Aviation Museum Libraries and Archives
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Material is taken from a Warbird Information Exchange thread.
Introduction
This list has been divided into three sections: libraries, archives, and a third category of "honorable mentions" which don't quite fit the criteria for inclusion below, but are worth noting.
For an institution to meet the criteria for inclusion of this list, it must have a dedicated library or archives page on its website and it must be a museum. The former requirement was selected to demonstrate a museum's dedication to it's library collection. (Some combine them with their collections or donations page.)
The most common bit of information on museum library pages is an approximate count of their holdings. Since size is often the only quantifiable and available form of comparison, it has been included here as a potential comparison of significance. A few caveats regarding these numbers: 1) they may be rounded, 2) they may only reflect cataloged items and not the entire collection, and 3) different organizations use different terms for their materials, so comparison may be somewhat apples to oranges.
Finally, the line between libraries and archives or archives and collections can be blurry and some museums do not make a distinction between the two.
Libraries
| Institution | Name of Collection | Size |
|---|---|---|
| Air Force Museum of New Zealand | Reading Room | 3,500 volumes |
| Air Victory Museum | Harold Watson, Raymond Sleeper and Stephen Snyder Memorial Library | 3,000 volumes |
| Alberta Aviation Museum | Archives & Research Library | 5,000 volumes; 200,000 digital images |
| American Helicopter Museum & Education Center | Library and Archives | 18,000 items |
| Atterbury-Bakalar Air Museum | W.J. "Ernie" Schorr Memorial Library | 1,000 books; 220 videos |
| British Columbia Aviation Museum | Library | 7,700 books; 670 videos; 30,000 digital images |
| Canada Aviation and Space Museum | Library and Archives | Unknown |
| Comox Air Force Museum | Library | over 3,000 volumes |
| EAA Aviation Museum | Library | 11,000 books; 100,000 images |
| Empire State Aerosciences Museum | Janz Vander Veer Research Center/Library | 2,100 photographs |
| Finnish Aviation Museum | Library and Archives | 16,000 monographs |
| Flight Path Museum LAX | William A. Schoneberger Research Library | Unknown |
| Flygvapenmuseum | Library | 20,000 books and 700 magazines |
| Frontiers of Flight Museum | Research Library | 35,000 records |
| Greenwood Military Aviation Museum | Library | 1,700 books |
| Hill Aerospace Museum[a] | Major General Rex A. Hadley Research Library and Archives | Unknown |
| Hiller Aviation Museum | Michael King Smith Research Library | Unknown |
| Historic Aviation Memorial Museum | Library | Unknown |
| MAPS Air Museum | Louise Timken Library & Research Center | 7,900 items |
| March Field Air Museum | Yeager Family Library | 7,000 volumes |
| Massey Air Museum | Library | over 4,100 books |
| Military Aviation Museum | Library | 3,100 books |
| Millville Army Air Field Museum | Henry E. Wyble Historic Research Library & Education Center | Unknown |
| Montreal Aviation Museum | Patrick Campbell Library and Archives | over 7,000 books |
| Musée Air France | Library | 2,000 works |
| Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace | Library | 30,000 works, 22,000 documentary files, 3,600 technical notices, 2,500 periodicals |
| Museo de Aeropuertos y Transporte Aéreo de Málaga | Documentation Center | Unknown |
| Museo de la Aviación Naval | Library | 4,000 volumes |
| Museo Nacional de Aeronáutica | Antonio Biedma Recalde Library | Unknown |
| Museu Aeroespacial | Jos� Garcia de Souza Library | 22,000 items |
| Museum of Flight | Harl V. Brackin Library | 36,000 books; 60,000 journal issues; 18,000 manuals; 6,850 technical reports |
| National Air and Space Museum | Library | 40,000 volumes |
| National Model Aviation Museum | Lee Renaud Memorial Library | 5,800 books, over 900 periodical titles |
| National Naval Aviation Museum[1] | Emil Buehler Naval Aviation Library | Unknown |
