Library Partners – Marine Resources Library

An Innovative Partnership

Just as the South Carolina Marine Resources Center at Fort Johnson demonstrates innovative and collaborative partnerships between the research agencies working in the field of marine research, the Marine Resources Library (MRL) also reflects this level of collaboration. Having strategically evolved into one library from three separate materials collections, the MRL both serves and is supported financially by the College of Charleston, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources Marine Resources Division, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Ocean Service Coastal Center for Environmental Health & Biomolecular Research (NOAA NOS CCEHBR) Charleston Laboratory and Hollings Marine Laboratory, with contributions from the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) at Hollings Marine Laboratory. We provide resources and research services to the staff, faculty, and students of our partner institutions.

History of the Library

The Marine Resources Library began in 1972 serving the research staff of the newly established Marine Resources Division of the South Carolina Wildlife and Marine Resources Department (now the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources) located at the Marine Resources Center at Fort Johnson on James Island, South Carolina. In 1977, the Marine Resources Division merged its library holdings with those of the College of Charleston’s Grice Marine Biological Laboratory which was also located at Fort Johnson. In August 1996, the library holdings of NOAA Fisheries/Charleston Laboratory (now NOAA NOS CCEHBR Charleston Laboratory), located at Fort Johnson, were merged into the Marine Resources Library. In January 2007 the Library completed a renovation that included new carpet, new paint, and the installation of high-density shelving. This project increased shelf space by 35% and provided much-needed space for study. The overall project also contributed to the habitat for reef fish because some of the old shelving was given to the SCDNR/MRD Artificial Reef Program for the Shelf Reef Project.

The library’s collection strengths include marine biology, marine ecology, fisheries science, ichthyology, invertebrate zoology, toxicology, marine forensics, biotechnology, ecotoxicology, phycology, and biochemistry.