General email should be addressed to the Secretary email relating to the East Asian History of Science Library should be addressed to the Librarian email relating to the Science and Civilisation in China series should be addressed to the Chairman of the Publications Board The Needham Research Institute, which houses the East Asian History of Science Library , is situated in west Cambridge five minutes' walk from the Cambridge University Library, in the grounds of Robinson College. It is the home of the Science and Civilisation in China project, and welcomes researchers from all over the world with an interest in the history of science medicine and technology in East Asia. In the early 1950s Dr. Joseph Needham embarked on a long-term project to investigate the scientific and technical contribution that the Chinese people have made to human culture. This grew into the Science and Civilisation in China project, which to date has resulted in seventeen substantial published works written by Joseph Needham and his collaborators.
Further parts are in preparation.
In the course of this research Joseph Needham began to assemble a unique collection of Chinese, Japanese and Western language materials. The collection's original home was in Gonville and Caius College, where Dr. Needham was Master until his retirement. Its subsequent growth dictated a succession of moves until it finally reached its present purpose-built home which was completed in 1991. The present The Institute and its library offer scholars facilities for research and writing unrivalled by any other academic institution in its field. The library now holds about 20,000 titles, including a number of important collectanea, and about 20,000 offprints.