Have you ever been conducting some research or so fascinated by a topic that you’ve sought extra information?

Well if that topic is anything to do with the Isle of Man, there really is only one place to go.

Every year thousands of people, local and from across the globe, visit the free research facility at the Manx Museum where the librarians and archivists assist general enquirers, family historians, students, publishers, broadcasters and many, many more.

And yet there’s still some people who don’t know this free facility is on our doorstep.

In most areas across the UK, members of the public have to contact their local museum days in advance to access the variety of archives that are kept and maintained for people to research and take a look at.

But lucky for us islanders, you can rock up to our national museum and ask to see printed and archival collections on Manx history, culture, language, folklore, archaeology and landholding to name just a few on the day.

The collection is extensive, and the five-floored storage stack built in 1951 holds manuscripts, books, photographs, maps, films and sound recordings which help tell the island’s story from the 14th century to as recent as today.

The Manx Museum officially opened in 1922, and in the same year William Cubbon, at the age of 57, became the first librarian and secretary.

Under his guidance the museum began the decades long project of collecting material, and the library storage stack as we know it today was completed in 1960, with extra room since being added to accommodate the ever-growing collection and improve facilities for researchers.

The current library reading room, at the seaward side of the building accessible next to the staircase down to the new TT gallery, is open to the public from Wednesday to Saturday, 10am to 4.30pm.

However if you’re looking to research anything Manx related not on these days or times, iMuseum website is home to Manx National Heritage’s digital collections with access to images, indexes and information from the archives, library and museum, and can be accessed from the comfort of your own home on any computer or tablet devices.

While people from across the world come to find material from the earliest stories passed down in the Chronicles of the Kings of Mann and The Isles, to modern records of committees and businesses, there is often a topic that many researchers are interested in.

The most sought after information is surrounding the island’s part in World War Two.

At the outbreak of the war there were around 80,000 people in Britain considered as potential ‘enemy aliens’, and there was grave concern that people were acting as spies or willing to help Britain’s enemies in the event of invasion, therefore the UK government asked the island to accommodate people at camps in Douglas, Ramsey and Peel.

Suzi Heslan, librarian for Manx National Heritage, told us that the 18 plans on the Hutchinson Internment Camp is one of the most important pieces they have in their printed collection due to their popularity.

She said: ‘It’s definitely one of the most popular things for people to study in our reading room and they’re unique to the island.’

Wendy Thirkettle, archivist at Manx National Heritage, told the Manx Independent what people should expect when coming into the library and how their team of four, plus added support from volunteers, determine what gets kept in the archives and what doesn’t.

She said: ‘It’s a library with very few books on display for starters, that’s because we look after them behind the scenes. All are available on request.

‘You don’t necessarily have to book when coming in to see our material, but it helps to make an appointment if you have a specialist enquiry. But effectively it’s a counter service and we encourage people to come and see what we’ve got.

‘In terms of what we keep, we look at what we have already and compare printed content against our existing collections, but we see whether or not there’s strong evidential research potential for the content, whether there’s display potential to compliment the curator’s displays and galleries and we use that kind of criteria.

‘So we can’t keep everything, and we don’t want to keep everything, and just because it’s old doesn’t mean to say it makes the cut.’

‘Sometimes it’s very straightforward, but when there is questions over particular offers we might then have a meeting around the table and really discuss it, but generally it’s quite straightforward.’

While the stack is packed full of Manx material ranging in variety from over decades, as well as even more off-site storage, people may have content that might interest Manx National Heritage, and you can get in touch with them to let them know more about the material.

Similarly if you have any questions about the facility or are looking for anything particular that interests you in the archive, the friendly bunch at the library and archive are always willing to help where they can.

To get in touch with the staff, you can email at [email protected], telephone at +44 (0) 1624 648 047, or pop in and visit the team at the Manx Museum library and archive.