Entry No. 3 — the Anchorage file — filed under: oddities
ARLIS Wildlife Realia Collection (Alaska Resources Library)
“reportedly the only library in the U.S. with a trove like this”
A working research library that quietly lends out taxidermy: since 1997 the Alaska Resources Library has amassed hundreds of furs, skulls, baleen, polar bear paws, whole mounted ducks and other 'realia' from the Dept. of Fish and Game's furs-mounts-skulls collection. Anyone with an Anchorage, UAA or ARLIS library card can check a specimen out for two weeks, signing a statement of responsibility and keeping mounts in the library's Plexiglas cases. It is reportedly the only library in the U.S. with a trove like this.
The story
In 1997, eight Alaskan state, federal, and university agencies—including the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, the Bureau of Land Management, and the National Park Service—consolidated their research libraries under one roof on the University of Alaska Anchorage campus. Tucked into Suite 111 on the first floor of the Consortium Library on Providence Drive, ARLIS (Alaska Resources Library and Information Services) exists primarily as a quiet research repository stocked with environmental reports, maps, and technical databases. But along with the government paperwork came Fish and Game’s working 'FMS' (furs, mounts, skulls) collection, originally assembled for wildlife education and field identification.
Rather than stashing these specimens behind museum glass or storing them in a basement vault, ARLIS cataloged them straight into the public lending database. It stands as the only library in the United States where you can check out genuine taxidermy like a paperback book. As long as you hold an Anchorage, UAA, or ARLIS library card, you can walk in, browse shelves of archival boxes, sign a statement accepting financial responsibility, and carry home a wolf pelt, a walrus skull, or a mounted puffin in your backseat for a two-week loan.
The loan logs reveal an unusually specific slice of Alaskan community life. Science teachers borrow mounted rockfish and fawns for biology demonstrations, local Boy Scout troops check out bear and wolf furs for ceremony rituals, and neighborhood hosts regularly reserve a snowy owl mount to act as Hedwig for Harry Potter parties. Prop handlers even borrowed pieces for the 2013 Nicolas Cage film *The Frozen Ground*. Aside from a massive black bear mount that stays rooted to the floor due to its sheer bulk, virtually the entire collection of native Alaskan realia—from polar bear paws to baleen—is available for home borrowing.
What it's like
Head into the UAA/APU Consortium Library off Providence Drive, park in the permit- or meter-controlled campus lots, and make your way to Suite 111 on the first floor. ARLIS does not put on a carnival show; it looks like a serious academic reference library with quiet stacks and study terminals. Walk up to the reference desk—staffed on weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.—and ask staff to point you toward the realia room behind an unmarked door. There, you'll find shelves loaded with archival boxes and tagged specimens. If you hold an Anchorage public library card, you can sign the responsibility waiver and carry your specimen out in its protective Plexiglas box. Browsing remains open into evenings and weekends whenever the main Consortium building is open, but visit during weekday desk hours if you want staff assistance with checking an item out.
The move: Go browse the open shelves of skulls and pelts together, then actually check out a wolf fur or a walrus skull on a library card and take your strange borrowed companion home for a two-week 'guest.'
📍 Before you go ARLIS sits on the first floor of the UAA/APU Consortium Library on the University of Alaska Anchorage campus, off Providence Drive in Midtown. The realia lives behind an unmarked door inside the library, so head to the ARLIS reference desk and ask staff to point you toward it. The desk is staffed on weekdays, though the collection stays browsable into evenings and weekends whenever the Consortium Library building is open — worth confirming current hours before a trip. Campus parking is paid and permit-controlled, so build that in. Easy to pair with a wander around the wider UAA campus.
- 📍 University/UAA area (Midtown Anchorage)
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Low-key
- 🌗 Indoors
Pair it with
- UAA Planetarium & Visualization Theater — Walk three minutes across campus after browsing animal skulls to sit under a 33-foot dome for laser-projected deep-space visual shows.
- Alaska Fur Exchange — If checking out wolf pelts on a library card leaves you wanting to buy one, head two miles south to this crammed Old Seward Highway trading shop.
- Wendy Williamson Auditorium — Double down on UAA campus oddities by walking half a mile to an auditorium famous for local ghost stories and an elevator shaft to nowhere.
Good to know
Where inside the library is the realia collection located?
It lives inside Suite 111 on the first floor of the UAA/APU Consortium Library on the University of Alaska Anchorage campus, behind an unmarked door near the ARLIS reference desk.
What library card do I need to check out taxidermy?
You need a valid Anchorage Public Library card, a UAA card, or an ARLIS borrower card, plus a signed statement accepting financial responsibility for the item.
Can I remove mounted specimens from their plastic boxes?
No. Loaned mounts must remain secured inside their clear Plexiglas cases with official tags attached for the duration of the two-week borrowing period.
Are all items in the collection available for check-out?
Nearly all of them are, except for a full-sized mounted black bear that remains permanently on display because it is too large to transport safely.
What hours can I browse the collection?
The ARLIS reference desk is staffed Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., but the stacks remain accessible during general Consortium Library opening hours on evenings and weekends.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: smithsonianmag.com · Official site
last checked: 2026-06-06