The Spellman Museum library is open during public hours. It houses an extensive collection of philatelic literature, including thousands of books, catalogs, audiovisual media, and periodical titles. The collection is international in scope and includes resources about stamps, stamp collecting, and postal history. The library’s rich collection is open to visitors to the museum.

Have reference questions or need help in finding a resource? Email staff librarian Jeffrey Brigham at library@spellmanmuseum.org for assistance or to make a research appointment.

Deep and Helpful Resources

Whether for leisure reading, identifying stamps, researching your collection, or creating an exhibit, the library has useful resources. The library collection includes hundreds of periodical titles and over 15 shelves of Scott, Gibbons, Michel and other catalogs. The collection also includes thousands of books on postal history and rates, specific stamp series, and various types of stamps and postal stationery from the U.S and abroad, among many other subjects. We also house the collection of the Eire Philatelic Association, which is available for loan to EPA and Museum members.

finding library material

The Philatelic Union Catalog. lists most of the holdings of the Museum’s library, as well as the American Philatelic Society’s Research Library, the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum library, and several other philatelic libraries across the U.S. and Canada. Links to these libraries’ websites are included in the Philatelic Union Catalog. Note that some of the Museum’s library holdings are still only listed in the card catalog in the library.

The Global Philatelic Library is also useful for identifying resources, with the listing of items held by philatelic libraries in Europe and Australia.

Borrowing books

Most books and audio-visual resources in the Spellman Library may be borrowed for up to four weeks by museum members and its trustees, staff and volunteers.

Museum members who are unable to borrow books in person may request books by mail. To cover our costs, please plan on the following fees:

$10 preparation fee, $3 for the first book, and $1 for each additional book.

Books should be returned within four weeks of receipt, in a secure container, and with postal insurance. Please allow a few days to process and ship your request.