Lenhardt Library Collection Policy

I. MISSION STATEMENT

The Lenhardt Library strives to provide plant science resources and accurate information to users by collecting, organizing, preserving, and sharing subject-specific materials for current and future use, while supporting all objectives of the Chicago Botanic Garden.

As a leading plant science library serving the Chicago region and as a member of the North Suburban Library System and the Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries, the Lenhardt Library:

  1. Serves as an information center for research in horticulture, botany, plant conservation and related subjects;
  2. Encourages all Garden visitors, both on-site and virtual, to deepen their understanding of the plant world;
  3. Permits interested individuals and groups access to the Library's rare collection for research;
  4. Promotes the exchange of information between the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Library and  institutional libraries of a similar nature;
  5. Partners with other Chicago Botanic Garden departments to further the mission of the institution through beneficial collaborations.

II. SCOPE OF THE COLLECTION

The Lenhardt Library’s collections contain approximately 100,000 volumes pertaining to horticulture, botany, plant conservation, restoration ecology, garden design, landscape architecture, horticultural therapy, Midwest flora, international floras, phytopathology, soil ecology, natural history of the Midwest and related areas in varying formats. Specifically the collection includes:

  1. Books: Printed monographs of general interest, scholarly concepts, reference sources, teacher materials and juvenile titles.
  2. Rare materials: books and periodicals published before 1900 and exceptional contemporary works in horticulture and botany.  The Massachusetts Horticultural Society collection acquired in 2002 dates back to the 15th century.
  3. Periodicals: journals, newsletters and annual reports.
  4. Slides: 35mm slides produced professionally and by amateurs.
  5. Vertical files: pamphlets, clippings, excerpts, reprints and other ephemeral material.
  6. Archival materials: Institutional records of Chicago Horticultural Society and the Chicago Botanic Garden of historic and enduring value.  Formats include print, photographs and films.
  7. Site and Garden blueprints: working drawings for construction projects and as-built drawings for completed projects.
  8. Nursery and seed catalogs: Current retail and wholesale catalogs from U.S. companies.
  9. Videos, DVDs, and CD-ROMs: recordings of Garden lectures and DVDs, videos, CD-ROMs on gardening, horticulture and botanical topics.
  10. Electronic resources: Access to bibliographic database subscriptions (JSTOR, BioOne, Academic Search Premier, Environment Complete and Garden Landscape Horticulture Index), and access to full-text journals subscriptions.