National Science Library, National library in Ottawa, Canada

The National Science Library occupies a pale grey concrete building in Ottawa designed by Shore Tilbe Irwin + Partners: a tall tower with a vertical glass strip of windows steps down to a lower block with three horizontal bands of rectangular windows, set above a grassy slope. It holds one of the world's largest collections of publications in science, technology, engineering and medicine.

The library began in 1917 as the library of the National Research Council of Canada. It took on the role of national science library unofficially in 1957 and became the official National Science Library in 1966. NRC Research Press joined the library in 1992 and became the private company Canadian Science Publishing on 1 September 2010.

The library serves researchers, scientists, and professionals from across Canada as a working resource rather than a general public space. Visitors notice that the reading areas are set up for focused study, with materials oriented toward science and technology fields.

The library sits in NRC building M-55 on Montreal Road in Ottawa, part of the council's research campus. It serves NRC staff and Canada's research community, and since 2010 it has also provided all technical library support to Health Canada under a partnership. Document requests are handled through the Copyright Clearance Center, which requires users to hold an account there.

The library holds a digitized collection of around 12,000 historical photographs documenting scientific developments across Canada over many decades. This visual archive sits alongside the printed collection and is something many visitors do not expect to find there.