The Mountaineers Club Library is an outstanding collection of current and historic mountaineering/outdoor oriented books, periodicals/magazines, newsletters, videos, DVDs and 100 years of Club records. The Library’s extensive collection of mountaineering journals dates back to the Civil War era. In addition to outdoor recreation there is also an emphasis on conservation/environmental issues, human and natural history.
The Library’s current and historic sources of information focus on non-motorized outdoor recreation, such as all aspects of mountain climbing, cross country scrambling, hiking, all types of cross country skiing, snowshoeing, sailing and kayaking. To support these activities the Library has an extensive collection of guidebooks to the primary outdoor recreational areas in the USA and throughout the world.
The Library is open to the public for on site research; however, one has to be a member of The Mountaineers or the Friends of The Mountaineers Library support group to check out materials. A part-time professional staff librarian and numerous dedicated volunteers manage the Library.
The Library began in 1915 when The Mountaineers joined the Bureau of Associated Mountain Clubs of North America and received among the other benefits of membership, several new books on mountaineering and related topics. By 1940 this handful of books had expanded to a collection of 350 books and journals, mainly through donations, exchanges, and club-approved purchases. In 1963 this modest collection was greatly enhanced by the donation of the substantial holdings of Paul Billingsley, which included many classic mountaineering titles. The estates of club members Paul Shorrock [1983] and Victor Josendal [1990] further enriched the Library’s outstanding holdings.
The Mountaineers Library is located on the upper level of the Club’s Headquarters Building at 7700 Sand Point Way NE in Seattle’s Magnuson Park. For more information go to: www.mountaineers.org/library/. You can browse the online catalog at http://mountaineers.library.net/
Foundation Support
The Friends of the Mountaineers Library Fund was established by the Foundation in 2004 to support and enhance the Library through new acquisitions, enhancement of library services, and increased connectivity to the community of outdoor enthusiasts. The fund, along with support from the Foundation's General Fund has provided 100% of the operating funding for the library since 2004. The Foundation also provided a grant of $4000 to enhance the cataloging of printed materials, and another grant of $1,494 for training of the part-time staff librarian.
Your help is critical to maintain this important resource to the mountaineering community and the general public. Please consider a donation to the Friends of the Mountaineers Library Fund.
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