Access The library is open to all members of the public but through appointment only. Use of the library is free of charge if the museum is not to be visited.
Car parking is available.
The American Museum was opened in 1961. Its reference library, containing about 8,500 titles, supports the staff, and is also available to the public for research. The main fields covered are American history and decorative arts, which include folk art, textiles, furniture and pottery. Reflecting the museum's collections its time-scale is from the first European exploration of North America up to the eve of the Civil War, although publications about the 20th Century are held. Other subjects covered are Native Americans, maps of the Age of Discovery, American horticulture and cookery, and religious sects, such as the Shakers and Amish of Pennsylvania.