Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Costa Concordia Cruise Line Disaster: Library Resource Guide

In response to the recent Costa Concordia cruise line tragedy, the Stephen B. Luce Library has assembled a collection of resources with the most up-to-date information from domestic and foreign presses, including images, videos and news stories.

The Stephen B. Luce Library website on the “Costa Concordia” http://www.sunymaritime.edu/stephenblucelibrary/costa-concordia.htm provides resources to the academic community at SUNY Maritime to conduct research relating to the different aspects of the tragedy. The resources are organized in various categories such as human tragedy at the coast of Tuscany; financial implications; and environmental impact of the accident to the biggest designated marine park in Europe; leadership and command of the vessel; safety issues and negligence etc.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

New Online Slideshows Highlight Archival Collections

The Stephen B. Luce Library is delighted to announce that three new online slideshows are available from the Current Exhibits page on our library website. For those interested in the history of Maritime College and the summer sea term, this is an excellent way of delving into the past. Slideshows feature a number of fascinating photos of training ships and of cadets during training, inspections and even leisure activities. The photographs are supplemented by captions with historical information and technical specifications.

  • A slideshow documenting the Schoolship Newport, Maritime College's second training vessel, gives a sense of the origins of Maritime College (then called New York Nautical school). The Schoolship Newport was powered by both sail and steam, which provided students with an excellent training platform during the transition to the age of steam.


  • Pictures of the Empire State I, which served as a Maritime College training ship from 1931-1946, illustrate both the ship's illustrious origins (as flagship of Commander Fleet Base Force, U.S. Battle Fleet from 1921 - 1931) and its fifteen years as training ship for Maritime College students. With the arrival of the Empire State, Maritime College's first fully steam-powered ship, out-of-state students could for the first time enroll as cadets.


  • The Empire State II, used as a transport ship for troops and supplies during World War II, was the first training ship of any Maritime Academy to make a post war cruise under its own officers and crew. It served as training ship from 1946-1956.

Online slideshows offer the public a chance to view the wealth of materials available in the Stephen B. Luce Library archives. Other current exhibition subjects include the Schoolship St. Mary’s, Women Seafarers, African American seafarers, and the history of Fort Schuyler.