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The Geological Society offers a range of subscription and access options for the journal, book series and content packages we offer in the Lyell Collection.

Lyell Collection Complete, Special Publications and individual journals are available to institutions, corporations and libraries on a subscription basis. 

Content which is not subscribed to can be accessed on a pay-per-view basis. 

Single-site Subscription and Archive rates

Please contact us if you require a multi-site, global access license or a Read and Publish Agreement.

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Subscription and archive information for individual journals and content packages

The Lyell Collection 2025 Brochure
Special Publications and Journal of the Geological Society archived covers

Subscription and Archive options and rates

  • Lyell Collection Complete Online includes online access to all of the current and archived journals plus Special Publications, Engineering Geology Special Publications, Geological Society Memoirs, Petroleum Geology Conferences, together with the historic collections of Transactions of the Geological Society, Transactions of the Geological Society of Glasgow and Transactions of the Edinburgh Geological Society.

  • Lyell Collection Complete Online + Special Publications Print includes online access as above to current and archived journals and books plus print copies of the Special Publications published in the subscription year.

A subscription to either Lyell Collection Complete package includes online access to all Accepted Manuscripts and In Progress articles published in the journals, Special Publications and Memoirs ahead of final issue or volume publication. Perpetual access is available if the final volume is published within the subscribed-to calendar year.

The Lyell Collection Complete package is recommended by the Geological Society. It has been priced to include all content at a rate which is discounted compared to the purchase of individual components.

(Please note that ebook content is not included in any annual subscription options, and pay-per-view purchases are for personal use only.)

Contact us for more information

The current Lyell Collection journals are online. The online version is the version of record. Journals can be purchased as annual subscriptions giving subscribers online access to all published content including the deep archive.

  • Journal of the Geological Society (JGS)

  • Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology & Hydrogeology (QJEGH)

  • Petroleum Geoscience (PG)

  • Geoenergy

  • Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis (GEEA)

  • Earth Science, Systems and Society (fully open access)

  • Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society (PYGS)

  • Scottish Journal of Geology (SJG)

All Special Publication volumes are available online on payment of an annual subscription fee (for the Special Publications alone, or as part of Lyell Collection Complete). An online + print option is also available.

This package contains content from both the Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology (QJEGH) journal and the highly regarded Engineering Geology Special Publications (EGSP) book series. This annual subscription package includes 3,000 fully searchable journal articles and book chapters in one easy to navigate package and provides a clear and complete synthesis of engineering geoscience disciplines. (Engineering Geology Special Publications is an intermittent book series and a new title is not guaranteed every year.) 

It is also possible to purchase Special Publication archives of volumes 1 to 500 outright for a one-off fee allowing perpetual access.

500 volumes are available in six separate archives (Volumes 1 to 100, 101 to 200, 201 to 300, 301 to 400, 401 to 450 or 451 to 500). Volumes 1 to 300, 1 to 400 or 1 to 500 are also available to purchase as an archive.

The archives are hosted on the Geological Society’s Lyell Collection, and there is no annual maintenance charge. A list of the Special Publication titles in the various archives can be found here

More information on our available online archives

Online Archives

All JGS volumes are available online on payment of an annual subscription fee (for Journal of the Geological Society alone, or as part of Lyell Collection Complete). It is also possible to purchase content published from 1845 to 2007 outright for a one-off fee allowing perpetual access.

The JGS Archive (1845-2007) includes over 17,000 articles and comprises over 150 years of geoscience research, including historically important content from many eminent scientists. Access the very earliest geological research from the greats such as Darwin, Murchison and Buckland to modern cutting edge research from an international field of authors. 

The content published from 1845 to 2007 can be purchased as one archive or three separate archives (JGS Archive part 1: 100 Years of Geology (1845-1945); JGS Archive part 2 (1945-1986); JGS Archive part 3 (1987-2007).

The JGS Archive for content published from 2008 to 2012 is also now available.

More information on our available online archives

Online Archives

Please contact us for a 30 day trial.

Please note that trials are not available to individuals - ask your librarian or administrator to request a trial for your institution or organization.

Please contact us to discuss subscription options including Lyell Collection Complete packages, Special Publications or individual journals.

Pre-payment is required on all orders. Quotes are available on request.

Consortia and individual institutions can view information regarding Lyell Collection Complete Read and Publish options, current agreements and article processing charges on our Open Access pages.

Open Access

The Geological Society has adopted the SERU (Shared E-Resources Understanding) approach. Please see terms of use for libraries and institutions for more information. GSL does not issue or require the agreement of a formal license for institutional access to the Lyell Collection. Payment of subscription or archive fees (direct or via an agent) implies acceptance of SERU. Corporate subscribers should contact the Geological Society for a quote and a description of any specific license terms.

Institutions and consortia signing up for Read and Publish options will receive a specific license agreement. For further information please see Read and Publish and discounted Open Access for authors.

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