The Anchorage Law Library came into being following statehood in 1959, with the establishment of the Alaska Court system. The collection has been developed to serve the research and informational needs of the judiciary and practicing attorneys.

Additional web address: Alaska Court System: http://www.state.ak.us/courts/

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game's mission is to manage, protect, maintain, and improve the fish, game and aquatic plant resources of Alaska. The primary goals are to ensure that Alaska's renewable fish and wildlife resources and their habitats are conserved and managed on the sustained yield principle, and the use and development of these resources are in the best interest of the economy and well-being of the people of the state.

DESCRIPTION OF POLAR COLLECTION: Cold regions materials.

Printed Brochure Available:

Size of Polar Collection: Books: 11,000

Acquisitions Policy: Acquire materials in fulfillment and anticipation of Habitat Division needs.

Created by the U.S. Congress in 1900, this Alaska-Arctic research collection came under Alaska territorial jurisdiction in 1922 and merged with the Alaska State Library in 1966.

DESCRIPTION OF POLAR COLLECTION: Collection Scope: All aspects of Alaska history and development, with additional and selective focus on surrounding regions and the Arctic outside Alaska. Resources include books, state and Federal publications, manuscripts, historic photographs, oral history tapes, maps, newspapers and periodicals, pamphlets and clippings.

ASSOCIATED ARCHIVE OR MANUSCRIPT COLLECTIONS: Manuscript and Photograph Collections (Primary Sources): Notable collections: Nabesna Mining records, 1931-1947; Wickersham State Historic Site Papers; Bayers collection on maritime history of Pacific Northwest; John Grainger Alaska post card collection 1897-1920; Michael J. Vinokouroff Papers (Russian emigree literature and Russian-America); Dimitri Maksutov Papers; Alaska Packers Association Records; Winter and Pond Photograph Collection; George Dale and Evelyn Butler photograph collection; Skinner Foundation Photograph Collection (tourism in Alaska); Snow Family Papers (Yukon and Juneau). Finding Aids: for most manuscript and photograph collections (many in-house); Published finding aids: $5.00 each. Secondary Sources: Books, etc. Includes some foreign language material, primarily Russian. Special Collections: Wickersham collection of government publications relevant to Alaska; vertical file of primary and secondary sources; rare volumes on discovery and exploration of Northwest Coast of North America; Dolgopolov Collections on Russian-America and Siberia military history; and Alaska periodicals and newspapers.

The Heritage Library is a forum of information on Alaskan subjects, established to provide for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all the people in the Anchorage community, and serve as an interpretive tool for the Alaska Heritage Museum.

DESCRIPTION OF POLAR COLLECTION: The collection of the Heritage Library focuses on works dealing with Alaskan history, art, native cultures, geography, etc. Periodicals include complete runs of the Alaska Sportsman/Alaska Magazine and the Beaver.

The collection of the Alaska Heritage Museum focuses on artifacts from the various cultures of Alaska Native people and examples of art by wellknown Alaskan artists.

This unit of the Consortium Library at the University of Alaska Anchorage, formerly the Health Sciences Information Service and before that called the Alaska Health Sciences Library, was transferred to the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) in 1992.

DESCRIPTION OF POLAR COLLECTION: Printed Brochure Available: Yes

Acquisitions Policy: Materials are selected by the staff and purchased by the Consortium Library. Emphasis is on clinical practice and all health science subjects of particular importance to Alaska.

The Alaska State Library is a statewide research library for Alaska State Government. State employees needing information for their work have access to a variety of library services. Some of our resources can be accessed on-line though your computer, others will require a call to a librarian or a visit to the library. The Alaska State Library (ASL) acts as a statewide consultant to all types of libraries and is a strong supporter of library science informational needs. As a member of the Alaska Library Network, the State Library is committed to providing services and sharing resources so that equal access to information is ensured and available to all. Provides patron services and collects research materials on all aspects of Alaska history and development, with a selective focus on surrounding regions and the Arctic outside Alaska.

DESCRIPTION OF POLAR COLLECTION: CCL Library Catalog: Access to the Capital City Libraries' on-line catalog that includes materials at the Alaska State Library. Magazine Collection: Emphasizing topics of concern to state government. Newspaper Collection: Major national newspapers and a complete collection of Alaska newspapers. Historical Collections: Research materials on all aspects of Alaska history and development are available in the Historical Collections. Photograph Collections, On-Line Collections and In Library Collections

Alaska Newspaper Project: historic Alaska Newspapers on microfilm.

