Tara Murray with her Certificate of Appreciation presented by the Sequoia Stamp Club. Photo by Ken Perkins
Tara Murray, Director of Information Services/Librarian of the American Philatelic Research Library in Bellefonte, PA, visits the Sequoia Stamp Club in Redwood City, CA, on the evening of April 23, 2013.
The APRL has one of the world’s largest and most accessible collections of philatelic literature. It’s nearly three miles of shelving contain more than 21,000 book titles and 5,700 journal titles.
Library services are available in person, online or through email.
Services Include:
Search the online catalog of the APRL’s extensive collection of book titles, journal holdings, articles, and auction catalogs. In addition to the catalog, the APRL uses the Piper File, a card index of most U.S. philatelic periodicals from the 1880s through the late 1960s. The library will photocopy Piper File references on your topic, so you can select appropriate periodical articles. Request books and articles right from the catalog using the cart feature.
Borrow up to five books at a time by mail. All borrowed material must be returned using delivery confirmation. In some cases the library will ask you to have insurance coverage. See user fees to the right and read our Circulation Policy for more information.
Request Photocopies or Scans of selections from books, articles, individual journal indexes, Piper file cards (1880s-1969), Stamp Lover Index, Harris Index, etc. The APRL provides copies in compliance with U.S. Code Title 17 (copyright code). See user fees to the right.
Get Answers – from the Library’s friendly and knowledgable staff.
Tara Murray of the APRL tackles a tough question from Jim Giacomazzi, past president of the Sequoia Stamp Club, and club member Jim Mosso. Photo by Ken Perkins
Interlibrary Loan – The APRL loans materials to non-members through the Interlibrary Loan System. To request an interlibrary loan, see your local library. The APRL does not loan materials directly to non-members and interlibrary loan requests must come from a library. The same user fees apply.
Learn more and search the library on their website.