A partnership between the Queenscliffe Maritime Museum and Geelong Regional Libraries has enabled broad public access to the Museum’s rich maritime book collection for the first time.

To coincide with History Week 2018 (7-14 October), a dedicated Maritime Heritage Section was officially opened at the Queenscliff Library on Thursday 11 October by Cr Ross Ebbels (Borough of Queenscliffe Councillor and Geelong Regional Library Corporation Board Member), John Barrett (President, Queenscliffe Maritime Museum) and Cr Susan Salter (Mayor, Borough of Queenscliffe).

The Museum’s maritime collection – which features over 1,800 books – will eventually be fully integrated into the Geelong Regional Libraries’ catalogue, allowing members of the public to access the books via the library’s online catalogue, as well as at the Queenscliff Library where highlights of the collection are on display.

The collection has been developed by the Museum over many decades and includes a range of titles on a variety of subjects including lighthouses, shipwrecks, shipping, lifeboats, maritime heritage and boat building.

It is hoped that the partnership will act as a model for other volunteer-based organisations to replicate, as an arrangement such as this benefits both the Geelong Regional Libraries, the organisation itself, as well as the broader public now and into the future.

Pictured at the official opening are Geelong Regional Library Corporation CEO Patti Manolis, Borough of Queenscliffe Mayor Susan Salter and Queenscliffe Maritime Museum President John Barrett, in front of the display at Queenscliff Library.

For Queenscliff Library opening hours click HERE.