The Alaska Native Language Center was established by state legislation in 1972 as a center for research and documentation of the twenty Native languages of Alaska. It is internationally known and recognized as the major center in the United States for the study of Eskimo and Northern Athabascan languages. ANLC publishes its research in story collections, dictionaries, grammars, and research papers. The center houses an archival collection of more than 10,000 items, virtually everything written in or about Alaska Native languages, including copies of most of the earliest linguistic documentation, along with significant collections about related languages outside Alaska. Staff members provide materials for bilingual teachers and other language workers throughout the state, assist social scientists and others who work with Native languages, and provide consulting and training services to teachers, school districts, and state agencies involved in bilingual education. The ANLC staff also participates in teaching through the Alaska Native Language Program which offers major and minor degrees in Central Yup'ik and Inupiaq Eskimo at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. An AAS degree or a Certificate in Native Language Education is also available. The center continues to strive to raise public awareness of the gravity of language loss worldwide but particularly in the North. Of the state's twenty Native languages, only two (Siberian Yupik in two villages on St. Lawrence Island, and Central Yup'ik in seventeen villages in southwestern Alaska) are spoken by children as the first language of the home. Like every language in the world, each of those twenty is of inestimable human value and is worthy of preservation. ANLC, therefore, continues to document, cultivate, and promote those languages as much as possible and thus contribute to their future and to the heritage of all Alaskans.

DESCRIPTION OF COLLECTION: There are 20 different Alaska Native languages: Aleut, Alutiiq (also called Aleut or Sugpiaq), Central Yup'ik Eskimo, St. Lawrence Island Eskimo, Inupiaq Eskimo, Tsimshian, Haida, Tlingit and Eyak and 11 Athabascan languages. These languages are becoming recognized as the priceless heritage they truly are. Since the passage of the Alaska Bilingual Education Law in 1972 there has been a demand for teachers who can speak and teach these languages in the schools throughout the state where there are Native children. Professional opportunities for those skilled in these languages exist in teaching, research and cultural, educational and political development. Central Yup'ik Eskimo is spoken by the largest number of people, and Inupiaq by the next largest. In these two languages major and minor curricula are now offered. Courses are also regularly offered in Kutchin (Gwich'in) Athabascan. For work in all other languages, individual or small-group instruction is offered under special topics. Thus there have frequently been instruction, seminars, and workshops also in Tlingit, Haida, St. Lawrence Island Eskimo, Aleut and Koyukon, comparative Eskimo and comparative Athabascan. UAF is unique in offering this curriculum, which benefits also from the research staff and library of the Alaska Native Language Center.

Provides information on all subjects relating to public lands in Alaska. Additional centres are maintained in Fairbanks, Tok and Ketchikan. The Alaska Public Lands Information Centers are interagency visitor centers authorized by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. The centers serve the public on behalf of eight federal and state agencies which manage public lands in Alaska. The agencies are the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, Geological Survey, Forest Service, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Tourism and the Department of Natural Resources. Alaska's state and federal public lands are rich and varied. The centers provide one-stop access to visitor information on Alaska's public lands, including interpretive programs, daily films, brochures, mail and phone requests and special events.

Additional web address: http://www.nps.gov/aplic/center/

The Alaska Resources Library was founded as a centralized source of information on natural resources land issues following passage of the Alaska Native Land Claims Settlement Act in 1971. The library operates as a branch within the Alaska State Office of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

DESCRIPTION OF POLAR COLLECTION: Primarily Alaskan and arctic natural resources areas covered, e.g., fish, wildlife, petroleum, minerals, recreation, vegetation, soils, geology; those areas of interest to the U.S. Department of the Interior in Alaska.

Description of Archive or Manuscript Collection: Records of territorial and state officials and agencies, 1874 to present. The collection includes records from the District of Alaska, 1874 to 1911, the Territory of Alaska, 1912 to 1959 and state government, 1959 to present. Records are organized by Record Groups reflecting the agencies of government, and thereunder, by functional series.

Started as the archives and local history collection of the Cook Inlet Historical Society, the collection moved with its artifacts to the present building in 1968. Since that time the collection has grown with financial support from the Municipality of Anchorage and donations from interested citizens. Emphasis has been on Alaskan artists. It is primarily a reference collection for staff and volunteers for preparation of exhibitions and identification of artifacts.

DESCRIPTION OF POLAR COLLECTION: Collection covers most aspects of Alaska history and native culture, with some related Canadian exploration and associated materials. Emphasis is on native cultures, both ancient and contemporary, and local histories from all areas of the state; natural history and hard sciences are not covered. Art as it relates to the North.

ASSOCIATED ARCHIVE OR MANUSCRIPT COLLECTION: Description of Archive or Manuscript Collection: 1. Archives of the Museum - Exhibition program, monthly news letters, Alaska artists files, visuals of juried shows. 2. Local history - diaries, some oral history tapes, some personal papers dealing with Cook Inlet area. Extensive historical photograph collection. Users Policy: Available for use in house.

