National Watch and Clock Library
Encyclopedia
The National Watch and Clock Library is one of the world's pre-eminent libraries devoted to horology
and is located in Columbia, Pennsylvania
, USA.
It is operated by the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors
for the benefit of both the public and the members of the association. It is a sister institution to the National Watch and Clock Museum
.
The library is open to the public, who may use the collection on the premises. Books are only lent to members of the NAWCC.
formats), a comprehensive collection of horological periodicals (both current and historic) from around the world, many thousands of historic catalogs of watches and clocks, as well as quantities of archival material chronicling the history of timekeepers, including the research papers of many prominent American horological scholars of the past.
Horology
Horology is the art or science of measuring time. Clocks, watches, clockwork, sundials, clepsydras, timers, time recorders and marine chronometers are all examples of instruments used to measure time.People interested in horology are called horologists...
and is located in Columbia, Pennsylvania
Columbia, Pennsylvania
Columbia, once colonial Wright's Ferry, is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 28 miles southeast of Harrisburg on the left bank Susquehanna River across from Wrightsville and York County. Originally, the area may have been called Conejohela Flats, for the many islands and islets in the...
, USA.
It is operated by the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors
National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors
The National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors is an American non-profit organization with about 18,000 members.The NAWCC was founded in 1943 by members of the Horological Society of New York and the Philadelphia Watchmakers' Guild who wished to create a national organization...
for the benefit of both the public and the members of the association. It is a sister institution to the National Watch and Clock Museum
National Watch and Clock Museum
The National Watch and Clock Museum , located in Columbia, Pennsylvania, is one of a very few museums in the United States dedicated solely to horology, which is the history, science and art of timekeeping and timekeepers....
.
The library is open to the public, who may use the collection on the premises. Books are only lent to members of the NAWCC.
The collection
The collection covers material on timekeeping, time and timekeepers in a dozen different languages. In addition to its book collection of about 10,000 titles (some of them dating back to the 16th century), the library has over 1,000 different videos (both VCR and DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
formats), a comprehensive collection of horological periodicals (both current and historic) from around the world, many thousands of historic catalogs of watches and clocks, as well as quantities of archival material chronicling the history of timekeepers, including the research papers of many prominent American horological scholars of the past.
Sister organisations
Sister public institutions serving similar purposes include:- The Library of the Clockmaker's Company at Guildhall, LondonGuildhall, LondonThe Guildhall is a building in the City of London, off Gresham and Basinghall streets, in the wards of Bassishaw and Cheap. It has been used as a town hall for several hundred years, and is still the ceremonial and administrative centre of the City of London and its Corporation...
, United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, - The Library of the British Horological Institute, in Upton, Newark-on-TrentNewark-on-TrentNewark-on-Trent is a market town in Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands region of England. It stands on the River Trent, the A1 , and the East Coast Main Line railway. The origins of the town are possibly Roman as it lies on an important Roman road, the Fosse Way...
, United Kingdom, - The Library of the Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Chronometrie in Nuernberg, in Nuremberg, Germany and
- The Library at the Mussee Internationale d'HorlogerieMussee Internationale d'HorlogerieMusée International d'Horlogerie is a museum located in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, dedicated to horology, which is the study of time, timekeeping and timekeeping devices...
in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland.