About ARLIS

Ensuring Preservation and Access to Alaska’s Natural and Cultural Heritage

As the combined library and repository for the Alaska Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and University of Alaska Anchorage, ARLIS holds material that spans upwards of a century.

The ARLIS partnership is legally authorized among seven federal and state agencies and UAA. Its structure has proven to be cost-effective, sound, and sustainable.

Mission

ARLIS’s mission is to better inform the public through preservation and access to materials about the natural and cultural resources of Alaska through supporting the research and archiving needs of its Founding Agencies. ARLIS also aims to support research, management, and decision-making leading to wise development and stewardship of Alaska and Arctic regions.

ARLIS serves as a central library and archive for information supporting the management of 235 million acres of federal and 100 million acres of state land and water resources throughout Alaska. Much of the information at ARLIS is critical to researchers and decision makers at all levels, and many materials are not available anywhere else in the world.

 

Publications and Records on ARLIS and its History

Founders

  • Alaska Department of Fish and Game (Library)
  • Bureau of Land Management (Alaska Resources Library)
  • Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
  • Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement
  • Fish & Wildlife Service (Library)
  • National Park Service (Library)
  • Ted Stevens Center for Arctic Security Studies
  • UAA (Environment & Natural Resources Institute, Arctic Environmental Information & Data Center, Alaska State Climate Center & Alaska Natural Heritage Program)
  • U.S. Geological Survey (Library)

Contributors

  • International Pacific Halibut Commission
  • Prince William Sound Science Center/Oil Spill Recovery Institute

Selected Honors

  • 2012 Regional Director’s Excellence Award for External Customer Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
  • 2002 State of Alaska Legislative Citation in recognition of contributions to Alaska
  • 2001 Institute of Museum & Library Services National Award in National Recognition for Outstanding Community Service, presented at the White House
  • 1997 National Performance Review Hammer Award, Vice President Al Gore
  • Fran Ulmer, former Chair of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, Alaska Lieutenant Governor, UAA Chancellor, and Special Advisor on Arctic Science & Policy to the State Department, has cited ARLIS as an excellent example of city, state, university, and federal government reaching across agency boundaries to make resources available to the widest constituency.

Central to Arctic Research

ARLIS supports research, management, and decision-making leading to wise development and stewardship of Alaska and Arctic regions.

Services

As a partnership library and research hub, ARLIS combines the collections of, serves as the archives for, and supports the management, research, and decision-making missions of its Founding entities. Open to the public on the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) campus, library users range from environmental consultants and interest groups to development and non-profit communities, as well as students, faculty, and other researchers. Specialized services, such as onsite database access, document delivery, in-depth research, and interlibrary loan, are available for Founding and Contributing members. ARLIS also undertakes contract and other specialized research and bibliographic work, including digital transfer and database production with linked full text.

View Services

Electronic Access

ARLIS provides electronic access to targeted databases and full-text online documents, including 50,000+ e-journals and 50+ topical online databases, as well as physical resources and collections, from raw data and conference proceedings to contractors reports, photographs, and PDFs. ARLIS is committed to digitizing important documents and literature of limited availability and providing permanent access for the broader community via its web-based document server, which now hosts more than 40,000 digital documents.

Explore Resources

ARLIS Tour

“ARLIS is a national treasure”
Peter Wilkness, former director of Polar Programs, National Science Foundation