For members & visitors

The Library

Three ways to use it — pick one:

Beekeeping classics from the 1780s to the 1920s, out of copyright and free to read or download.

1888

Langstroth on the Hive & Honey-Bee

L. L. Langstroth

The foundational text of modern beekeeping — the movable-frame hive that changed everything.

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1901

The Life of the Bee

Maurice Maeterlinck

A Nobel laureate's meditation on the colony — as much literature as natural history.

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1921

The Practical Bee Guide

J. G. Digges

The manual a generation of British and Irish beekeepers actually learned from.

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1886

A Book About Bees

F. G. Jenyns

A charming Victorian introduction to their history, habits and instincts.

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1921

Bees for Pleasure and Profit

G. Gordon Samson

Manipulation, honey production and general management.

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1923

Queen Rearing Simplified

Jay Smith

A method-first guide from a master queen breeder.

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1891

Advanced Bee Culture

W. Z. Hutchinson

Its methods and management, for the improving beekeeper.

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1922

Every Step in Beekeeping

A. C. Miller

A practical walk through the beekeeping year.

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1922

Starting Right with Bees

The classic first-year primer.

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1919

The Beginner's Bee Book

Frank C. Pellett

A gentle, thorough introduction for newcomers.

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Browse the whole collection — 92 volumes

Everything on the shelves. Click any title to open it.

139 books the association owns and lends to members. To borrow, contact the librarian — books are usually at beginners' lessons and Saturday meetings. Search by title, author or category. “M” after a number = that copy is currently missing.

