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:
Closed
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 3)
What’s New at the Library? | Summer 2026
New Books
- Mail Guards’ watches: As used on mail coaches and early railways by David Penney
- Explorers’ watches: Makers & variations by David Penney
- Fashion Calendar Clock identification guide: A comprehensive model guide from 1875 through the late 1880s by Bill Bauer
- The Legendary MicKinnon Clock: The tribute of silence by Anne Hale Craft
- The astronomical clock by Paulus & Ghiesbreght: A ‘cultural biography’ of a remarkable instrument from the Austrian Netherlands by Huib J. Zuidervaart
- The watch: Stories & savoir faire by Audemars Piguet
- Quincy, a pictorial history by Carl Landrum
- Gruen Curvex watches: The definitive illustrated guide by Kyle Rogers
- English clocks: 800 years of innovation by John Cronin
- The watch: An illustrated guide to its history & mechanism by John Cronin
- The complete guide to Bulova Accutron watches, book 2 by Darold Hanson
- Turm, Spiegel, Buch : Astronomische Tischuhren in Süddeutschland Zwischen 1450 und 1650 by Susanne Thuerigen.
- Ancient measurement: How ancient civilizations created precise & reproducible standards by Roland A. Boucher
- Quartz watches: From early quartz to the Apple Watch, 90 ingenious watches explored by Clément Mazarian
- Once-in a life-time: The G. Russell & Janet Oechsle Collection of Upstate New York Clocks, 1975-2025 by G. Russell Oechsle
- Athanasius Kircher’s magnetic clock : Excerpted from the travel journal of Sir Robert Moray by Sir Robert Moray
- Surveying: instruments & methods by J. Wartnaby
- It’s about time: From calendars and clocks to moon cycles and light years – a history by Liz Evers
- Kienzle Tischuhren 1931-1970 aus der Heinrich Möller Zeit by Jens Mohaupt
- Seven centuries of brass making by O. A. Kenyon
- Ornaments on English table clocks: 1660-1730 by Sunny Dzik
- 100 watch brands: How they tick by Davis Stanard
- Wristwatch Annual 2026 by Peter Braun
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 $200. 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.
