Besides materials in English, the collection includes works in Russian, German, French, Danish, and many other languages.
In addition to coverage of contemporary circumpolar issues, the collection's particular strengths include:
- works by and about Alaska Native and circumpolar Native peoples;
- works on Arctic and Antarctic exploration by all nations;
- works on Russian expansion into Siberia and Alaska;
- memoirs of life in Alaska, both commercially published and self-published;
- Alaskan cookbooks, both commercially published and "fundraisers" issued by community groups and organizations;
- the literature of Alaskan tourism;
- books about the North written for children.