No.	Title	Author	Year	Category
04	Beekeeping For All	Edwards	1923	Practical
07	Honey Bee, The	Cowan	1904	Scientific
08	A Modern Bee Farm	Simmins	1928	Practical
09	Honey, A Book Of	Crane	1980	EducationalModule 2
10	Beekeeping	Vernon	1976	Practical
12M	Guide To Bees & Honey	Hooper	1979	BeginnersGeneral library
14	The Lore Of The Honeybee	Edwards	1908	Educational
16	Hogs At The Honey Pot	Vernon	1981	Historical
17	Honey - A Comprehensive Survey	Crane	1979	Scientific
18	Biology Of Flowers	Holm	1979	Gen Interest
20	Queens, Introduction Of	Snelgrove	1940	Practical
21	Anatomy & History Of Bees	Hempsal	1943	Educational
22	Honey Production, At Home	Bielby	1977	Practical
23	Beekeeping, Background To	Waine	1975	Beginners
24	Beeswax	Brown	1982	PracticalModule 2
25	Mead Making	Acton	1968	Practical
26	Beekeeping, Complete Handbook Of	Mace	1980	Beginners
29	Garden Plants	I.B.R.A.	1981	Educational
30	Guide To Bees & Honey	Hooper	1976	BeginnersGeneral library
31	Beekeeping, Practical	Couston	1972	Practical
32	Buckfast Abbey, Beekeeping At	Brother Adam	1971	Gen Interest
33	Honeybee, Life Of	Simon	1982	Beginners
34	The Observation Hive	Showler	1978	HistoricalModule 8
36	Pollen Identification (Lev)	Sawyer	1981	ScientificModule 8; Microscopy
37	Pollen Identification (Lev)	Sawyer	1981	ScientificModule 8; Microscopy
39	Honeybee, Anatomy Of	B.B.K.A.	1976	Educational
41	Honey By The Ton	Fields	1983	Gen Interest
42	Honey Farming	Manley	1985	Practical
43	Microscopy On A Shoestring	Meyer	1984	PracticalMicroscopy
45	Beekeeping - A Seasonal Guide	Brown	1985	Beginners
46	Queen Rearing Simplified	Cook	1986	PracticalModule 7
47	Oil Seed Rape & Bees	Calder	1986	EducationalModule 2
48	Microscopy, Practical	N.B.S.	1971	Scientific
49	Beehives, Construction Of	Walsh	1979	Practical
50	Beeswax, Production/Harvesting/Proc	Coggshall	1984	Practical
51	Beekeeping, Basic	Meyer	1978	Beginners
52	Bees At The Bottom Of The Garden	Campion	1984	Beginners
53	Bees - Their Vision/Senses/Language	Von Frisch	1971	Scientific
54M	Honeybees Of The British Isles (Mb)	Cooper	1986	Gen InterestModule 7; Module 8
55	Honeybees, A Guide To Management	Ron Brown	1988	Gen Interest
56	Bees & Beekeeping	Diemer	1988	Beginners
57	Beekeeping, The Complete Guide To	Evans	1989	Beginners
58	Royal Jelly	Stein	1986	Gen Interest
59	Beehive Plan, Wbc	B.B.K.A.		Practical
61	The Legend Of The Hive	Owsianka	1988	Gen Interest
62	Varroa Handbook	Mobus/Connor	1988	Scientific
64M	Beekeeping, Profitable	Croft	1986	Practical
65	Brood Diseases	Hansen	1987	Beginners
66	Nucleus Hive, Make Yourself	Taylor	1990	Practical
67	A Case Of Hives	Heath	1985	Beginners
68	Honey & Health	Croft	1987	Gen Interest
69	Honey - From Source To Sale & Show	Rounce	1990	Practical
70	Talking Bee-Sense	Cotterill	1989	Gen Interest
71	Pollen, Propolis & Royal Jelly	Thorsons	1989	Gen Interest
73	Honey Marketing	Riches	1989	Gen Interest
74	Beekeeping For Beginners	Richards	1991	Beginners
75	Candles, Beeswax	Furness		Practical
76	National Honey Show Guides (1-8)	Nhs		Practical
77M	Tales Of A Border Beekeeper (Lev)	Weightman	1991	Gen Interest
78	Beekeeping, Handbook Of	Riches	1992	Gen Interest
81	Honey, From Hive To Honey Pot	Style	1992	Gen Interest
82	Law & Beekeeping	Frimston	1993	Practical
83	Pollen Loads Of The Honeybee	Hodges	1952	Scientific
84	Bumblebee, Life Of The	Alford	1978	Gen Interest
85	Pollen	White	1989	Practical
86	Great Masters Of Beekeeping	Brown	1994	Gen InterestModule 8
87	Honey In The Kitchen	White	1978	Practical
88	Honey In The Kitchen, More	White	1978	Practical
89	Candles, The Book Of	Innes	1991	Gen Interest
91	Queens, Raise Your Own	Smailes	1977	Practical
92	The New Comb Honey Book	Taylor	1981	Practical
93M	Making Mead	Morse	1980	Practical
94	Skeps	Alston	1987	Practical
95M	Natural Medicine From Honeybees	Kaal	1987	Scientific
97	The Biology Of The Honeybee	Winston	1987	Gen InterestGeneral library; Adv.Husbandry; Module 5; Module 6
