About the library
The library of the Robbe & Berking Yachting Heritage Centre is the most important international collection of antiquarian yachting literature.
The core of the library is the Christmann Collection. The total collection now comprises around 8500 volumes thanks to merging with the collection of the Robbe & Berking Classics yacht yard and donations.
The books
All topics relevant to yachting are represented in the library.
A wide range of international journals is available, as well as the annuals and commemorative publications of yacht clubs around the world. The yacht registers important for research on individual yachts are almost completely available with Lloyd's Register or Hunt's Register, among others. As the Robbe & Berking Yachting Heritage Centre is closely associated with the Robbe & Berking Classics shipyard, the areas of design, construction, refit and restoration form a focal point of the library. The history of yachting can also be researched in depth. Regatta sports form an extra area. There is an extensive collection on the America's Cup, but also on other well-known regattas. For the practical area of sailing, the Seamanship and Navigation departments offer answers to a wide variety of sailing questions, from A for anchor to Z for zenith. If you want to find out about the different types of ships and boat classes, you will find plenty of literature, most of it impressively illustrated.
In addition to current literature, the library is particularly fascinating for its impressively large historical holdings, which offer an extraordinary wealth of source material. The treasury of the library is the "Libri rari", the rare books. This collection contains many valuable books and bibliophile editions. It is precisely here that the library presents many unique items.
Use of the library
The library in the Robbe & Berking Yachting Heritage Centre is accessible during the opening hours of the exhibition. There are no user fees and no entrance fee. The books are handed out by appointment.
0461 / 31 80 30 63
classics@robbeberking.de
Formular
Please note the Library regulations
Literature research
The entire collection can be searched in full via the online catalogue (OPAC). The search is possible by author, title, keyword and also thematically via keywords. The corresponding book can be selected from a hit list, and the book's signature appears in the overall data display, indicating its location on the shelf. The search criteria are linked to each other so that you can click to see which other titles by an author or on a particular topic are available.
If literature on a specific topic is sought, however, one can also look directly at the shelf for the desired subject.
Further links
If you do not find what you are looking for in the library, you can use the following online catalogues:
- GBV, research in the North German library network (predominantly university and state libraries)
- Karlsruher Virtueller Katalog (KVK), research Germany and worldwide.
- Bibliothek des Mystic Seaport Museums: library.mysticseaport.org
