Aviation Museum Libraries

[Noha307]

A page from the Oakland Aviation Museum's website that was archived in 2007 claimed that they had a 5,000 volume library. However, it's unclear if it still exists as it is no longer mentioned on the current version.

Also, while looking for another video, I came across a tour of the Navy Department Library that - while not strictly speaking aviation history - still seemed apropos.

[Noha307]

According to an article in the Canadian Aviation Historical Society Journal, John A. Griffin's collection of research materials was donated to the Air Force Heritage Museum and Air Park in Winnipeg, Manitoba and the museum's collection was renamed the "John A. Griffin Archive". (The article names the museum as the "Billy Bishop Museum in Heti[r]age Park" - not to be confused with the Billy Bishop Museum in Owen Sound, Ontario - and gives the name as the "John Griffin Library". However, a picture from CASPIR's website shows the official name to be the former.)

Pictures (Cont.)

• Air Force Heritage Museum and Air Park (Source)
• DeLand Naval Air Museum (Source)

[Noha307]

The Pritzker Military Museum & Library completed their Archives Center back in May. Although not focused on aviation, as a military museum museum, their subject matter is close enough to be relevant. Moreover, if the video is any indication, their collections access, care and storage facilities are of the highest quality. As such, it is a great example of what an ideal archives environment should look like:

[Noha307]

I was recently put in contact with a woman at the Vintage Flying Museum that has taken on the role of librarian/curator at the museum. She is working on cataloging their library using LibraryThing and as they now have a page for it on their website, it is time to list it in this thread:

Libraries (Institution - Name of Collection - Size) (Cont.)

• Vintage Flying Museum - Library - 3,000 records (estimated)

According to her, the strengths of their collection in B-17s (having been the former home of Chuckie), World War I materials and a large collection of pilot and maintenance manuals (e.g. B-17, B-52, Citation, and Ercoupe).

One of the subjects that came up was how to attract researchers to your library. One of my suggestions, which I think is worth repeating here, is to make sure you have certain amenities available. For instance, there should be at least a small workspace that includes, in descending order of importance, a table and chair to sit at, a power outlet to plug into, a copier/scanner, access to the Internet and a computer. Other things that I look for when attempting to do research is a simple description of where in the museum the library is located and a direct email address to the person responsible for the library. The latter makes it less likely that a request will be lost in a general inbox and avoids having to work through multiple layers of contacts to set up a visit.

[Silverplate]

After some considerable down sizing, I donated the majority of my aviation book collection to this museum. Kind folks who seemed appreciative of books.

[Noha307]

AirCorps Library included some information and pictures of their physical collection in one of their update emails back on October 25th:

A Growing Archive

If you’re getting this email it means that you are familiar with the online archive we call AirCorps Library. But what you might not know is that our physical library is always growing at our AirCorps Aviation facility in Bemidji, MN! When we acquired the Ken Jungeberg Collection (more info on that above) we had to rent a separate storage facility to organize and catalog it. Since then, we’ve brought in several large book and manual collections and are working to organize, digitize, and catalog these as well. Below are just a few photos of the organization process at work!

[Noha307]

Pictures (Cont.)

• United States Army Aviation Museum (Source)

Also, back in June 2023, according to a Facebook post the United States Army Aviation Museum was forced to move its artifact storage offsite after problems with the HVAC system in their climate controlled storage.

[Noha307]

While there's no page on their website, the Wings of the North Air Museum has an online catalog for the library. Interestingly, they also describe their collection of over 2,000 book as a lending library in a blog post, which is rather rare. The Pacific Northwest Naval Air Museum also has a link the URL of which indicates it is for a Gene Guthrie Memorial Library, although the corresponding section on the relevant page on their website doesn't exist.

Pictures (Cont.)

• Air Force Museum of New Zealand (Source)
• Michigan Flight Museum (Source)
• Pacific Northwest Naval Air Museum (Source)

[Noha307]

To revisit the subject of foreign museums mentioned in a previous post, some additional examples are listed below:

Libraries (Institution - Name of Collection - Size) (Cont.)

• Musée Air France - Library - 2,000 works
• Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace - Library - 30,000 works, 22,000 documentary files, 3,600 technical notices, 2,500 periodicals
• Montreal Aviation Museum - Patrick Campbell Library and Archives - over 7,000 books
• Museo de Aeropuertos y Transporte Aéreo de Málaga - Documentation Center - Unknown
• Museo de la Aviación Naval - Library - 4,000 volumes
• Museo Nacional de Aeronáutica - Antonio Biedma Recalde Library - Unknown
• Museu Aeroespacial - José Garcia de Souza Library - 22,000 items
• Otto Lilienthal Museum - Library - Unknown

Archives (Institution - Name of Collection - Size) (Cont.)

• Museu Aeroespacial - Historical Archive - Unknown

In addition to the example mentioned above, the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace offers a unique "Media Library-Toy Library" with modern publications and interactive exhibits.

Pictures (Cont.)

• Glenn L. Martin Maryland Aviation Museum (Source)

Furthermore, there was a sales listing on Barnstormers.com for a collection of old maintenance manuals that, while not museum library, includes a few pictures of what one might look like.

Finally, below are a number of articles either about collections or the people who keep them:

• The Hidden Treasures of Stafford - Royal Air Force Museum
• What is a Collections Manager? - New England Air Museum (see page 11)
• Caring for Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum's Archives - Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum