The Western Philatelic Library was organized as the South Bay Philatelic
Library (SBPL) in 1969. At that time, the Sunnyvale (California) Public Library
provided space for SBPL in the mezzanine of its new building. By 1971, as
the size, importance, and mission of the philatelic library had grown from
its original local frame of reference to the point were it was deemed appropriate
to change the name to the Western Philatelic Library.
The Western Philatelic Library is composed of several important, historic
collections. The oldest component is part of the collection of Hiram Edmund
Deats, who was a born in New Jersey in 1870, and whose philatelic collections
were assembled from 1886 onward. Deats was a founding member of the then
newly formed American Philatelic Association (APA), which was a precursor
to the American Philatelic Society (APS) formed in 1886. Deats was very active
in many philatelic circles as a collector and an exhibitor, and he formed
a philatelic library second, at that time, only to the John K. Tiffany Library.
In the APA/APS, Deats served as Secretary, Librarian, Vice President, and
President. His library indexes and annual reports on literature prepared
for APA are of lasting reference value. He was also the founding Librarian
of the Collectors Club of New York. On his death his literature collection
went to the Philadelphia Free Library (originally started as the first public
library in the colonies by Ben Franklin), and a part of the Deats library
was later sold through auction to Dr. Don Dahlquist, a prominent Houston
(Texas) surgeon..
Dahlquist also acquired the stock of duplicate or overrun material produced
by the APS. This material had originally been purchased by George Turner,
curator of the Philatelic Section of the Smithsonian. All of Dahlquist's
library was purchased by the Friends of The Western Philatelic Library (FWPL)
through the negotiations of Herb Trenchard in 1971, when Dahlquist decided
to sell his library due to reasons of health. FWPL member Jim Strietweister
took over the packing and transportation of the collection from Texas to
Sunnyvale, California. The material, which consisted of 329 cartons and weighing
nearly 18,000 pounds, was packed in a rental truck by an enthusiastic crew
of college students who worked all night.
Pacific Philatelic Society (PPS)
The Pacific Philatelic Society was founded in 1884 by such notables as Henry
J. Crocker, John N. Luff, Dr. E. S. Clark, H. B. Philips, and W. Sellschopp.
The Pacific Philatelic Society formed a library collection housed first at
126 Kearny Street in San Francisco. In 1900 it became housed in the building
of the Mechanics Institute, which was lost in the 1906 earthquake. After
about three years the library was rebuilt.
Another group, the San Francisco Philatelic Society, which was formed in
1915, grew to become the largest philatelic organization in the U.S. by 1925
with 225 members. The depression affected both the Pacific Philatelic Society
and the San Francisco Philatelic Society, which merged in 1937, under the
joint name of the San Francisco-Pacific Philatelic Society (SF-PPS). SF-PPS
later loaned its library to the Philatelic Research Society (PRS), a group
organized in 1953, as a result of another independently organized library,
the Cano Library of Juan Gualtero-Cano. The PRS built their library in Oakland,
California, in the basement floor of the home of Fredrick B. Thomas, who
was APS President from 1961 to 1965. For fifteen years, PRS held their meetings
in the Thomas home.
In 1968 it became necessary to place the library holdings in storage. In
1972, the PRS library merged its collection with the collections of the Western
Philatelic Library. The PRS has continued to meet, and the members were
eventually made life members of FWPL.
The merger of the holdings of PRS and WPL was worked out between Jack Hughes,
an Oakland stamp dealer, and Jim Jefferson, past president of SBPL. The physical
transfer of 189 boxes of material (weighing 15,120 pounds and containing
2000 reference texts, plus handbooks, pamphlets and periodicals) was accomplished
in August, 1972, and located in space in the basement of the Sunnyvale Public
Library.
Many of the prime pieces of the WPL collection can be traced by their bookplates
which reflect their various homes of the items over the last century. The
strength of the current library stems from the accumulated foundation of
all these former notable collections and the tradition of donating books
and personal libraries to the WPL.
The WPL Transferred Back to FWPL
A 1994 study by the Sunnyvale City Library indicated a need for expansion
of the general collection but a lack of library building space. In 1995 a
study of the philatelic collection usage suggested the need to shift the
collection into an area of the Raynor Activity Center which had recently
been vacated by the Patent Library. At this time the FWPL agreed to operate
the WPL with volunteer help. Under these circumstances, the Sunnyvale City
Council approved the shift and returned ownership of the collection to FWPL.
It seems appropriate to offer a description of the library at this time for
the historical record and for those distant members who do not get an opportunity
to visit the library. What makes up the Western Philatelic Library?: The
main collection consists of books, periodicals, pamphlets, and catalogs,
plus tear sheets and duplicate books for sale. Located 40 miles south of
San Francisco, the Western Philatelic Library is one of the largest public
philatelic libraries in the United States today, containing over 3000 linear
feet of shelving full of books, catalogs and bound periodicals, plus 48 file
drawers of unbound periodicals and 30 drawers of pamphlets with a 15 drawer
index. The computerized catalog in 2001 lists 13,000 books and pamphlets,
4000 bound volumes of journals, 2000 stamp catalogs, and 2000 auction catalogs
from the USA and around the world. Our collection includes works in
over a dozen languages in addition to English.
A library is not a static an entity of books and other media sitting on shelves.
On the contrary, the library is ever-changing and requires the work of many
dedicated people. Frequently, specific tasks undertaken by volunteers are
ongoing for many years. Tasks which are virtually endless include: cataloging,
binding, listing periodicals, listing tear sheets, acquisition, sorting through
an ever increasing backlog of donated material, editing and mailing of The
Bay Phil newsletter, negotiating new directions for housing, mergers
and cross-cataloging with other libraries so that inter-library loans can
be made. Any one of these activities represents a genuine challenge and
acceptance of a tremendous burden by the dedicated volunteers who keep it
all going and growing.
Our primary sources for library material are from ongoing donated materials
and donated cash to fund our acquisition programs. Negotiations to incorporate
orphaned libraries, both public and private, into the WPL collections are
always being considered. Efforts to affect mergers of WPL with other libraries
are also often being pursued. Perhaps the most major issue facing WPL is
to find adequate housing for the collections of the library, where our valuable
library materials can be properly preserved to the benefit of collectors
and the general public worldwide.
At present, the main collection is housed in 3000 square feet of donated
space. The rest of the collection is scattered over four other locations,
wherever donated storage can be obtained. Our greatest long-range goal
for the WPL is consolidation of all resources in one location. The goal is
to house all of the materials in a space owned by the Library. Help us
build the future. Become a Member and an active donor to the Western
Philatelic Library.