Additional web address: http://www.libdex.com/data/26/13229.html

The Arctic Environmental Information and Date Center (AEIDC), founded in 1972 as a referral center and applied research center focusing on Alaska's natural resources, is a part of the Environment and Natural Resources Institute (ENRI) of the University of Alaska Anchorage. AEIDC maintains specialized collections of unpublished and difficult-to-find arctic environmental literature both in-house and at the Alaska Resources Library and Information Services. ENRI offers public contractual information services through AEIDC as well as through its Alaska State Climate Center, Alaska Natural Heritage Program, and Resource Solutions. The Alaska State Climate Center houses historic data files on Alaska's climatology and meteorology and conducts weather-related research on such topics as marine ice conditions, snow accumulation, and wind. It also prepares specialized climate reports and data summaries. The Alaska Natural Heritage Program has been developing and maintaining a dynamic biological database on rare and significant Alaska species, communities, habitats, and ecosystems since 1989. It provides biological and related management and land-based information that is useful in land development planning, resource management, applied scientific research, environmental review, and education. Resource Solutions provides assistance for preventing and resolving disputes on public issues.

DESCRIPTION OF POLAR COLLECTION: AEIDC's holdings are almost exclusively in English and consist of 11,500 government publications and microforms, 8,800 bound volumes, and 65 periodical titles. Its collections focus primarily on Alaska- and Arctic-related environmental and natural resources materials, but also includes publications of general historical interest to northern researchers, such as the research reports of the Alaska Historical Commission and the records of the Alaska Packers Association. AEIDC is a repository for most publications of several major University of Alaska research institutes, including the Agricultural Experiment Station, Geophysical Institute, Institute of Arctic Biology, Institute of Marine Science, Institute of Social and Economic Research, Institute of Water Resources, and Sea Grant. AEIDC is also a repository for several state agency publication series, including the Alaska Department of Fish and Game's FRED Division reports and Subsistence Division Technical Paper Series.

Other collections: 1. Arctic Petroleum Operators Association Publications 2. Alaska Oil and Gas Association reports 3. Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities Statewide Research Division Reports 4. National Association of Corrosion Engineers, Alaska Section, Corrosion Book and Technical Reports Collections 5. Alaska Oil Spill Commission Collection 6. Alaska Native Regional Corporation annual reports 7. ARCO Arctic Environmental Reports Collection 8. Alyeska's Port Valdez Environmental Monitoring Studies

Additional web address: ENRI: http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/enri/

The Byrd Polar Research Center Archival Program (BPRCAP) is a collaborative effort of the Byrd Polar Research Center and The Ohio State University Archives. Its mission is to collect, preserve, and provide access to historical documents concerned with polar regions. The goal of the BPRCAP is to make rare or unique historical material about polar exploration and scientific investigation available for use in the context of an active polar research environment. Historical collections contain papers, records, photographs and other forms of documentation concerning explorers, scientists and other figures and organizations prominent in the advancement of knowledge about polar environments.

Library began with beginning of Institute of Polar Studies in 1960. Accessions cover all polar subjects, either through exchange or purchases. Emphasis is toward scientific literature in the physical and biological sciences.

DESCRIPTION OF POLAR COLLECTION: Antarctic and sub-arctic regions: geology, glaciology, meteorology, biology and the history of exploration. Arctic (including Greenland): soil science, engineering, environmental studies, geology, glaciology and social sciences. Alpine (especially Peru, Chile, and Argentina): glaciology, glacial geology.

English-language publications predominate. Russian is the most represented foreign language, with some publications in French, Spanish, German and Scandinavian languages.

Additional web address: The Byrd Polar Research Center Archival Program (BPRCAP) http://library.osu.edu/sites/archives/polar/

Library opened in 1973 with the collection of Dr. Steven B. Young as its nucleus. Since then volumes have been added by gift or purchase. In 1979 the Center received a grant from the National Science Foundation jointly with Middlebury College to assist in the instructional program. Part of the money is specifically earmarked for library development. In 1981, the library was moved into new quarters.

DESCRIPTION OF POLAR COLLECTION: The collection is multidisciplinary (Natural Social Sciences), generally oriented towards north polar regions. English language predominates.

ASSOCIATED ARCHIVE OR MANUSCRIPT COLLECTIONS: Description of Archive or Manuscript Collection: Herbarium, Plant specimens from Alaska, Vermont, Newfoundland, NW Territories and other Canadian provinces. Also some specimens from South Polar regions (about 75 cu. ft.). Open to researchers.

Users Policy: Open to reseachers.

Union Lists in which Holdings are Reported: Vermont Union Catalog.

History of the Collection: The Library at the AMNH opened in 1869 and has continued to serve its primary audience, the scientific staff of the museum, as well as the international scholarly community and interested members of the public. The Chambers Polar Research Collection was created in September 1994 with funding from Kenneth and Ann Chambers, polar enthusiasts, lecturers and guides. Mr. Chambers served on the staff of the Museum's Department of Education for many years.

Description of Polar Collection: The scope of the collection includes general reference works, with an emphasis on three areas: polar exploration and discovery; fauna, geology and ecology; and anthropology and native cultures. Funding for the Chambers Collection has enabled the library to add important serial titles, such as Polar Biology, as well as several hundred monographs.

