Lee Renaud Memorial Library
Visiting our library
Our 2024 Hours of Operation Calendar is available on our Visit page.
Size and Scope
We have over 5,800 books and over 900 periodical titles (about 48,000 individual issues) in our library. Read more about the library's offerings in our article in the museum's monthly History Preserved column, published in the November 2022 issue of Model Aviation magazine, titled The Lee Renaud Memorial Library at the National Model Aviation Museum.
Accessing our Collections
Our books, magazines, newsletters, and journals cover both model and full-scale aviation. Topics covered include history, biographies, construction projects, aerodynamics, flight concepts, and more. You can read the first issue of AMA's Model Aviation publication from June 1936 in our library or online.
About half of our library's catalog is digitally accessible. You can access the Museum's digital catalog by clicking on the orange button below:
Books published since 1945, many magazines, newsletters, and DVDs are available on the public access shelves for reading and viewing in the library.
Books published before 1945 and some magazines and newsletters are stored separately in special collections storage due to their age and fragility. These can be pulled on request; please check in advance for availability.
Staff are also willing to assist with in-depth research. For more information, see the research page.
The AMA's Model Aviation Digital Library features issues of Model Aviation magazine from July 1975 to June 2015.
Donations
Information on how to donate books and magazines is listed in our Donation Guide. Information on donation documentation, donor recognition, and more can be found in our Donation FAQs. For a list of magazines needed in our library, as well as other items we need for the museum, read our wish list page. That list is updated regularly.
Copies
A black and white copier is available in the library. Copies are $0.15. The machine accepts both $1 bills and change. Copies are for personal use only. Please be considerate of copyright when making copies. Please visit our research and service fees webpage for more information.
Notice concerning copyright restrictions:
“The copyright law of the United States (title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specific conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be ‘used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research.’ If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of ‘fair use,’ that user may be liable for copyright infringement. This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.” - U.S. Copyright Office, https://www.copyright.gov/policy/section108/discussion-document.pdf
Contact
Contact our Archivist and Historian, Jackie Shalberg, at museumarchives@modelaircraft.org or (765) 287-1256 ext. 511 for more information regarding the Lee Renaud Memorial Library.