Photo by R. M. Zilberstein
Effective March 1, the Research Library will be open to the public from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and on the first Saturday & Sunday of each month from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. An appointment is suggested. Please call 508 997-0046, ext. 134.
The Library houses a vast collection of books and periodicals documenting the association of humans and cetacea from the earliest times to the present. Appointments are required.

It is an excellent venue for advanced scholars in a variety of disciplines to pursue their individual or institutional research, including access to manuscripts, logbooks and journals on microfilm via Interlibrary Loan. Essential bibliographies are available online to aid your research efforts.

Now you can search our database of logbooks and journals!

NOTE: If you have genealogical research questions, please contact Paul Cyr at the New Bedford Free Public Library, who can direct you to the appropriate facility or collection. For a searchable database of whaling ships, click here.

Essential Bibliographies
Whaling History: An Introductory Bibliography
Scrimshaw - An Annotated Bibliography
Selected Bibliography for Teachers and Students

Specialized Bibliographies
Bequia Whaling: A Selective Bibliography
Economic Impact of American Whaling
E.C. Williams
Illustrated Whaling Narratives: A Selective Bibliography
g The Liberation of Fenian Prisoners in Western Australia, 1866-1876
Lewis Temple, Blacksmith (1829-1854)
Massacres in the South Pacific
g The Narwhal (Monodon monoceros)
g Nineteenth Century Literature on Shipwrecks and Disasters at Sea
Mutiny: Punishment, Work Stoppage, High Crimes at Sea
g Selected Titles of Whaling in 19th Century American Literature
Siberia: A Selective Bibliography