English language publications predominate, with some publications in French, Spanish, German and others. The library's holdings relating to polar topics number in the thousands. There are 45 polar related books and manuscripts in the Library's Rare Book Collection. Reference

Series include: Antarctic Bibliography. Ed. George A. Doumani. Washington, DC: Library of Congress, 1965. V. 1- 21 Arctic Bibliography. Washington DC: Department of Defense, 1953. V. 1- 16 Bibliography on Cold Regions Science and Technology. Hanover, New Hampshire: Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, 1973. V. 23- 47 Catalogue of the Library of the Arctic Institute of North America. Boston: G. K. Hall & Co., 1968. V. 1-4 Dictionary Catalog of the Stefansson Collection on the Polar Regions in the Dartmouth College Library. Boston: G.K.Hall & Co., 1967. V. 1-8 The Library Catalogue of the Scott Polar Research Institute. Boston: G.K.Hall & Co., 1976. V. 1-19 The Special Collections Department holds the videotapes: Antarctica Week, pts 1-5, 1988; With Byrd at the South Pole, 1928; 90 Degrees South, 1910;

The Photo collection also contains hundreds of black and white prints from various Polar Expeditions. Searching the Chambers Polar Collection. The holding of the AMNH library, including the Chambers Polar Collection, can be searched over the Internet at the following URL:

The library was formed as the U.S. Army Snow, Ice and Permafrost Research Establishment, Wilmette, Illinois, in 1952 and was combined with Arctic Construction and Frost Effect Laboratory to form USACRREL in 1961. The book collection includes background scientific and engineering materials. The Bibliography of Cold Regions Science & Technology has been prepared by the Library of Congress for CRREL since 1951. For a brief period the laboratory was known as the Terrestrial Science Center but returned to the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory name.

DESCRIPTION OF POLAR COLLECTION: The Entire library collection is maintained to support research on physics and mechanics of cold regions materials, and on engineering in cold regions (Arctic, and areas with seasonal cold temperatures); subjects included in book collection are physics, mathematics, chemistry, geography and geology (including glaciology), meteorology, and engineering (especially soil mechanics). The polar collection is interfiled with our basic collection of science and engineering materials with the exception of the Cold Regions Bibliography collection on microfilm and microfiche. 45% of the Bibliography is Russian material with 10% in additional languages other than English.

The Consortium Library serves the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) and Alaska Pacific University (APU), as well as health care practitioners throughout Alaska. The library was formed in 1973 when the libraries of the Anchorage Community College and Alaska Methodist University merged. In 1977 the collection of the Alaska Native Medical Center (Alaska Health Sciences Library) was also merged with the Consortium Library collection. In 1992 the administration of the services of the Alaska Health Sciences Library was transferred to the Consortium Library and the unit was renamed the Health Sciences Information Service. Hours: Mon-Thurs 7:30 AM - 11 PM; Friday 7:30 AM - 6 PM; Saturday 10:00 AM - 6 PM; Sunday 12 noon - 6 PM. Reduced hours between semesters and during the summer.

DESCRIPTION OF POLAR COLLECTION: The polar collection is designated the Alaska Collection and all materials on Alaska are included, with some material on the Arctic and Antarctic regions as well. There is a small rare book collection, consisting primarily of first edition and out of print titles on polar discovery and exploration. The library is a depository for Alaska state documents. In addition, all U.S. documents pertaining to the north are housed in the Alaska Collection. The majority of the collection is in English, with little effort devoted to acquiring non-English materials.

DESCRIPTION OF POLAR COLLECTION: The department was created in the summer of 1979. At the end of 1993 it held over 400 historical manuscripts collections and numerous university record series. The department's holdings amount to over 2,600 cubic feet of records. Collections primarily concern Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. Included are personal papers, organization records, and microfilm copies of government records.

History: The Stefansson Collection was acquired by Dartmouth College in 1951. Founded as the personal library of Vilhjalmur Stefansson, the collection maintains an emphasis on the history of exploration of the polar regions with much of its material relating to Arctic regions. Materials relating to the polar regions outside this emphasis on exploration are classed in other libraries on campus. The collection was completely reprocessed and recataloged in 1981 with much preservation work being done at that time. For an overview of the collection, see Philip N. Cronenwett, "The Stefansson Collection: Past, Present, Future," Proceedings of the Twelfth Northern Libraries Colloquy, INSTAAR Special Publication, Glaciological Data, Report GD-22 (1988), 167-174.

DESCRIPTION OF POLAR COLLECTION: Currently the collection contains some 4,500 monographs, 210 manuscript collections, approximately 25,000 photographs, and ca. 48 linear feet of vertical files. Emphasis is placed on primary research materials relating to the history of the exploration of the Arctic to 1925 and the Antarctic to 1940. Materials are collected in all languages.

Founded in 1922 with less than 3,000 books. First full-time librarian was hired in 1936. After several moves, the library was housed in its present structure in 1969 and a major addition was completed in 1984. The polar collection has grown rapidly since 1970.

DESCRIPTION OF POLAR COLLECTION: Alaska and Polar Regions Department: Collection covers the Arctic, Sub-arctic, and Antarctic in all languages, with a particular emphasis on Alaska. In addition, the collection contains about 4,500 publications on the Russian North, 12,000 on northern Canada, 1,800 on Greenland, and lesser amounts on Iceland, the Scandinavian North and Antarctica.

