Royal Geographical Society

with the Institute of British Geographers

The Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) exists for 'the advancement of geographical science'. It advances and promotes geographical knowledge and understanding of the world locally and globally. The Society is the most active scholarly geographical society in the world.

The Society's nationally-significant Collections comprise more than two million documents, maps, images, periodicals, artefacts and books, spanning over 500 years of geography, travel and exploration. This rich resource provides an unparalleled source of material for the contemporary user. Generously supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund and others, the Society preserves its collections for the benefit of future generations and provides open access to all, in addition to promoting Collections-related educational programmes for schools, students, life-long learners its members and the wider public.

In addition to access via the Society's Foyle Reading Room, the Society's Collections can be accessed online via our catalogue and through the Society's picture library website which presents over 20,000 digital images.

The Society's Photographic collection

The Society's photographic collection constitutes a unique record of landscapes and people through almost two centuries, captured in over 500,000 images, providing a lasting historical - and contemporary - visual record of the world around us.

The Society's Collections have also been awarded Designated Status in their entirety by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA).The Society's Collections, associated exhibitions and curatorial work of the photographic library are supported by Rolex.

TPOTY Annual Exhibition plus Travel & Photography Events

In 2011 Travel Photographer of the Year and the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) entered into a collaborative partnership which sees the Society host major annual exhibitions of travel imagery, supported by photography workshops and lectures.

Held at the Society's headquarters in Kensington, they aree free to enter and open to all. The exhibitions feature the best of the stunning winning shots from the international Travel Photographer of the Year awards, together with a fascinating and evocative selection of images documenting the history of travel photography, from the Society's remarkable archive of half a million artworks, negatives, lantern slides and albums dating from around 1830, including this iconic image by Herbert Ponting (right ).