NAWCC Library & Research Center

The Fortunat Mueller-Maerki Library & Research Center (LARC) is one of the largest in the world dedicated to the study of time and timekeeping. The collection includes books, videos, catalogs, periodicals and archival material.

The NAWCC Museum and Library & Research Center are currently open. Please check the visiting schedule for days and hours at the bottom of the page.

If you are a researcher who will be visiting the Library & Research Center, please contact us to make an appointment.

If you wish to visit the Collections area, please make an appointment by contacting us.

If you need to visit the second-floor offices (Membership, Publications), please make an appointment.

Library Visiting Hours

Summer Hours

April – November


Sunday:

Closed

Monday:

Closed

Tuesday:

10 am – 5 pm

Wednesday:

10 am – 5 pm

Thursday:

10 am – 5 pm

Friday:

10 am – 4 pm

Saturday:

10 am – 4 pm

Winter Hours

December – March


Sunday:

Closed

Monday:

Closed

Tuesday:

Closed

Wednesday:

10 am – 4 pm

Thursday:

10 am – 4 pm

Friday:

10 am – 4 pm

Saturday:

10 am – 4 pm

Holiday Schedule

Special Closures for Holidays


New Years Day

Closed

Good Friday

Open

Memorial Day

Closed

Independence Day

Closed

Labor Day

Closed

Thanksgiving

Closed

Day after Thanksgiving

Open

Christmas Eve

Closed

Christmas Day

Closed

Using the Library

Contact the Library

514 Poplar Street
Columbia, PA 17512
Phone:
717-684-8261 (Option 7)

What’s New at the Library? (February 2024)

New Books

  • David Rittenhouse: Philosopher-Mechanick of Colonial Philadelphia and His Famous Clocks by Donald L. Fennimore and Frank L. Hohmann III
  • Die Wand- und Bodenstanduhren der Habsburgermonarchie: 1780–1850 by Stephan Andréewitch, Alexander Graef, and Paul Archard
  • Draft for a history of mechanical timekeeping in Europe by Giuseppe Brusa, Charles Alix, and Jan Hendrik Leopold
  • Italian Hours: Historical Clocks from the Del Vecchio Collection by Giorgio Strano (ed.)
  • Maintaining and Repairing Mechanical Watches: A Practical Guide by Mark W. Wiles
  • S-Town Exquisite Clocks by Philip E. Morris and William R. Tatum
  • The Style of Time: The Evolution of Wristwatch Design by Mara Cappelletti
  • Vintage Military Wristwatches: A Guide for the Collector by Zaf Basha
  • Wooden Wheel Clockmaking by David R. Bailey

New Videos

  • Collecting Private Lable Watches by Dave Coatsworth
  • Collecting Horological Collateral by Pat Holloway
  • A Day in the Life of a Curator by Kim Jovinelli

Questions

The LARC’s collection is open to the public, feel free to bring in your watch or clock for the staff to look at when you visit the museum or you can come in to conduct your own research. For those who cannot come to the library do to research, the LARC staff is available to answer research questions for a fee of $40. NAWCC members’ questions are answered without charge. More information can be found here.

Archives

Appointments for access should be made at least three days in advance. Research appointments are required for projects lasting for more than one day or requiring access to more than one collection, two boxes or five folders, but not required for small, short term projects. Letting the librarians know ahead of time what you will be interested in looking at will make things go more smoothly once you arrive.

Lending Guidelines

NAWCC members may borrow up to three books, videos, Bulletin issues, or microfilm reels at a time, in any combination, by mail.

Please use the library’s catalog to make sure that the items that you want are available for lending. Is the catalog record shows items with “Lending” as the location, there are copies available to lend. If you have any questions about whether a book or video is available to lend, please contact the library. (Books with Spec at the beginning of their call number are Special Collections and may not be borrowed)

Please include a check, cash, or money order for the amount of postage due. Lending/Shipping fees are a flat rate of $7. 

To fill out and mail in the Library & Research Center Lending Library Form please click here.

Online Requests may be made through the catalog by following the “Request Hold” link to the right of the title on the results screen.  Please include a valid email address that you check regularly so that we can contact you to confirm the request.  Fees can by paid by credit card through PayPal or by requesting an invoice to pay cash or check when returning the items.

Insurance is required when shipping any books valued at over $100.  Insurance requirements are noted in a book’s catalog record. 

Items are on loan for 6 weeks.  If you need an item for more than 6 weeks, contact the library to renew. 

If an item that you request is on loan to another member you will be notified and it will be put on reserve for you and sent as soon as it is returned to the library. 

If you do not receive your requested items or a notice that they are on reserve within three weeks after you send your request, please contact the library.

Overdue Books

The library does not charge overdue fines, but lending and research privileges are suspended for members who have overdue books.

A reminder will be sent by email and/or US mail to members who have books out that are more than a month overdue.

If no response is received after three overdue notices are sent by the library, the member will be charged for the cost of replacing the items on loan to him or her.

International Members

International members may use the Lending Library by agreeing to pay airmail postage in both directions for items borrowed.  Books that must be insured cannot be loaned unless the international member agrees to assume full responsibility for them during the sending and returning of the items. Please note that VHS tapes and DVDs may not be compatible with non-U.S. video players. Please note that we cannot accept non-US checks. Lending fees must be paid in cash or by credit card.

Canadian Members 

Sending books to Canada costs approximately twice as much as within the United States, as they are shipped airmail; therefore, shipping charges for Canadian members are double the amount that United States members must pay. Books that must be insured cannot be loaned unless the Canadian member agrees to assume full responsibility for them during the sending and returning of the items. Please note that we cannot accept non-US checks. Lending fees must be paid in cash or by credit card.
https://www.nawcc.org/research/
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