Science Reference Services at the Library of Congress acts as a hub for research in all areas of science and technology including engineering, mathematics, physics, chemistry, astronomy, biology, medicine, earth sciences, agriculture, military science, naval science, and more. The science collections are particularly strong in long runs of serials and proceedings and contain memoirs, transactions, and periodicals of learned scientific societies, museums, exploring expeditions, and observatories from throughout the world.

This guide is not meant to be an exhaustive resource, but only a starting off point for further research for those interested in the various fields within chemistry. The main thrust of the guide is to provide selected lists of books on the study of chemistry and related topics. The lists range from general information resources to specific sub-topics, including: analytical chemistry, biochemistry, chemical engineering, environmental and agricultural chemistry, hazardous chemicals and toxicology, inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, physical chemistry, polymers, and style guides for scientific writing.

While the selected book lists are meant as a starting point for your research, this guide also provides a list of subject headings for further research that execute "canned searches" in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. These subjects can also be useful when searching for materials at other institutions and using web search engines.

Additional resources include a selection of chemistry resource guides and databases available from other institutions.