HOMEPORT
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nug between the R. J. Schaefer Exhibit Hall and the Museum’s north entrance, the G. W. Blunt White Library stands quietly on the north end of the campus. Perched atop the white cupola, a weathervane reflects in the sunlight. The stone building is home to nearly 75,000 volumes of books, and there isn’t room for any more.
There is a traditional thought that libraries are built with 20 years’ growth in mind. Library Director and Vice President of Collections Paul
The Museum plans to begin relocating the library collections this winter. The Collections Research Center will offer a larger, climate-
O’Pecko says Mystic Seaport’s G. W. Blunt White Library opened in 1965 and ran out of proper space after the first 20 years. Library staff has jury-rigged every available space to
controlled space for the library material. “Creating a single department dealing with all the Museum’s collections allows us to work with them in a more efficient manner,” said O’Pecko.
accommodate the library’s vast collections,
“This will give the public greater access to the
which include 1,000,000 pieces of manuscript
collections while also giving the materials
material, more than 1,300 logbooks, 900 oral
greater security.”
history audio and videotapes, 10,000 charts and
In addition to the relocation, new compact
maps and the aforementioned 75,000 volumes of
shelving will be purchased specifically for the move.
books and periodicals.
The large amount of shelving will give the library
Environment is also a concern. The potential
room for growth. The acquisition of the shelving
for water incursion into the basement and
is made possible in part by the Davenport Family
damage to the collections stored there is likely. “If we are ever in harm’s way of the 100-year flood, our basement and the 12,000 books in it would be devastated if we could not move them in time,” said O’Pecko. In the event of severe weather, the Museum’s Williams-Mystic students are tasked with relo-
and hundreds of books,” he said. “Nearly 25 students made a very efficient human book chain.” When they had finished, the students hunkered down in the Munson Room with bedding, food and water and the movie Star Wars to ride out the storm. “Ten to 15 minutes before the storm’s landfall, we heard a loud banging on the door,” said Carlton. “A couple in a small boat
Foundation, supporting the project with nearly half of what the shelving will cost. In addition to the generosity of the Davenport Family Foundation, the Library Fellows have begun supporting the match. The Fellows are a group of more than 50 professionals who are joined together to support the Library, its collections and programs. Organized in 1981, the Library Fellows include researchers, university faculty, writers, librarians, booksellers and others with maritime and library interests. The Fellows are dedicated to supporting the library by encouraging research, publication and scholarship. They also provide financial support for special programs, acquisitions and library endowment. The Fellows also offer annual prizes and awards, such as the Morris Prize, a prize of $1,000 for a previously unpublished article in American maritime history, and the Maritime History Prize, given to the best paper written by a resident undergraduate student. O’Pecko anticipates that at least half of the funding will come from the group. “They have been the library’s strongest supporters,” he said. “The move of the library to the Collections Research Center is vital for the library’s future
had nearly given up on finding shelter and was searching for safety on the grounds. Luckily, we were in the library and let them in.” Mystic Seaport escaped any serious damage from the storm.
and its collections,” said Joe Callaghan, president of the Library Fellows. “This move will provide more extensive access for all users, put an invaluable collection in a safer environment, as well as provide urgently needed room for growth.”
cating the collections to higher ground. This plan took effect in preparation for Hurricane Gloria in September 1985. As the storm approached, the students formed a human chain, starting in the farthest reaches of the basement where the government documents and periodicals were held. Items were passed from student to student down the hallway and up the stairs until all the items had been moved. Jim Carlton, Williams-Mystic director, remembers that day well. “We moved hundreds
- Molly Entin