An Innovative Partnership




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.