The Stamp Collecting Center of the Rocky Mountain West 

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Hours of Operation

Monday	10am-4pm
Tuesday	10am-4pm
Wednesday	10am-4pm
Thursday	2pm-8pm
Friday	10am-4pm
Saturday	10am-4pm
Sunday	Closed

Location

2038 S. Pontiac Way
Denver, CO 80224

Phone

(303) 759-9921

A Quick Look at "OUR" History and Building

The Rocky Mountain Philatelic Library had its beginnings in 1993 when a group of area philatelists gathered to determine whether this "wild idea" would be feasible. At this meeting all decided it was a good idea and with the donation of a storefront by Dave Capra, rent free, we started gathering materials. Some members of this original group put up the necessary money for shelves, desks, tables and chairs. On August 1, 1993 we opened for business near South Peoria and Parker Road in Aurora. While we were getting rent free space, we still hoped to have our own space.

A little over a year later Dave said that he (and a partner) had a chance to lease the space. He had another unit next door (less than 1/2 the size of the original unit) that we could use. At this point we started looking quite seriously for a building that we could buy - yes buy! About 6 months after the move Dave told us that he (and the partner) had a chance to lease the space we were in, but that we could use storage space rent free until we found a location.

We looked at all kinds of buildings in all kinds of locations - not all buildings are suitable for the weight load factors of shelves loaded with books and magazines. After hectic negotiations, we finally purchased the building at 2038 So. Pontiac Way. It was in a good neighborhood, had a cement slab floor and it had about 3300 sq. ft. of space. There was only one thing wrong - it was a mess - dark and damp. That is why we could afford it. After we had a new roof installed, we started to work on the interior - painting, cleaning, taking out several small rooms, putting up wall board, remodeling the dropped ceiling, and working on the electrical scheme. All of this was done by volunteer labor. We had industrial grade carpeting put in and on August 3, 1996 we reopened for business in our own building. We won't go into how we did the financing, but we haven't missed a payment and are paying off the 15 year loan well ahead of schedule.

Now, Let's Take a Look Inside "OUR" Building...

As one walks through the door of the RMPL the first thing you see are rows of shelves loaded with books (later you realize that there are 5 rows as well as rows of shelves around most of the room). A turn to the right and you see an "L" shape counter and a registration book. After you have signed the register you turn around and see some file cabinets. These hold our "Clipping Files" which contain thousands of articles clipped from newspaper type philatelic publications, all filed alphabetically by subject.

Right next to the file cabinets is the computer station where the user can search for books of interest - just like using the old card catalog, only better.

We enter a door and we are now in a room that contains a very special collection of approximately 1000 books - the Western History and Railroad collection. Many of our members are interested in the postal history of the Western States and railroads of the west so this collection contains a wealth of information for that collector. Also in this room is a small collection of audio visual materials that can be used for programs as well as research. This room is managed by RMPL Director, John H. "Jack" Willard.

As we leave the "Western History" room we take a quick turn to the left and enter the Map and Post Office Room. In this small room we have a large collection of maps and atlases which can be used for reference and a collection of publications relative to and/or published by the United States Post Office dating back to 1876. Responsibility for this room is in the hands of RMPL Director, William S. "Bill" Dunn with the assistance of volunteers Bob Brown and Steve Schweighofer.

We leave this room and go a few steps to the left and enter another small room. We are in the home of the national Scandinavian Collectors Club library. This library contains a collection of materials all related to Scandinavian philately. This national club was searching for a place to put their library and contacted the RMPL to see if there was any room. Although space has become quite dear, they were allowed to store their materials in this room and they operate their library out of that room.

As you walk out of the SCC library room and turn left you see shelves along the wall and continuing across the back of the room and continuing into the back hallway. Stored on these shelves are about 9000 Auction Catalogs which can be used for reference. The auction catalog shelves are managed by RMPL Director, Ron Mitchell.

Continuing along the back wall you come to a small room where we have a refrigerator, microwave, stove, sink, and the all important coffee maker.

Re-entering the main room you will find an area where there are tables and chairs as well as an overstuffed chair and sofas. This is the area that is used for the libraries programs and events, and by 8 area stamp clubs for their meetings. To learn more about the libraries programs and events click on the Event Schedule menu link. To learn more about the area's stamp clubs click on the Area Stamp Clubs menu link.

Back to the shelving in the center of the room - we start on the left side of the room as you come in. Here is where you will find worldwide catalogs such as Gibbons, Scott's (back to the 1890's), Minkus, etc. Many of these have not been cataloged yet but can be easily used since they are in order by publisher and years. Just inside the first row of shelves we start with all of the books that have been cataloged and are arranged in Dewey Decimal order. Following these books we have a shelf section specifically for topical collectors. Altogether we have over 8,000 books that have been cataloged and can be found in our search computer.

Following the books, we have our periodical collection. This continues through the rest of the shelving in the center of the room and extends about halfway down the right hand wall looking at the room as you enter. We have over 900 different periodical publications represented in the collection which has over 50,000 issues (no more than 2 of any issue). The periodical section is managed by RMPL Director, Sergio Lugo.

On the right hand side of the room at the front is the Librarian's office where we have the master computer and where many of our records are kept.

The tour is now complete as you have returned to the sign in and checkout counter...

Behind the counter you will see a large steel cabinet where we keep our "locked case materials" - materials that are either too old or too expensive to be kept with the regular materials. These can be used only on the premises for research.

Those of us who are actively involved in the RMPL are quite proud of what has been accomplished. We are an all volunteer organization - about 20-25 volunteers keep the doors open 6 days per week. Our hours are 10 - 4 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. Thursdays we are open from 2 - 8. We are closed on Sundays and all legal holidays.

Almost everything in the building has been donated by generous philatelists from around the country. We Thank each and every one of them. The Rocky Mountain Philatelic Library has 501 (c)(3) status with the Internal Revenue Service which means that we are a public charity and donations to the RMPL are considered a charitable deduction on Income Tax forms. The RMPL is supported by over 400 members and by donations of funds and materials.

We regularly offer classes to adults in Beginning Stamp Collecting and work with children in their schools to emphasize the value of stamp collecting in their educational growth.

We provide materials for use in the Youth Booths at all area stamp shows.

We offer assistance to persons who have "inherited" stamp collections helping them to find the best way to dispose of the collections.

We are a philatelic research library and try to help the individual collector.

We truly are the Philatelic Center of the Rocky Mountain region... Stop by for a visit! We think you will be surprised.

Copyright 2001-2008 - Rocky Mountain Philatelic Library. All rights reserved The Rocky Mountain Philatelic Library is a chartered Colorado non-profit corporation. Membership subscriptions over that for the annual regular membership, and donations of appropriate philatelic materials, are deductible for U.S. income tax purposes. The RMPL is an Internal Revenue Service designated 501 (c)(3) charitable organization.