IN-HOUSE DATABASES: 1. Pioneers of Alaska Index. (All but current indexing is included on PolarPac) 2. Alaska Newspaper Tree Database 3. Alaska Oral Histories Database 4. University of Alaska Fairbanks Thesis and Dissertation Database 5. Wenger Anthropological Eskimo Database 6. Illustrations in Rare Books in Rasmuson Collection Database 7. Manuscript Maps Database 8. Project Jukebox Database (multi-media database to select oral histories)

ASSOCIATED ARCHIVE OR MANUSCRIPT COLLECTIONS: Archive Name: Archives and Manuscript Collections, Alaska and Polar Regions Department, Elmer E. Rasmusson Library, University of Alaska Fairbanks Telephone Number: (907) 474-7261 Description of Archive or Manuscript Collection - Subject Strengths: Alaska-related anthropology, business, history, government, politics, science, church records (Roman Catholic, Episcopal, Russian Orthodox), University of Alaska administration and research units. 1,750 1/2" video tapes; 740 3/4" videos; 5,600 reels of archival movie film; 500,000 historic photographs; 6,000 audio tapes with 25% indexed;

Users Policy: Open to general public and researchers. Open to general public and researchers. Copying Facilities: Photocopying services, photographic reproduction. (Charges are made for these services.) Finding Aids or Description of Collection: Finding aids to most major collections are available. Seven formal indexes have been prepared. A general guide to all of the manuscript collections is available on computer printout. Union Lists in which Holdings are Reported: Some holdings are listed in the National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections. Some holdings are listed on GNOSIS and WLN computer databases.

The original library was built in 1909. It was run by the Episcopal Church until 1942, when it was turned over to the City. The City ran the library until 1968 when it was taken over by the Borough. In 1974 a bond issue was passed to construct a new facility. The present building opened in October 1977. It consists of 44,000 square feet and houses 250,000 items.

DESCRIPTION OF POLAR COLLECTION: The collection is called the Alaskana collection. It consists of works about Alaska and works by Alaskan authors. Because of the proximity of the University Library containing scholarly and research materials, the trend of the collection is more on the popular side.

Before 1966 this library was a field station research collection. Since 1967 it has served the U.S. Forest Service Region 10 as well as the research unit. The research unit has been known as Alaska Forest Research Center, Northern Forest Research Station, and since 1966 has been a division of Pacific NW Forest & Range Experiment Station, Portland, Oregon, as the Institute of Northern Forestry and later Forestry Sciences Laboratory. The unit at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, is now known as Institute of Northern Forestry.

DESCRIPTION OF POLAR COLLECTION: The library collection consists of material on forestry and related disciplines such as entomology, hydrology, botany, geology, pathology. Also included are materials on fisheries and wildlife. Material on southeast Alaska is emphasized, however, information is also collected from Canada, Great Britain, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, China and Japan. The library maintains a complete collection of U.S.D.A. Forest Service Experiment Stations publications.

Additional web address: http://fsinfo.fs.fed.us/cgi-bin/gw/chameleon

Additional Internet resources: http://www.uas.alaska.edu/library/find-articles/subjects/lifesciences.html

The GPRC "Library" is actually a reading room. We have no purchasing funds and rely entirely on donations from various sources. We have a good collection of Russian scientific books, periodicals and reprints. GPRC is a sub-department of the Dept. of Geology & Geophysics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The main Department has a library which has purchasing abilities for the whole Department. The Geology & Geophysics Library absorbed much of our collection when we moved into Weeks Hall in 1974.

DESCRIPTION OF POLAR COLLECTION: The Center Library contains periodicals, books, reports, pamphlets, some reprints, and maps pertaining to the history and research of the Arctic and Antarctic. Special subjects include geophysics and any information regarding polar activities and discoveries. Information contained in the library includes foreign articles in French, German, Japanese, Spanish, Italian, and Russian. Primary users of the library are geology and geophysics professors, research and teaching assistants, and graduate students.

The library was established in 1946 at the same time as the Geophysical Institute. As the northern most special library in the United States, it supports the research of the Geophysical Institute (GI), the International Arctic Research Center (IARC), and the geophysical research community.

DESCRIPTION OF POLAR COLLECTION: The library collects materials in the following areas: atmospheric sciences, aurora, glaciology, global change, ice, meteorology, permafrost, remote sensing, sedimentation, snow, space physics, and volcanology with an emphasis on the arctic regions especially Alaska. Special collections include the Alaska Climate Data, Alaska Department of Transportation, Alaskan Geologic and Mining Theses and Dissertations, Army Meteorological Team Data-Alaska, International Geophysical Year, International Historical Glaciological Collection, and USGS and Bureau of Mines Alaska Publications.

Languages: English as well as Japanese, Russian,and Chinese.

Library holdings can be found in Goldmine, the online catalog used by the University of Alaska Fairbanks and WorldCat, an international catalog of library holdings.

