Library Contact Information

Reference Inquiries
Before contacting us, please consult our FAQ page and the Museum's FAQ page. Direct research inquiries to libref@amnh.org, but please note the following: Reference Staff will take action and reply, as soon as possible, to all inquiries and messages received from Museum staff. Members of the public should be advised that due to the high volume of questions we receive, we are only able to respond to select inquiries. If you do not hear back from us, you may want to begin your research at your local public, college, or university library; be sure to ask a reference librarian for help finding appropriate resources.

Visit the websites for the Museum's Research Departments (http://research.amnh.org) if you need information about Museum artifact or specimen collections, or if you need to conduct research in these collections. You may also try contacting the Research Departments with identification questions, however, research staff have limited time to respond to identification inquiries. Instead, the Museum hosts an annual "Identification Day" where specimens and artifacts can be brought in to be examined by an expert. Please check the Museum's program listings for more details on the next Identification Day.

Special Collections Inquiries
For information about the use of our photo, film, or archives collections, please visit the Special Collections site, or contact that department at speccol@amnh.org. Response time is up to six weeks.