Marine History for the Environment\u27s Future: The Archives of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science

The collective body of marine information and historical knowledge is critical both for developing future studies and for evaluating changes in and threats to marine environments. Originally established in 1940, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science initially began gathering works related to the coastal and estuarine environments. The current-day William J. Hargis, Jr. Library serves the Institute and the broader scientific community by providing access to such knowledge. Its print and expanding digital collections, and particularly its archives, furnish its patrons and scholars throughout the world with decades of information and research in the marine sciences. The archival material not only forms a strong foundation for further study, but is also an invaluable source of data for the examination of long-term climatic and environmental changes on our oceans, rivers, and their inhabitants, and the development of strategies to positively impact these vital natural resources