History of Building and Surroundings:
The Maritime Sciences Museum building is located in Greenwich. It was built around 1934, officially opened in 1937. The main founder and trustee member was Sir James Caird. Two million visitors come every year as there are other attractions like the Royal Observatory, The Cutty Sark ship, and The Queen's House. There are cruise trips for scenic views along the Thames River. There are also fancy shops at the Greenwich market.
The Caird Library and Archives
About the collection:
The library is staffed by three archivists and two librarians. The old bulding was phased out as they ran out of space and had ventilation issues. In 2011, they moved to this brand new space. An open room with natural light and efficient space. There are quiet study areas, a group study area, and desks with computers to access electronic resources.The library collection section of the website states:
"The Library and Archive collection at the National Maritime Museum is the largest collection of manuscripts and original documents in the world relating to maritime history, stretching over 12 kilometres of shelving "The collection consists of manuscripts original documents, personal papers and records of the admiralty, Royal Navy history, maritime research journals. The archivist in charge mentioned that this repository is not the main deposit instead, the National Archives houses national records from the Royal Navy. Mainly, documents and records that have to do with ships and vessels, shipping transactions, ship plans. There are 750 different collections, 18,000 charts, 40% is in storage, family history records, historical records of Lord Nelson, astronomy navigation explorations, local studies from Greenwich area, Royal Hospital plans. There are rare books from 1400 to 1850, periodicals, journals, ephemera collection, atlases, maps and charts.
Rare manuscripts and books we had the privilege to see:
- A 1482 Ptolemy Claudius "Cosmographia" by a Greco-Roman astronomer, mathematician.
- Theodore, 1590 Anthropological Survey of Natives Virginia Islands by George Harris who interviewed natives and documented how they lived, prepared their food, farmed. The focus of this book was to learn what natural resources are in the area and sell the book to get funding for expeditions.
- Personal letters by some character complaining about the "distractions" while London is burning during the Great Fire in 1666 (!). It is written in intelligence code.
- A letter from 1666 during the Dutch Wars in which many British ships were destroyed by the Dutch. At least six regiment of men and sixty ships were wiped out. A shame and a big loss for England. They withdrew and a Peace treaty was signed afterwards.
- A pamphlet promoting a "Boat Cloak" dated from 1840. An inflatable coat that could be used as a boat to cross the river.
- General Edward Barlow's journals documenting his voyages at sea from 1700's beautifully kept. Beautiful handwriting and drawings. The book spine was deteriorated. It took nine years to carefully take every page out and place each one in special protectors. Then the pages were digitized and it is accessible via the online catalog.
- The master's certificate title granted to Edward John Smith the captain of the Titanic.
- The navigation test, the first one that Captain Smith failed
Access, Exhibits, and Community Engagement:
About 5000 visitors come on site to engage in academic research and family history. They have a good number of users who come because they are interested in family research and ancestry. The library is open to anyone, they also have special vsits from schools, local societies, and volunteers. About 90% of the collections' acquisitions come from people who come to the archives with objects, papers, books. They receive more than they can handle and some times the staff has to turn these down.The Caird Library uses two different catalogs. One only for the library collection and the other specifically for the archival collections, and this is because of the particular structure of the archival records needed to be organized. The software they use for cataloguing is Symphony. The cataloguing system they use is Dewey decimal (I could see shelves labeled: 627. 2 Ports, 639.2 Fishing and Whaling).
The library promotes access events such as "Caird Library and Archive Open Day" once a year. Visitors of all ages can tour the facilities and take a peek at their collections. Staff is available to make presentations about the library and the services available for the public.
On a regular basis, the librarians conduct a series of resarch seminars events the first day of the month. People can talk about their area of research and access the catalogs.
References:
Caird Library Research Collections. The Caird Library Website. Retrieved from: https://www.rmg.co.uk/research-collections/caird-library
Wondrous Treasures of the Caird Library. May 13, 2016. Retrieved from https://www.rmg.co.uk/discover/behind-the-scenes/blog/wondrous-treasures-caird-library-and-archive
The Caird Library and Archive Collection. Royal Museums Greenwich. Retrieved from https://www.rmg.co.uk/discover/museum-collections/library-and-archive-collection
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