About the Library
The Sealaska Heritage Library houses over 4,500 historical and contemporary books and periodicals on Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian culture, history, and language. These books include the works of scientists and scholars in art, history, anthropology, ethnology, archaeology, and social and natural sciences, as well as historical and descriptive accounts and observations by explorers, missionaries, travelers, and naturalists. The collection includes historical and contemporary educational publications, curriculum materials, language texts, and translations. SHI houses many rare and out-of-print books, trade books, and publications by university presses and museums. While the collection focuses on the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian peoples of Southeast Alaska, historical and contemporary publications on other peoples of the Northwest Coast in Canada and the United States are also collected and maintained. Furthermore, the institute gathers important publications related to salient social and cultural issues facing Alaska's Natives and Native Americans in the continental United States.
Accessing the Library
You can search our library online. SHI's books and archival collections are cataloged in OCLC WorldCat, the Capital Cities Library Information Center, and the Anchorage Consortium Library. Member libraries of the CCLIC include the Alaska State Library, the University of Alaska Southeast's Egan Library, and the three branches of the Juneau Public Libraries. The Anchorage Consortium Library catalog showcases our library's holdings to all libraries in the Anchorage area and those outside of Anchorage via the University of Alaska Anchorage/Alaska Pacific University extension campus libraries in places like Kodiak, Kenai, and Eagle River.
When you know what library books you want to access, please write down the details of the materials (library call number) and make an appointment to visit our facility by contacting archives staff at SHIArchives@sealaska.com. The reading room is open to researchers Monday through Friday from 10 am-4 pm (closed 12-1) by appointment.