Students of the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding (NWSWB) in Port Hadlock gathered recently at the Jefferson County Library to learn about library resources. Library Director Meredith Wagner, and other library representatives, welcomed the students and invited them and their families to use all the great library resources available to them while living in our community.

Through a new collaboration, the school and public libraries in Port Townsend and Port Hadlock are working together to support students enrolled at the boat school. Beginning this academic year, students are required to complete a research project each quarter, using the maritime collections available through the NWSWB maritime library and the Cooperative Libraries Automated Network (CLAN).

The CLAN, owned and administered by the Jefferson County Library, links the collections of the Jefferson County Library, Port Townsend Public Library, and the HW McCurdy Maritime Collection at the Northwest Maritime Center, as well as three school library collections.

“Students at the boat school benefit from the tremendous value this community places on its maritime resources, including multiple maritime library collections,” said NSWB Executive Director Betsy Davis. “The absolute passion that the librarians at all three libraries demonstrate, their personal connections to the maritime world and their strong collaboration, all provide a resource unparalleled anywhere in the country.”