98	The New Varroa Handbook	Mobus/Bruyn	1993	Gen Interest
101	Bee Boles And Bee Houses	Foster	1988	Gen Interest
102	Practical Beekeeping & Honey Prd	Mcfie		Gen Interest
103	The Beekeepers Guide	Herrod-Hemps	1942	Gen Interest
109	The World Of The Honeybee	Butler	1954	Gen InterestModule 6
110	The Behaviour & Social Life Of Bees	Ribbands	1959	Gen InterestGeneral Husbandry; Module 6
111	Honey Production In The British Isles	Manley	1936	Gen Interest
112	Value Added Products From	Krell	1996	Practical
114	Operating An Observation Hive	Waring	1988	Gen Interest
115	The Honeybee'S Fingerprint (Video)	Bibra		Scientific
116	The Mysterious Bee (Video)	Beehivefilms		Gen Interest
120	The Red Mason Bee	O'Toole	2000	Gen Interest
142	Microscopy Certif Notes	Yates	1995	EducationalMicroscopy
144M	Backyard Beekeeping	Scott	1977	Gen Interest
145M	Practical Bee Guide	Digges	1944	Old Text
146M	Complete Guide To Beekeeping	Morse	1986	Gen Interest
147	Stewarton Hive	Messenger	2002	Historical
148	Honeybee Diseases/Pests	Canadian	2000	Educational
150	Background To Beekeeping	Waine/Brown	1998	Beginners
151M	Honeybee Inside Out	Davis	2004	Educational
152	Beekeeping, Easy Guide	Flottum	2005	Beginners
153	Guide To Bees & Honey	Hooper	2008	BeginnersGeneral library
154	The Buzz About Bees	Tautz	2008	Gen InterestModule 6
155	Honey Handbook	Flottum		Practical
156	The Honey Cookbook	Popescu		Practical
157	The Introduction Of Queen Bees	Snelgrove		Practical
158	Queen Bee (Biology, Rearing & Breeding)	Woodward	2009	Q RearingGeneral Husbandry; Advanced Husbandry
159	Recipes Using Beeswax	Calder		Practical
160	Hive Products (Creams And Polishes)			Practical
161	Queen Rearing - Jenkins Way	Jenkins	1984	Practical
162	Raising Queen Cells	Harden		Practical
163	Queen Rearing (Miller Method)	Simms		Q Rearing
164	Guide To Bees And Honey	Hooper		BeginnersGeneral library
165	Crop Pollination By Bees	Delaplane		EducationalModule 2
166	Behaviour/Physiology Of Bees	Goodman		Educational
167	Uk Pesticide Guide	Lainsbury		Reference
168M	Swarming Control And Prevention	Snelgrove	1946	Practical
169	The Bee Craftsman	Wadey	1949	Practical
170	Beekeeping For Beginners	Jackson	1946	Practical
172	Honey And Your Health	Beck/Smedley	1947	Gen Interest
173	Plants And Beekeeping	Howes	1945	Gen InterestModule 2
174	Bees For Pleasure And Profit	Samson	1921	Practical
175M	Honey A Modern Healer	Briggs	2007	Practical
176	Keeping Bees - A Complete Practical	Peacock		Practical
177	Bees At The Bottom Of The Garden	Campion	1990	Practical
178	Beekeeping Complete Guide	Evans	1989	Practical
179	A World Without Bees	Benjamin	2008	Gen Interest
180M	A Novices Guide	Wootton	2010	Practical
181	Managing Varroa	Defra		Gen Interest
182	The Small Hive Beetle	Defra		Gen Interest
183	Foul Brood Disease Of Honey Bees	Defra		Gen Interest
184M	The Beekeepers Garden	Ted Hooper/Mike Taylor	1988	Gen Interest
185	Queen Breeding And Genetics	Holm		Queen RearingModule 7
186	Haynes Bee Manual	Waring & Waring	2011	BeginnersGeneral library
187	Keeping Healthy Honey Bees	Aston & Bucknall	2010	Gen IntModule 3
188	The Morris Board Method Of Queen Rearing	Badger	Booklet	Queen Rearing
189M	How To Use A Horsley Board	Badger	Booklet	Swarm Control
190	Setting Up And Managing An Apiary Site	Gibb	Booklet	Gen Int
191	Collins Beekeepers Bible	Collins		Gen Int
196	Beehive Plan, Wbc	B.B.K.A.		Practical
198	Homegrown Honey Bees	Morrison	2013	Beginners
199	The Bbka Guide To Beekeeping	Davis & Cullum Kenyon	2015	BeginnersGeneral library
200	Medical Aspects Of Beekeeping	Harry Riches	2000	BeginnersBasic Certificate; General Husbandry; Module 2
201	The Honey Bee - Around And About	Celia F Davis	2014	BeginnersGeneral library

About the Library. The free-to-read works are in the public domain and open from the association's own Google Drive. Modern, in-copyright books are not shared free — for those, see the Buy tab, where a purchase also supports the association.