When most people think about the National Ornamental Metal Museum, images come to mind of blacksmiths pounding on anvils, and workers with cutting torches and hammers. Big, loud, hot, and heavy things.

A quiet library normally doesn’t come to mind but in fact, NOMA has one of the largest collections in this country of rare books and journals devoted to the art and craft of metalworking — more than 6,000 materials in all. For years, these research materials have been stored off-site because the museum simply had no room for them.

But all that changes on Sunday, June 3rd, when NOMA opens the newly renovated White Building. Built in the late 1800s, this two-story building once housed physicians working at the old Marine Hospital, where the museum is located.

For more information about the museum, the Julius Blum Library, and the renovation of the White Building, go here.