The Spellman Museum Library

​The Museum has an extensive collection of philatelic literature. The collection is international in scope and includes books and periodicals about stamps and postal history, as well as the history of philately and related subjects.  Books and periodical holdings are indexed separately.  The Spellman also has extensive worldwide collections and exhibits of stamps and postal history available to members and researches for reference and study by appointment. 

CIRCULATION POLICY: Most books and audio-visual resources in the Spellman Library may be borrowed for up to four weeks by members, trustees, staff and volunteers of the museum. Check at the museum for details. Visitors to the museum are welcome to use materials in the library. A growing number of our library holdings, including the periodical collection and many of the Spellman Library’s books and AV resources, are listed in the online Philatelic Union Catalog  1549.sydneyplus.com/final/Portal.aspx. Make sure to search by LAST NAME first. This database includes the holdings of over a dozen North American philatelic libraries, such as the American Philatelic Society’s Research Library and the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum Library. For a complete survey of the Spellman Library’s holdings, please also check the card catalog in the museum library.



Museum's Philatelic Collection

In addition to its more than 9,000 book and monograph titles  and over 2,000 runs of different periodicals, the Spellman Museum of Stamps & Postal History has:
  • 1,000 catalogs (general and specialized)
  • Extensive runs of auction catalogs and price lists (only specialized and rarity sales are cataloged)
  • Over 1000 Stamp show programs and palmares (not cataloged)
  • Copies of philatelic exhibits
  • CDs, DVD-ROMs, videocassettes, slides, films, filmstrips
  • Bibliographies, indexes, maps, and atlases
  • Éire Philatelic Association Library (available for loan to Association members)
  • Mobile Post Office a Society Library (available for loan to MPOS members)
  • Educational Resource Center with resources for educators
  • Special collections and archives (not cataloged)
  • United States Postal Stationery literature and price lists
  • Children’s literature featuring stories about  stamps and the mail
  • Vertical files of philatelic research and clippings
  • Postal administration catalogs
  • Philatelic sheet music​

Philatelic Union Catalog

Books held by the Spellman Museum are listed in the catalog in the library. A growing number of titles are also cataloged online in the David Straight Philatelic Union Catalog, maintained by the APS’s American Philatelic Research Library.  Click here to connect:
​1549.sydneyplus.com/final/Portal.aspx

​Global Philatelic Library
The Global Philatelic Library is an initiative to provide a consolidated listing of philatelic publications, archives, museum items etc. held by libraries.
So far 27 libraries have contributed their listings. More information is at www.globalphilateliclibrary.org/

Postmark Collectors Club Museum
This museum is located in Bellevue, Ohio
For more information click: www.postmarks.org/