Today, I drove into San Francsico to make use of the recently re-opened Maritime Library of the San Francisco Maritime Research Center. It was really nice to see the place again after more than a year away. And, truthfully, I haven’t made use of the library for a while, even before the Covid shutdown, so it’s been longer than that for me.
Nothing has changed here, except that the research librarian, Gina Bardi, now wears a mask. But, you don’t have to see through the mask to know she’s wearing her smiling face. Plus, the decor is the same and is there to remind you that this is a maritime library.
And, what’s a maritime library without at least one ship model? In this case, a model of the Wapama, the last of the wooden steam schooners used in the lumber trade.
I asked Gina about the re-opening of the library. She said it has been open for a few months now, but on a very limited basis. Currently, the hours for public access are Tuesday and Wednesday from 1pm to 5pm. As always, an advance appointment is required. However, she also said that the hours may open up to 4 days a week starting in a month or so. But, as usual, there will be no weekend hours.
For me today, I was able to go in and review a book that I’ve seen listed on the Internet. I’ve considered purchasing the book, but it’s a very rare and pretty pricy. I did a library search and discovered there was a copy at the maritime library. So, today, I spent some time going through it.
Another thing to add is that it appears that the parking is not currently metered at Lower Fort Mason, where the library is located, which, by the way, is the third floor of ‘E’ building.
In any case, for more information, visit the Maritime Research Center page here: https://www.nps.gov/safr/learn/historyculture/research-center.htm. Ω
Ship Modeler 
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