The Angeles Chapter library is a one-of a kind collection of mountaineering writings and culture.
This month, we received a very generous donation of books from Alan Stamm. Alan has been a member of the Sierra Club for 64 years, and a life member for the majority of that time. Alan worked as a general counsel for multiple Fortune 500 companies, but his love has always been the mountains. Over the course of his life, he's traveled the world, collecing a magnficent collection of books, periodicals and art, much of it documenting the profound beauty and stunning expanse of the natural world.
Like most of our library donations, Alan contacted us to say that he was downsizing his home and wondering if the chapter would be interested in some of his collection. Thus began multiple rounds of assessing and reviewing books to determine which ones would add to the collection, and which ones would be sold for the benfit of the Sierra Club Foundation.
When I first began my role as Chapter Director, I was unaware that the chapter's library was so significant. I remember my first week on the job browsing through some of our rare early editions of John Muir, Ansel Adams, Edward Abbey and more and realizing what an honor it would be to steward this collection. The Chapter is seeking a new volunteer librarian -- you can apply at this link.
Pictured here is Glenn Pascall, former Chapter Librarian, along with Alan in front of one room of Alan's collection. Glenn came out of 'retirement' as librarian to receive this donation, and I was thrilled to accompany and support. We had so many books that my pickup truck was required to transport them!
