Western Philatelic Library
library
The Western Philatelic Library is a privately funded philatelic library located in Redwood City, California. The 3000-square-foot library is open to public and has about 200 members. The library is administered by the Friends of Western Philatelic Library, Inc. and staffed by volunteers.
History
The library was originally founded as South Bay Philatelic Library in 1969 by Roger Skinner and other philatelists with space provided by the Sunnyvale Public Library in Sunnyvale, California. The library's core collection came from the Pacific Philatelic Society.
In 2014, the library relocated from Sunnyvale to 3004 Spring Street in Redwood City, California.
Legal status
The library is registered with the United States Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation and donations are treated as a charitable deduction for the purposes of United States Federal Income Tax.
Mission statement
"The Western Philatelic Library exists to enhance the preservation and dissemination of philatelic knowledge by acquiring, organizing, interpreting and distributing information resources in a globally networked community.
Our Commitments:
to build and conserve a world class collection of printed, electronic and other media;
to support, extend and enrich the pursuit of knowledge and enjoyment through stamp collecting;
to provide access and support for beginners, hobbyists, specialists, writers, and postal historians;
to promote knowledge through public educational events and displays; and
to collaborate and cooperate with other libraries and philatelic groups throughout the world."
Collections
The library collection includes 14,000 books and pamphlets, 5000 bound volumes of journals, 6000 general and specialty catalogues.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Western Philatelic Library” as library. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as library. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 27, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7988163. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1969 and 2014.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Western Philatelic Library”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Western Philatelic Library primary sources, Western Philatelic Library archive and Western research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Western Philatelic Library”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Western Philatelic Library” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.