History of Library: Founded in 1948, now contains about 30,000 volumes: one-third monographs, two-thirds scientific and technical journals. Small rare book section of ca. 2500 volumes including a few classics of the polar literature.

DESCRIPTION OF POLAR COLLECTION: In the 1950s and 1960s some polar research was conducted at Phillips and the library acquired current books and journals together with some earlier literature in both categories, but since then very little polar-related research has been performed here and the library has acquired very little polar-related material.

Languages: mainly English, some Russian

The Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR) is an interdisciplinary research institute of the University of Colorado. The study of some of the earth's extreme environments found at high altitudes and high latitudes, or that existed during the Quaternary period, is carried out in the area of ecology, paleoecology, environmental processes and Quaternary research aimed at paleoclimatological interpretations. Geographic areas in which field work is concentrated are alpine Colorado, Alaska, eastern arctic Canada, Greenland, Svalbard, and southern South America.

DESCRIPTION OF POLAR COLLECTION: As one of its several facilities to support research and teaching, INSTAAR maintains a special library, known as the INSTAAR Information Center. This special collection serves to support the research and teaching requirements of INSTAAR faculty, research associates, and graduate students. Connections to the main CU Libraries ensure that users can reach beyond the core collection.

Additional web address: INSTAAR Information Center: http://instaar.colorado.edu/resources/library/

Materials collected since beginning of ice patrol in 1913.

DESCRIPTION OF POLAR COLLECTION: International Ice Patrol related documents dating from commencement of patrol in 1913. Materials are: operational conduct of the patrol and related research on icebergs and ocean currents. Also library on icebreaker cruise reports. Library also contains many photographs.

The Library of Congress is the nation's oldest federal cultural institution, and it serves as the research arm of Congress. It is also the largest library in the world. The collections include more than 18 million books, 2.5 million recordings, 12 million photographs, 4.5 million maps, and 54 million manuscripts. The Library's mission is to make its resources available and useful to the Congress and the American people and to sustain and preserve a universal collection of knowledge and creativity for future generations. The Office of the Librarian is tasked to set policy and to direct and support programs and activities to accomplish the Library's mission. As Librarian of Congress,

COLLECTIONS: Manuscript Division holds very extensive collections relating to the history and development of the polar regions. These include the Archives of the Russian Church in Alaska (removed from Alaska in 1872); the papers of Alexander S. and Nathaniel B. Palmer relating to early nineteenth century America sealing and exploration activities in region of South Shetland Islands and Antarctic Peninsula; and much else.

This project is carried out under an interagency agreement between the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress and the U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL). Its mission is to disseminate information on cold regions science and technology. The staff accomplishes this mission by maintaining and continually updating a database which is an accumulation of over 40 years of materials on the science and technology of the world's cold regions. It contains over 221,000 bibliographic records-- many with abstracts--and is increasing by approximately 3,000 accessions annually. This effort was begun in the 1950s under sponsorship of CRREL and, between 1962 and 1998, by the Office of Polar Programs of the National Science Foundation. For direct access to the database as well as more information on this project, please visit some of our other pages.

DESCRIPTION OF POLAR COLLECTION: Records of Government agencies throughout Alaska, from 1867 to the present, although the bulk of the collection is in the 20th century.

Researchers should note that the collection isn't "polar" per se, but deals with all of Alaska. Some portions date into the 19th century, but records for most agencies date from around the 1920s and later.

DESCRIPTION OF POLAR COLLECTION: Printed Brochure Available: No

Size of Polar Collection: Small

The Library of the National Geographic Society was established in 1920. It is the central research library - with books, maps, magazines and files. It has an online catalog. Its collections are available for use by the public for research purposes. It has a staff of 26, 9 professionals and 15 non- professionals. Hours: 8:30-5:00 pm Monday-Friday.

DESCRIPTION OF POLAR COLLECTION: Antarctic and Arctic regions are covered. The National Geographic Society research reports are part of the collection and include the Peary, Byrd, Macmillan, Ziegler, and U. S. Navy Expeditions. Also, the Herbert G. Ponting Collection (Antarctica) and the library of General A. W. Greely (Arctic) are part of the Library's polar collection.

Open to the public by appointment. Has microfiche collection of full text of majority of documents listed in the Antarctic Bibliography.

Reprints, books, and serials from grantees and institutions received as gifts or by exchange since mid-l96Os.

DESCRIPTION OF POLAR COLLECTION: Scientific and technical literature on recent investigations in the polar regions.

History of Library: The Naval Historical Collection was organized in 1969 as a division of the Naval War College Library. Its main focus was to document and preserve the history of the institution as well as to collect naval papers relating to the history of the Navy in Narragansett Bay. U.S. Naval History, the Navy in Narragansett Bay, Naval Warfare, the Naval War College, Newport, RI. Archives, Manuscripts, Oral Histories and Special Collections are the main components of our holdings.

