Search Catalogs

Sailor at Watch The Mariners' Museum Library at Christopher Newport University maintains the following databases and guides to the books, periodicals, vessel plans, rare maps, and manuscripts in our collection.

Library Catalog

Search the Library's online catalog to find information on the books, periodicals, pamphlets, newspaper articles and microfilm housed in the Library. Also discover brief descriptions of selected special collections.

Special Collections

Special collections are listed by major subject category. Types of materials include bills of lading, business papers, certificates, company sales literature, correspondence, diaries, drawings and diagrams, ephemera, manuals, maps, military orders, newspaper articles, notes, patents, photographs, photograph albums, postcards, reports, sailing cards, scrapbooks, ships' logbooks, ships' papers, slides, stamps, and steamship brochures.

Plans and Drawings

The collection contains over 10,000 plans and drawings related to historic watercraft. View a list of selected plans, which is updated on a regular basis.

Magazine and Newspaper Titles

The Library's collection contains about 1,500 magazines, journals, and newsletters dating back to the mid-1800s and is international in scope. The Library currently subscribes to approximately 250 titles.

Passenger Lists from the Steamship Ephemera Collection

In connection with a recent genealogy workshop, Library volunteers compiled a listing of 368 passenger lists from the Steamship Ephemera Collection (MS15). The passenger lists relate to 58 steamship lines and date from 1878 to 1988. The listing is organized alphabetically by steamship name, and includes voyage date, port of departure, ports of entry, and catalog number. View the listing of Passenger Lists and visit the Library to view names on the list or contact us to order a photocopy of a specific list.