Source: https://www.museeyslmarrakech.com/en/bibliotheque/
Besides the amazing and well-known national museums, natural history museums, art museums, and history museums worldwide, there are many other types of museums. Around the globe, museums and their libraries support a diverse range of cultural, social, and artistic endeavors. The SLASC blog has compiled a list of international museum libraries that collect on a variety of topics, including fashion, food, calligraphy, sports, and science fiction. Come along on this tour of the wonderful world of museum libraries.
North America
Corning Museum of Glass: Juliette K. and Leonard S. Rakow Research Library
5 Museum Way
Corning, NY 14830
Website: https://www.cmog.org/research/library
This museum library is the world’s foremost library on the art of glass and glassmaking. Their digital collections include digitized rare books, design drawings, manuscripts, and trade catalogs. The online catalog provides access to a glass article index, subscription databases, books, journals, videos, full-text items, manuscripts, and archival materials.
Southern Food and Beverage Museum: John & Bonnie Boyd Hospitality & Culinary Library
1611 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd
New Orleans, LA 70113
Website: https://southernfood.org/
This museum library has over 11,000 culinary books, menus, pamphlets, archival materials, and other literature and ephemera, all about southern cuisine. The library supports nutrition, public health, and fitness research, as well as “the professional development of current and future culinary artists.” The library collections are non-circulating, but they have an online catalog and the library provides research and reference assistance.
Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library
543 Indiana Avenue
Indianapolis, IN 46202
Website: https://www.vonnegutlibrary.org/
This museum library is dedicated to the life and work of the literary powerhouse Kurt Vonnegut, who was born in the capital of Indiana in 1922. Their mission is to “champion the legacy of Kurt Vonnegut and the principles of free expression and common decency.” The library’s website features a Vonnegut Tournament, where visitors ranked their favorite Vonnegut novels; Cat’s Cradle was the winner.
Manitoba Crafts Museum and Library
329 Cumberland Ave #1
Winnipeg, MB R3B 1T2, Canada
Website: https://c2centreforcraft.ca/about-mcml/
The Gladys Chown Memorial Library’s collection features craft publications and patterns devoted to the art of DIY. The only museum of craft in Canada, MCML was originally established in 1932 by the Crafts Guild of Manitoba as a collection to be used by craftspeople in workshops. The library is named for a former president of the Guild who passed away while in office in 1948.
Asia
Japan Kanji Museum and Library
551 Gionmachi Minamigawa, Higashiyama Ward
Kyoto, 605-0074, Japan
Website: https://www.kyoto-museums.jp/en/museum/east/3873/
Located in Kyoto (the former capital of Japan until 1868), this library and its museum celebrate kanji, one of the three writing styles, and the most complex writing style, of the Japanese language.
Africa
Yves Saint Laurent Museum
Rue Yves St Laurent
Marrakech 40000, Morocco
Website: https://www.museeyslmarrakech.com/en/bibliotheque/
This museum library collection features works on fashion and the famous designer Yves Saint Laurent, as well as resources about gardening, landscaping, and botany.
Europe
Maison d’Ailleurs Image Library
Place Pestalozzi 14, 1400
Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland
Website: http://www.ailleurs.ch/
This image library from a science fiction museum is one of the world’s most extensive, and the collection of digitized images is available online. The collection includes everything from UFOs to depictions of utopias.
National Maritime Museum: Caird Library
Romney Rd
Greenwich, London SE10 9NF, United Kingdom
Website: https://www.rmg.co.uk/collections/caird-library
This museum located near the Thames River hosts the world’s largest maritime library collection, and it has an extensive online and digitized collection. The Caird Library has over 100,000 books, 20,000 pamphlets, 20,000 periodicals, 12,000 rare books, and maps and sea charts. There are resources on astronomy, maritime history, navigation, emigration, and horology (the study and measurement of time). Notable collections include the Titanic collection and the Michael-Graham Stewart Slavery Collection.
Gourmet Museum and Library
4480 Engis, Belgium
Website: https://www.musee-gourmandise.be/en/gourmet-museum/library
With over 20,000 books, menus, labels, and more, this museum library has been called the most important gastronomic library in Belgium.
South America
Museu do Futebol
Praça Charles Miler, s/n – Pacaembu
São Paulo – SP, 01234-010, Brazil
Website: https://museudofutebol.org.br/en/library/
The Brazilian Football Centre, opened in 2013, is the first public library specializing in football (known as soccer by Americans) in the country that has the most winningest team in the FIFA World Cup.
Museo Evita
Lafinur 2988, C1425 CABA
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Website: https://www.evitaperon.org/eva_peron_museum.htm
This museum and library in the capital of Argentina houses films, photographs, and personal items highlighting the life and work of Evita Perón, the former First Lady of Argentina. The museum was established by Perón’s grandniece in 2002, five decades after Perón’s death.
Oceania
Tasmanian Cricket Museum and Library
15 Derwent St
Bellerive TAS 7018, Australia
Website: https://blundstonearena.com.au/museumandlibrary/
The Max Atwell Memorial Library, with a collection of 3,000 books, celebrates the popular sport of cricket. The collection was known as one of the finest private libraries in Australia before it was purchased by Cricket Tasmania Board of Directors for the museum. The museum and library are managed by a team of volunteers from the Tasmanian branch of the Australian Cricket Society.
Written By Sarah Walters
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