More information on searching the Library catalogues, including how to look for articles.

Further help

Library staff are always on hand at the Enquiry Desk to answer questions. They can also be contacted by telephone and email.

Other extended research project resources

Study skills

• The University of Southampton has guides to studying and researching effectively.
• The University of Manchester has resources for Extended Project Qualification students and teachers.

Inspiration for project ideas

• ‘Big Picture’, a magazine for post-16 students and teachers, explores contemporary issues around biology and medicine.
• ‘Catalyst’, a magazine for students aged 14-19, covers current developments in biology, chemistry and physics. The articles are often written by the scientists or engineers involved.
• Science and Plants for Schools has project ideas to help you get started on a practical investigation. Topics include medicine, food security, evolution and adaptation.
• Nowgen has produced a student guide that contains information and activities designed to enhance students’ knowledge of genomics, develop their research skills and suggest starting points for project work.
• These ideas for CREST Award research projects may inspire students to think of their own research questions.
• Mathematics in Education and Industry suggests maths and statistics topics that might make interesting subjects for research projects.

Resources for teachers

• We have worked with the National STEM Centre to create an Extended Project Support Group. This is a collection of resources for teachers involved in school and college extended research projects relating to science, technology, engineering and maths.