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.