Collection Summary
- Creator: Lake Champlain Maritime Museum Collections Staff
- Extent: 180 linear feet (approximately 2,300 volumes across three double-sided stacks)
- Overview: The research library of Lake Champlain Maritime Museum is the permanent home for all titles collected by the Museum through purchase or donation. The Research Library Collection is housed in Collections Storage, located in the Nautical Archaeology Center building.
- Cataloging Method: Library of Congress (LOC)
- Language: The material is primarily in English with some French.
- Acquisition Information: These titles are acquired through purchase or donation. Much of this information can be found within the verso pastedown or the flyleaf on each title. As this is an ever-growing collection, records of each title’s acquisition are difficult to track down. Starting in 2026, donor information will be tracked via the instructions in the Workflow for Research Library Collection document. When viewing the library from the Collections Storage entrance, the initial two rows of works are Lake Champlain Maritime Museum publications. These were crafted in-house and will often have associated digital files located on the Museum’s internal server.
- Access restrictions: The research library is open to staff at any time and researchers, volunteers, and visitors upon advance request. If non-staff are using the library collection, a staff member must be in the Nautical Archaeology Center for the duration of their visit to answer queries and maintain the security of the titles. Books do not circulate; research using the collection must be done at the Museum with supervision of Museum staff. Due to staff capacity and copyright law, we are unable to provide scans or copies of materials from the collection. They are viewable at our site only.
Copyright Information
Copyright law allows libraries to loan, preserve, and provide access to books. The research library of Lake Champlain Maritime Museum operates in adherence to these copyright principles. All titles used in visitor research must be properly credited.
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code), governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Lake Champlain Maritime Museum does not scan or copy materials from its library for outside use. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to permit users to produce a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be “used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research.” However, if a user makes their own photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of “fair use,” that user may be liable for copyright infringement. More information about fair use is available from the U.S. Copyright Office here.
Scope and Content
Lake Champlain Maritime Museum’s research library is managed under the Collections Department and thereby operates under the Collections Management Policy (approved August 2021). The extent of the library collection aims to fulfill Lake Champlain Maritime Museum’s values to “research, document, preserve, and share an inclusive maritime history and archaeology of the Lake Champlain region [and] to repair the harm caused by history being told from a singular, dominant perspective.” As a result, the library’s scope of collection spans Lake Champlain, upstate New York, and Vermont from the Paleoindian period through the modern day. A particular emphasis is placed on Abenaki history, the American Revolution, the War of 1812, and the age of canalboats, steamboats, and the recreational era with representation of boatbuilding styles, notable figures, and historical methods for the understanding and interpretation of each.
Lake Champlain Maritime Museum publications present a series of reports and analysis of archaeological work associated with underwater cultural resources, cultural heritage sites, and contract sites spanning Lake Champlain and sites in New York including the Hudson River Valley, Onondaga, and Seneca Lake.
Contents Listing
Using the Library of Congress (LOC) Classification, these are the major representations within the collection:
- CC 1-960 Archaeology
- E 11-143 America
- Pre-Columbian Period
- Colonial History
- The American Revolution
- F 1-975 United States History
- United States Local History
- New York History
- Vermont History
- HE 1-9990 Transportation and communications
- U 1-900 Military science
- V 1-995 Naval science
- VM: Naval architecture, shipbuilding, marine engineering
- Z 4-115.5 Bibliography, books (general)
- Copyright
- Museum Management
- Maritime Bibliographies