DESCRIPTION OF POLAR COLLECTION: Charles Stockton papers include a journal (1889-1890) of USS THETIS, cruise in Arctic waters and photographs; George Peterson papers include materials on North Pole Expedition, 1950-1951; Oral history of RADM Richard B. Black, Polar Explorer and Researcher. Microfiche, for Columbia University Oral History Program and oral history of Captain Clarence O. Fiske, USN, who was engaged in Polar research and participated in various Arctic research and construction projects, 1946-1956. Naval War College Oral History Program. Typescript.

Languages: English

COLLECTIONS: Large collection of whaling logbooks

The New York Public Library comprises simultaneously a set of scholarly research collections and a network of community libraries, and its intellectual and cultural range is both global and local, while singularly attuned to New York City. That combination lends to the Library an extraordinary richness. It is special also in being historically a privately managed, nonprofit corporation with a public mission, operating with both private and public financing in a century-old, still evolving private-public partnership. The research collections (for reference only, and organized as The Research Libraries, with four major centers) resemble the holdings of the great national and university libraries, and the community circulating libraries (organized as The Branch Libraries) resemble classic American municipal libraries.

Providence Public Library, founded more than 100 years ago, is a privately-governed institution. It operates a central research library and nine branches. In 1989 the Providence Public Library was designated by law as Rhode Island's Statewide Reference Resource Center. As such, it serves a statewide network of public libraries and a population of approximately 1,003,000 persons. Special Collections at the Providence Public Library consists of several discrete collections with research interest as well as a general collection of rare books. The major collections within this Department are the C. Fiske Harris Collection of Civil War and Slavery, the Danial Berkeley Updike Collection on Printing, the Edith Wetmore Collections of Children's Books, the Potter/Williams Collection on Irish Culture, the Nicholson Whaling Collection, and the Percival Magic Collection. In addition to printed books, these collections include manuscripts, maps, sheet music, prints and photographs, and some scrimshaw, harpoons, ship models, and other realia.

DESCRIPTION OF POLAR COLLECTION: The Nicholson Whaling Collection contains 750 manuscript logbooks, several account books and other manuscripts relating to whaling, over 300 printed books, 77 pieces of scrimshaw, four harpoons, a harpoon gun, three ship models and a narwhal tusk. A significant amount of this material relates to whaling in the polar regions. The logbooks and account books have been microfilmed, and the microfilms can be borrowed on interlibrary loan. The manuscripts range in date from the late eighteenth to the early twentieth centuries.

History of Library: On March 24, 1989, the tanker Exxon Valdez spilled almost 11 million gallons of crude oil into the Prince William Sound, Alaska. Cleanup, damage assessment,and restoration efforts that followed continue to generate large amounts of scientific and economic information. Recognizing the value of this information to the public, the U.S. Department of Justice established Oil Spill Public Information Center (OSPIC). Administration of the OSPIC currently falls under the auspices of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council, a six member panel representing three Federal and three State of Alaska agencies.

DESCRIPTION OF POLAR COLLECTION: The Oil Spill Public Information Center provides public access to information on the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The OSPIC collection includes information for numerous disciplines of the natural and social sciences, economics, and law. Visitors to the OSPIC will find technical reports, books, journals, maps, audio and video tapes, slides, and computerized databases. Special collections include: Natural Resource Damage Assessment Studies, shoreline oiling evaluations, a comprehensive collection of newspaper articles indexed in the Western Library Network's PolarPac CD-ROM and the Administrative Record of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council.

Languages: English

Additional web address: http://www.arlis.org/oillinks.php3

Official repository of records of the Russian Orthodox Church in Alaska. This material is most easily consulted in Alaska State Library which has microfilm copies of the entire manuscript collection.

RLG has merged with OCLC

RLG is a not-for-profit membership corporation of over 160 universities, national libraries, archives, historical societies, and other institutions with remarkable collections for research and learning. Rooted in collaborative work that addresses members' shared goals for these collections, RLG develops and operates information resources used by members and nonmembers around the world. Founded in 1974 and incorporated in 1975 by Columbia, Harvard, and Yale Universities and The New York Public Library, RLG was conceived to help achieve the economies and power of service that come from pooling resources, expertise, and operations. The organization became a pioneer in developing cooperative solutions to the problems that research collections and their users face in the acquisition, delivery, and preservation of information. Today RLG is an international member alliance, including universities and colleges, national libraries, archives, historical societies, museums and independent research collections, and public libraries. To develop, coordinate, and operate their joint initiatives, RLG provides a highly skilled staff, sophisticated technical resources, and a long, successful track record in managing and supporting interactions among its members.

Libraries cooperative maintaining the Research Libraries Information Network (RLIN) bibliographic file and CitaDel online host and document delivery service.

In 1957, the American Geographical Society (AGS) was designated as the U.S. World Data Center (WDC) for Glaciology under Director William O. Field. In part, the AGS was chosen as a repository for these materials because of their extensive holdings of glaciological materials dating back to the International Polar Year in 1882-1883.