| Newark Air Museum | Museum Archive | 5,100 books; 40,000 photographs |
| Norwegian Aviation Museum | Library | Unknown |
| Oakland Aviation Museum[b] | Library | 5,000 volumes |
| Otto Lilienthal Museum | Library | Unknown |
| Planes of Fame Air Museum | Research Library | 10,000 volumes |
| Polish Aviation Museum | Library | Unknown |
| Royal Air Force Museum | Archive & Library | 64,000+ objects |
| San Diego Air & Space Museum | Library & Archives | 38,000 items |
| Santa Maria Museum of Flight[c] | Edward J. Horkey Memorial Research Library | Unknown |
| Shearwater Aviation Museum | Library & Archives | 13,000 items |
| South Australian Aviation Museum | Library | 3,500 books, 120,000 photographs, 1,000 technical handbooks, 63 periodicals, 700 videos |
| Tangmere Military Aviation Museum | Peter Wright Memorial Library | 4,000 books/periodicals |
| Travis Air Force Base Aviation Museum[2] | Library Archives | 3,000 books |
| United States Army Aviation Museum | Research Library | 3,000 books |
| USS Midway Museum[3] | Library | 6,400 volumes; 1,400 cruise books; 1,500 technical manuals; 750 videos; 5,500 magazine issues |
| Vintage Flying Museum | Library | 3,000 records (estimated) |
| Western Museum of Flight | Dr. Ira E. Chart Research Library | Unknown |
| Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum | Research Library | 15,000 books; 800 periodicals; 1,000 digitized images |
Archives
| Institution | Name of Collection | Size |
|---|---|---|
| Aeronauticum | Archives | 11,000 printed materials |
| Aerospace Bristol | Archives | Unknown |
| Delta Flight Museum | Archives | Unknown |
| Fleet Air Arm Museum | Centre for Naval Aviation Records & Research | Unknown |
| Glenn L. Martin Maryland Aviation Museum | Archival Collection | 200,000 photographs |
| Hubschraubermuseum Bückeburg | Archives | 3,500 books |
| Kansas Aviation Museum[4] | Research Archives | 10,000 books; 75,000 journals; 25,000 photographs |
| Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre | Archives | Unknown |
| Musee Hydraviation | Centre de Documentation | Unknown |
| Museu Aeroespacial | Historical Archive | Unknown |
| Museum of Flight | Archives | 5,000 cubic feet of items |
| Piper Aviation Museum | Archives | Unknown |
| Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada | Collections & Archives | 60,000 images |
Honorable Mentions
| Institution | Name of Collection | Size |
|---|---|---|
| American Library | Library | 4,000 books |
| Cradle of Aviation Museum | New York Heritage Digital Collections | Unknown |
| Finnish Aviation Museum | Library and Archives | over 10,000 monographs |
| Hickory Aviation Museum | Museum Research Library | Unknown |
| Kelch Aviation Museum | Archive & Library | over 10,000 books |
| Oregon Aviation Historical Society | Hedberg Aviation Resource Library | 230 books, 160 VHS tapes, 23 DVDs |
| Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum[5] | Emil Buehler Perpetual Trust Library and Archive | 23,000 books, periodicals, pulp magazines, photographs, art, and archival documents[6] |
| SFO Museum | Aviation Museum and Library | 8,600 volumes |
| Wight Aviation Museum | Aviation Library | Unknown |
References
Footnotes
Notes
- ↑ Nelson Gabriel, Melissa (14 January 2017). "Archivist at Naval Aviation Museum is History Keeper". Pensacola News Journal. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
- ↑ "Travis AFB Aviation Museum Education". Travis AFB Aviation Museum. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
- ↑ Zingheim, Karl (27 April 2018). "The Best Naval Aviation Library Afloat". USS Midway Museum. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
- ↑ McMillin, Molly (25 June 2014). "Kansas Aviation Museum to Dedicate New Archive Room". Wichita Eagle. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
- ↑ "Opening Soon: The Emil Buehler Perpetual Trust Library and Archive" (PDF), NOTAM, no. 37, p. 5, Summer 2019, retrieved 19 August 2025
- ↑ "See Inside Our Library and Archive". Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum. 27 June 2023. Retrieved 19 August 2025.