Founded in Leeds, UK in 1876, the Conchological Society of Great Britain and Ireland is one of the oldest existing societies devoted to the study of molluscs. We are a Registered Charity which anyone, anywhere may join (to join or renew, click here).
The Society’s objective is to promote the study of Mollusca in its widest aspects for the benefit of the public. The Society achieves this through:
- Meetings and Events - the Society has an active programme of both field and indoor meetings which are open to both members and non-members. If you would like to attend as a guest please contact the organiser of the meeting.
- Publications - the Society publishes an international scientific journal (Journal of Conchology) (now Open Access online) and a printed magazine (Mollusc World) three times a year. Periodically we also produce Special Publications around a particular theme.
- Recording Schemes - the Society maintains Recording Schemes for northeast Atlantic marine molluscs and British and Irish non-marine molluscs. A large proportion of the records are contributed by our members. These schemes provide a detailed picture of the changing distribution and status of every species in the fauna. The Society contributes to the verification of records on iRecord and other platforms, and data are periodically made available to all on the NBN Atlas (GB) and NBDC (Ireland). In addition we occasionally run dedicated recording projects on particular species.
- Grants - subject to the availability of funds the Society may also make grants towards projects promoting the objectives of the Society.
The early history of the Society was covered in a 1975 article in the Journal of Conchology, available here.
How the Society is run
The Society is run by its members. We are governed by an unpaid Council consisting of the President, the Vice-Presidents, the Society's Officers and nine Ordinary Council Members. The Society's Officers consist of the General Secretary, Membership Secretary, Treasurer, Journal Editor, Recorder for Non-marine Mollusca, Recorder for Marine Mollusca, Editor of 'Mollusc World', Programme Secretary, Conservation Officer and Webmaster. Officers are elected annually, while Ordinary Council Members are each elected for a period of three years.
We are always keen to welcome new members to stand for Council. Please contact us if you are interested in getting more involved.