The collections of the WDC formed the core of the present day Archives and Resource Center. In 1976, the United States Geological Survey transferred responsibility for the WDC to its current location at the University of Colorado in Boulder under the direction of Dr. Roger G. Barry. In the decades since the move, the Archives and Information Center's collections have continued to expand through purchases and donations by scientists and historians from around the world.

The Antarctic Circle occasionally plans and holds informal conferences on south polar subjects.

The Club was founded in New York City in 1905, and from the start a library was established. The accession of early material for the library was funded in the 1920s by James B. Ford after whom the library is named. The Sir Edmund Hillary Map Room has a small collection of maps. Bi-annual Friends of the Library events are held to thank our supporters who raise all acquisition funds. Most materials are gifts of authors and books sent for review by publishers.

DESCRIPTION OF POLAR COLLECTION: Approximately 1500 volumes in the General and Reserve collections. Adm. Robert E. Peary's son and daughter donated their collections to the Club in 1965. In addition, there is a small case of books donated by the widow of Sir Hubert Wilkins relating to polar matters.

Archives: Small. Records of the Arctic Club, the Peary Arctic Club and those of the Explorers Club make up the bulk of the 12 4-drawer cabinets. Various early photo albums from Albert Operti, Peary expeditions, etc.

Languages: English, some Scandinavian, French and Italian editions.

Additional web address: Native American library collection: http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/collections/HFL.html

Not a separate library or collection on polar resources. Because of Coast Guard interest in ice, Alaska, etc., the Coast Guard Academy Library includes a number of books in the general collection.

DESCRIPTION OF POLAR COLLECTION: Subjects include ice, ice-breaking vessels, Alaska, polar regions, Arctic regions, Antarctic regions, North Pole, South Pole.

Description of Archive or Manuscript Collection: Record Group 401 - National Archives Gift Collection of Historical Material Relating to the Polar Regions - is designed to serve as a depository for gifts of collections of papers from individuals pertaining to operational, research, and other types of U.S. activities in the polar regions. The primary objectives are to preserve, arrange and describe polar-related records and to facilitate research. Record Group 401 has approximately 140 separate gift collections totalling 1,105 cubic feet. Among the donations are papers and historical materials of Louise A. Boyd, Bernt Balchen, Svend Frederiksen, William Carlson, E.J. Demas, Carl Eklund, Charles J. Hubbard, Robert E. Peary, Russell W. Porter, Thomas Poulter, Harold Saunders and Paul A. Siple. Federal Records include: RG 126 - U.S. Antarctic Service; RG 307 - National Science Foundation, Division of Polar Programs; RG 313 - Records of Naval Operating Force, Naval Support Forces, Antarctica; RG 330 - Office of the Secretary of Defense, U.S. Antarctic Projects Officer, 1949-1965; RG 27 - Weather Bureau, Polar Expeditions, 1881-1965.

Union Lists in which Holdings are Reported: 1. Partial listing in the National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections.

The Russian American Collection gathered for H.H. Bancroft's History of Alaska, includes much manuscript material for the early history of Alaska and the Yukon.

Additional web address: http://www.libdex.com/data/19/9830.html

Library of the polar scholar William Herbert Hobbs. In addition to many books, this includes a large quantity of correspondence to and from figures such as Amundsen, Byrd, Freuchen, Mawson, Nansen and Peary, as well as materials relating to the four University of Michigan expeditions to Greenland led by Hobbs.

Much published, unpublished and photographic material relating to the early history of Alaska and the Yukon, particularly gold rush, steamships, etc.

Additional web address: http://www.lib.washington.edu/suzzallo/

Extensive library rich in polar material, particularly for the early history of Antarctic exploration. Archives include papers relating to Edmund Fanning and Lincoln Ellsworth.

The USARC is the United States contribution to the SCAR Library system and is managed through an interagency agreement with the National Science Foundation which also provides support to the USGS for mapping and geodetic activities of the U.S. Antarctic Program. For further information or assistance in ordering any of these materials, write to or visit the USARC at the USGS National Center, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, MS 515, Reston, VA 20192, between the hours of 9:00a.m. and 3:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, or contact us for an appointment.

COLLECTIONS: Aerial photographs, maps, charts and satellite images of the Antarctic.

The library's collections have grown through gifts and purchases since the Society's founding in 1903. In June 1981, a new building was completed to house the collections in an environment which would enhance accessibility while ensuring their security and preservation.

DESCRIPTION OF POLAR COLLECTION: The library of the Old Dartmouth Historical Society contains the most comprehensive single collection of published works pertaining to the history of the American whaling industry. The collection includes logbooks and journals kept on northern voyages, related business records of whaleship agents and published accounts pertaining to the arctic fishery. Microfilm holdings reflect the acquisition of the International Marine Archives, Inc., formerly of Nantucket.

The Wildlife Library was begun several years ago to make various publications, documents and reprints available to faculty, staff and students since periodicals can not be checked out from the main campus library. Major emphasis for the reprint collection has been obtaining arctic region bird and mammal articles.

DESCRIPTION OF POLAR COLLECTION: Publications on arctic birds and mammals: including management, basic biology, ecology, physiology, behavior.