The Alaska Collection encourages the appreciation and enjoyment of Alaska's history, culture, development, institutions, and natural resources and is relevant to the study and understanding of the state. This extensive collection includes materials available to assist those conducting research as well as those interested in a weekend read about Alaska's people and historic events.
Alaska Research Guides
Unangax̂ (Aleut) & Alutiiq (Sugpiaq) Guide
Iñupiaq & St. Lawrence Island Yupik Guide
Eyak, Tlingit, Haida, & Tsimshian Guide
Note: Historical documents and publications may not refer to Alaska Native and indigenous peoples in a way considered culturally appropriate or sensitive. Depending on your research, you may find that pejorative or outdated terminology is used.
Alaska Legal Materials Toolkit
Alaska Research Guide - Genealogy How-to
Alaska Research Guide - Genealogy Resources at Loussac Library
Loussac Collection
In his last will and testament, Zachariah Joshua Loussac set aside “all of my Sydney Laurence and Eustace P. Ziegler paintings unto the city of Anchorage… with the request that all of such paintings be hung and displayed in the building known as the Loussac Public Library…” Now known as The Loussac Collection, these paintings are part of Alaska Collection housed at the Z. J. Loussac Library. The highlights of the Loussac Collection are Laurence’s watercolors, his “Cape St. Elias” and “Mount McKinley From the Headwaters of the Tokacheetna River”. Rather than the landscapes featured in Laurence’s art, Ziegler made people the focus of his work. His three Native portraits are typical of the many he did during his Alaskan residency.
Alaska Resources on the Internet
Anchorage 1910-1940 'Legends & Legacies' - Cook Inlet Historical Society was the prime sponsor for project initiated by the late John Bagoy, long time member of the society, which features the people who lived and settled in Anchorage in the early 20th century.
Alaska's Digital Archives - a single easy to use location for Alaska institutions sharing their historical resources.
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps of Alaska - Sanborn map collection consists of a uniform series of large-scale maps, dating from 1867 to the present of some twelve thousand cities and towns in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Alaska Wildlife Notebook Series - an online encyclopedia of Alaska wildlife.
Alaska Polar and Periodical Index (APPI) - Alaska and Polar Periodical Index cites articles about Alaska, northern Canada, northern Scandinavia, the Russian Far East, and Antarctica. APPI does not contain the full-text of those articles. Coverage is from the 1980s to 2016.