Memorial University Libraries

The History Department at Memorial University of Newfoundland has had a long-standing commitment to the study of maritime history. In 1971 that commitment was formalized with the creation of the Maritime History Group (later renamed the Maritime Studies Research Unit). The primary function of the unit is to conduct research into all aspects of maritime history -- defined as the history of sea-based activities and societies -- with a special emphasis on the North Atlantic.

For its part, the Queen Elizabeth II Library has supported that research by purchasing, both with its own funds and with monies from several Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council grants, current and retrospective titles at an advanced research level. Purchases have included monographs (both current and out-of-print), theses, newspapers, journals, government documents and microform sets. In keeping with the research needs of scholars and students at Memorial, the focus of the collection is on the North Atlantic region during the period 1600-1914. The range of publications embraces the social, economic, political and cultural aspects of North Atlantic history. In addition to the standard scholarly monographs the Library has built a collection consisting of registers of shipping; histories of the seaboards and port towns on both sides of the Atlantic; histories of the fishery and whaling; histories of shipping companies and merchants involved in North Atlantic commerce; naval histories of the region; and biographies and personal reminiscences of ships, merchant seamen and voyages relating to the region.

By area, the Library's collection is naturally strongest in Newfoundland material -- an area in which the Library strives for a comprehensive collection. However, it also has special strengths in Canadian, American and British maritime history for the relevant period.

The many formats that make up the collection and the size of the collection, combined with the fact that it is not physically separate, has meant that the collection has not enjoyed the high profile that it deserves. This guide is an attempt to raise that profile by providing a description of many of the important titles included in the collection. Naturally, it cannot be a complete list of all relevant holdings; the monograph collection, for example, constitutes well in excess of 10,000 titles. Similarly, the size of the Centre for Newfoundland Studies collection, and the fact that it is a separately housed collection focussed on one geographic area, led to the exclusion of all but a few titles in that collection.

The guide does provide a listing of relevant microform sets, newspapers (over the years the Library has identified and purchased newspapers from port cities on both sides of the Atlantic with an eye to the quantity of maritime information, for example, the arrival and departure of vessels, port of origin, destination, and master's name. In addition, newspapers originating in these communities also provide an opportunity to explore the shore-based aspects of maritime communities) theses and journals. (The list of journals represents titles that are devoted exclusively to the broad study of maritime history. Naturally, there are many other titles in the Library's collection that occasionally publish articles in the area of maritime history). As the collection grows, the guide will incorporate the new titles in each of these formats.

In addition to the bibliographic information, abstracts are provided for all the microform sets and most of the theses. Where available, keywords taken from the Library of Congress subject headings are included in the citations. A search engine (offering full-text searching, including abstracts and subject descriptors) has been provided, allowing users the options of searching the contents of the entire guide, limiting the search by format or browsing alphabetical lists by geographic area. Although an attempt has been made to arrange entries by relevant geographic area (each citation appears under only one heading), by its very nature maritime history transcends boundaries. Therefore, users are encouraged to employ the search engine to locate relevant titles or to browse through the alphabetical lists.