This paper presents preliminary research findings drawn primary documentation held in GSA Archives. It seeks to document and analyse the early collecting strategies of GSA Library and how these strategies reflect the pedagogical curriculum of early GSA. It concentrates on the period 1845-1950. Minutes of the Library and Materials Committee have been transcribed and subjected to thematic analysis, which has shed light on how the library in particular was considered, developed, grown and managed both pre- and post-Mackintosh.