The Library exists to serve the information requirements of all John Innes Centre, Institute of Food Research, TGAC and Sainsbury Laboratory staff and to maintain the three important historical collections owned by the John Innes Trustees.

Purpose built in 1990, the Science Library houses the amalgamated holdings of the John Innes Centre and Institute of Food Research libraries. The Trustees’ collections are also housed here, in two purpose-built, environmentally-controlled rooms, providing optimum conditions for the care, preservation and display of the material.

The Main Science collections comprise some 17,000 books and over 2,900 periodical titles. From 2007, most journals are available on an electronic-only basis, with print archives maintained where electronic access is not freely available.