ACC Library and Archives

The library collection numbers approximately 3,500 titles. The bulk of the library is currently in storage awaiting a new venue. A select few library books are temporarily housed at the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies in Banff, AB, which is open to the public for viewing and research in that building during regular hours. For a list of the ACC books that are in the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, visit: https://archives.whyte.org/en/list?q=acc&p=1&ps=20. In the drop down box below the label “LIBRARY” select ACC, then click on Submit Query. If you are looking for a particular book, you can use this search function to find it using key words.

A complete list of ACC library books can be found in the Library Catalogue PDF
Note: this is a large file and can take over a minute to load even with a high speed internet connection.

Club’s volunteer librarian, a member of the Club’s Mountain Culture Committee, is responsible for purchasing books to add to the collection of Canadian materials and international materials by well-known authors. The library does not collect ‘coffee table books’ or maps.

The Library Conservation Fund was set up through an initial donation from Mrs. Marcella Bell in 1993, and also received a substantial donation from Bev Bendel in 2007, for the maintenance of the library collection. For a time the collection was housed in the Vancouver Public Library and they had attached labels to the spines for shelving purposes. A set of archival conservators are now in the process of removing these labels and doing some restoration to the books. If you are visiting the Whyte Museum, ask to see a set of ‘before’ and ‘after’ photos.

The Bev Bendell Library Fund was renamed in 2007 in honour of long-time member and past Club Librarian Bev Bendell who donated $100,000 to the Club’s Library Fund. It is a permanent legacy for the Alpine Club of Canada’s library and publications as only the annual investment income is spent each year. These funds are managed by the Mountain Culture Committee.

The ACC archives are owned, housed and cared for by the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies in the Town of Banff. The staff at the Museum manage the ACC information and assist in its retrieval through general indexing. The Museum stores the items in environmentally controlled conditions which help ensure their long-term security and preservation. These records are available for research during the Archives’ hours (generally 1-5 pm). The Whyte Museum can be found on the Internet at www.whyte.org.

“In one sense, archives are a special kind of information: unpublished documentary records of organizations and individuals generated in the course of their day to day activities and kept permanently for posterity. In another sense, an archives is also an agency dedicated to preserving and allowing retrieval of archival records. However, in spite of their vital importance, records and the information they contain have often been neglected and destroyed with little thought of the long-term consequences. Like our natural environment, society’s documentary heritage needs to be managed, preserved and used responsibly. Archives exist to ensure that society’s valuable documentary resources are sustained through an ‘ecology of information’ for the benefit of present and future generations.”

– excerpt from Archives: Information Ecology, published by the ASA, ARC and ACA.

The archives of the ACC are invaluable to both staff, volunteers and researchers seeking information on the history of the Club. The donation of archival documents by individuals is immeasurable to the retention of our history. However, donors should be aware that the Whyte Museum has a collections policy which items must adhere to. Contact the Head Archivist at the Whyte Museum 403.762.2291, ext. 327 for questions regarding the ACC archives. For more information visit: Archives at the Whyte Museum of the Rockies.