Special Collections: nautical charts, ship's lines, archives and manuscripts

Special Collections are a category of material in the Library that includes maps and charts, news-clippings and scrapbooks, ephemera, and archival documents, blueprints and photographic material described here for your special inquiries.  These materials are considered to be primary, not like books which usually are considered to be secondary sources.  'Primary' means they contain the first evidence of an action, transaction or event and are made available for historical study and research.  Historians, writers and interested persons like to use primary sources to get at the facts which may have been changed or hidden by another writer in favor of a certain point of view. Often primary sources are the only record available on many topics of interest.  Primary sources are considerably more fragile and often require special handling and more care than materials such as books. 

Many of the topics listed below point to Archives and Manuscript Collections. Please find a topic of interest for more information about the Collections.

A researcher may view material by making an appointment in advance. Please call the Librarian for any questions you may have, or use the Library Request Form to request an appointment. 

Archives and Manuscript Collections include the following topics:
 

• Divers, Repair Work and Salvage
• Historic Passenger Ships in Los Angeles Harbor
• Los Angeles Harbor and Area Maps and Charts
• Los Angeles Maritime Museum Early History
• Navy and Merchant Marine Personnel
• Ships and Shipbuilders in the San Pedro Bay Area
• Twentieth Century Sailing Ships
• World War II Era Navy Vessels
• Writers, Illustrators, and Photographers
• Yachtsmen in the San Pedro Bay Area

Please call the Library for more information: 310-548-7618, Ext. 215.