Written by Sarah Walters
Edited by Max Gonzalez Burdick & Sereen Suleiman
If, like me, you learned about zoo libraries while in the SJSU MLIS program, then you won’t be surprised to learn that aquarium libraries exist. Also, if a recent heat wave has you missing the coast and the ocean like I am, then dive into this blog post to explore these special libraries and the oceans-deep research they support.
These libraries specialize in marine science and biology: the multidisciplinary study of saltwater environments, ecosystems, and resources that integrates biology, chemistry, physics, and geology of the coasts, seas, and oceans. Besides public aquarium libraries, many of these special libraries are connected to private institutions and non-profit organizations, government agencies and departments, and colleges and universities to primarily support marine scientists, biologists, and researchers.
A few prominent American libraries and an international association for information professionals will be profiled in this blog post. Links to information about internships and fellowships are also featured — although due to the pandemic, those opportunities may be limited.
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) is a private, non-profit research center based in Moss Landing, California. MBARI’s Research Library was founded in 1996 and merged with Moss Landing Marine Labs (MLML) Library in 1999. The library’s collections include over 2,500 print and electronic journals; over 10 research databases; and around 24,000 maps, archival materials, and monographs. The collections scope is “concentrated in fisheries, marine birds and mammals, invertebrate zoology, oceanography, ecology, molecular biology, biogeochemistry, toxicology, marine geology, marine chemistry, and deep-sea biology.”
Additionally, MBARI produces multimedia content such as YouTube videos with a fascinating view of deep-sea marine animals, like the rarely-seen fangtooth fish, harp sponges, and barreleye fish. More deep-sea species, many discovered by MBARI researchers, are featured on its website. MBARI utilizes state-of-the-art submersibles to advance marine research, and their work has contributed to and expanded scientific understanding of marine life, particularly deep-sea species.
Fun fact: An SJSU MLIS alum is the librarian for MBARI.
Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium
On the east coast, the Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium is a non-profit marine research institution and public aquarium in Sarasota, Florida. The Arthur Vining Davis Library & Archives was founded in 1978 to provide technical research support the institution’s scientists and staff, but offers access to the public by appointment. Its collections contain approximately 25,000 volumes of books, journal issues, reports (including Mote Technical Reports), the laboratory’s historical publications, and more. The library’s collection “reflects the research interests of the Laboratory: coastal, shelf and estuarine ecology, benthic ecology, coral reef physiology, fisheries, finfish mariculture, aquaculture, elasmobranch biology and biomedical research, fates and effects of toxins in the marine environment, ocean acidification, marine mammals of the Gulf, Atlantic coasts, and sea turtles.”
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is a government agency under the U.S. Department of Commerce and operates a network of nine library locations nationwide. There are NOAA libraries in the coastal states of Washington, California, Hawaii, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi, and Florida. Located in Silver Spring, Maryland, the NOAA Central Library maintains the official institutional repository of the agency’s publications organized into publicly-accessible, born-digital collections. Digitized collections of physical holdings include digitized photographs, rare books, and other archival materials covering fisheries heritage, weather and climate, and more. The library also subscribes to over 1,000 peer-reviewed journals and provides NOAA employees with access to 37 databases.
The library’s mission is to support NOAA’s goals of “promoting global environmental stewardship in order to conserve and wisely manage the Nation’s marine and coastal resources,” as well as “describing, monitoring, and predicting changes in the Earth’s environment in order to ensure and enhance sustainable economic opportunities.” NOAA previously offered library internships for collection analysis, development of finding aids, collection management, bibliometrics, web development, and cataloging and metadata. Instead, students can check out other career development opportunities through seminars, events and programs, and resource trainings.
Marine Biological Laboratory and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Also on the Atlantic coast, the Marine Biological Laboratory and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (MBLWHOI) Library is based in Woods Hole, Massachusetts — situated in Cape Cod and surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean. The world-famous Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) — involved in the discovery of the Titanic — have jointly operated the library to serve students and researchers since 1930. Woods Hole is also home to the Woods Hole Science Aquarium (the country’s oldest public aquarium), USGS Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Woodwell Climate Research Center, NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center, and the Sea Education Association — making this coastal New England village a premier location for marine research.
The MBLWHOI Library provides open access to its digital repository and archives. Institutional library card holders have certain access to physical holdings and subscription databases like Elsevier Science Direct, Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts, GeoRef, and Web of Science.
Library students can apply to fellowships, like the Catherine N. Norton Fellowship that encourages the development of creative projects related to collection analysis, digital collections, informatics, or archives, under the supervision of a library mentor. However, its website does not specify the status of their opportunities during the pandemic.
International Association of Aquatic and Marine Science Libraries and Information Centers
The International Association of Aquatic and Marine Science Libraries and Information Centers (IAMSLIC) supports information professionals around the world working at libraries and information centers specializing in aquatic science (covering all environments within bodies of water, both freshwater and marine). Its executive board includes members from MBLWHOI Library. IAMSLIC’s archivist works at WHOI’s Data Library and Archives. Former IAMSLIC officers include staff from the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC)’s StreamNet Library in Portland, Oregon; Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans Library; and the very institutions profiled in this post. Lastly, the association’s Inventory of Marine and Aquatic Repositories (IMAR) provides links to open access institutional repositories, and its distributed library provides links to journals and library catalogs.
From coast to coast, and all around the world, these specialized libraries support researchers’ understanding of our marine environments and ecosystems, and the magnificent species that call them home.
Updated April 13, 2026.
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