National Maritime Museum Caird Library

The National Maritime Museum includes three buildings, which are the Royal Observatory, Queen's House, and the Museum itself. There is one library in the museum, the Caird Library, which is open to the public. People doing research on marine issues including family history, boat restoration, Masters dissertations or just curious about shipwrecks or other maritime information can visit the library during one of the three days a week it is open. The library contains a wealth of everything to do with the sea, from books, journals, and charts, to ephemera, navigation information, immigration logs and even naval architecture. To me, this topic is highly specialized, and that only a certain amount of people would be interested in what they have to offer, however they still handle about 50 inquiries a month. Just as the reference desk at a public library will get many questions regarding the location of the restrooms, the information desk at the Maritime Library must answer many questions about the museum itself. The person working that desk must be knowledgeable about both the library and museum and also be resourceful. Since the library is a national museum, it is publicly funded. This may be how they are able to move into a newer location, one with more open glass windows. This move will hopefully make the library more accessible to the public and be a good way to market the library to a broader audience. Currently only people aged 16 and up are allowed to use the library, but this rule is being considered to possibly change.

The items I enjoy most from this library's collection are the fascinating tales told in the personal journals from people who at some point traveled, worked or lived on the sea. The journal I was able to see was from Edward Mangin, from 1812. This book proves the journal is a lost art. It seems that many people now do not create written journals anymore, or even have online version to record their daily thoughts. This is a shame because I just love reading someone else's thoughts from a different time and place. They can paint the truest picture of their own life and give insight to common thought at that time. Mangin's journal is definitely a work of art itself. Fancy, handwritten scripts and pictures are drawn on the title page called, "Some Account of the Writer's Situation as Chaplin in the British Navy." The pictures and handwriting are gorgeous, with a personal touch that could not be reproduced by any machine. Now, a blogger can choose from a limited amount of pre-selected themes to try an spice up their blog, but nothing can come close to these awesome black and white or color illustrations. The journal could easily be made into a book, exactly how it is, from cover to cover. The high quality writing is formal, and eloquent which matches the differing fonts that make the entire book very attractive. His work was most inspiring to me to want to study calligraphy and writing more.

The librarians in this library are fortunate to work in such a historical a special library. It was a very enjoyable visit, and I am so glad to have had this opportunity to see this unique collection.