Librarian,
Toniann Scime
For first-time visitors of
the library...
If this is your first time using the facility, you must call
689-1440 to arrange an appointment so we may familiarize you with
our resources. Please see the Library Use Policy below for full details.
Search our catalog online at WNYLibraries.org
and view images from our collection at WNYLegacy.
Join Our Book Club!
The Museum Book Club is free and open to the public.
The Book Club meets at the Museum once a month through November.
All meetings are at 1 PM. Dates and selections for 2008 are:
| January 23 | The Falls, Joyce Carol Oates |
| February 27 | Beloved, Toni Morrison |
| March 26 | Life of Pi, Yann Martel |
| April 23 | Digging to America, Anne Tyler |
| May 28 | Life As We Knew It, Susan Beth Pfeffer |
| June 25 | The Bear, William Faulkner |
| July 23 | Assassination Vacation, Sarah Vowell |
| August 27 | Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen |
| September 24 | A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini |
| October 29 | The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde |
| November 19 | To Be Decided in 2008 |
The Niederlander Research Library at Amherst Museum is available to anyone who is interested in obtaining information on local history. Although our collection does not circulate, we are happy to assist visitors and customers with their genealogical and historical research projects.
If you have a research request, or if you would like to make an appointment, please contact librarian Toniann Scime by phone at 716-689-1440 or via email at amuseum@roadrunner.com to discuss arrangements.
The Library has over 5,000 books as well as magazines, newspapers, maps, a photograph collection of over 3,000 items, microfiches, and subject files. The Archives also contain artifacts related to the history of the Town of Amherst and the lives of early settlers.
The Library contains a full set of the Amherst Bee, from 1879 to the present day, on microfilm. A microfilm printer may be used to make copies of the Bee, at a cost of 25 cents per page. Available for on-site research use is the Index to Obituaries in the Amherst Bee and Index to Marriage Notices in the Amherst Bee, produced by library staff.
Arrangements may be made for the reproduction of photographs from the Museum Collection, for a fee. Contact the librarian for details.
LIBRARY & ARCHIVES USE POLICY
Amherst Museum
Hours of Operation: The Library is open
Tuesday – Friday, 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM, year-round.
Admission Fees: Patrons of the Niederlander Research
Library are not charged an admission fee. If you would like to tour the
Museum as well, regular admission fees do apply.
Appointments: All first-time users of the Library are
required to make an appointment with the librarian
in order to become familiarized with the collection and procedures. Future
visits may be made at any time during open hours and without appointment.
Access to resources: Research materials do not circulate
and may only be used in the Library. Materials in the Archives Room may
only be accessed by the librarian, a member of the curatorial staff or
the Museum Director. All materials from the Archives Room will be retrieved
for the patron’s use in the Library and reshelved by the librarian. Extensive
archival research should be arranged ahead of time, as per the librarian's
availability.
Use of resources: Pencils should be used for notetaking.
Laptops are allowed, though there are limited electrical outlets available
for public use. The use of digital cameras for “copying” is
allowed, though the researcher does so with the understanding that this
is for personal research use only and must be approved by the librarian.
Photocopies and Microfilm prints: There is a charge
of $0.25 per page photocopied or printed from the microfilm printer.
No eating or drinking is allowed in the library.
Adopted September, 2005. Amended, 2007.
Daniel B. Niederlander (1895-1964) Daniel B. Niederlander was a collector of rare books and a local historian. He founded the Williamsville Historical Society and was president of the Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society. In 1947, Mr. and Mrs. Niederlander bought the Williamsville Water Mills. They continued to operate the mill, restored the buildings and created displays of old tools and farm implements for the public to view. When Mrs. Niederlander passed away in 1981, she bequeathed funds to the Amherst Museum to establish a research library in her husband’s name. Mr. Niederlander’s rare book collection formed the basis of the library that bears his name and which is a valuable resource to the general public.