About the library
We welcome visitors
The Ski Library is located on private property in the city of Norco in Southern California. Use of the Library is free and open to the public by appointment only. Visitors may call or email to arrange an appointment. Please contact the Library Director with your request.
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How the Library began...
Ingrid P. Wicken founded the California Ski Library in 2005, but the collection began long before that. In the 1980s, while a graduate student at California State Polytechnic University Pomona, and an avid cross-country skier, Wicken began purchasing books on cross-country ski teaching and technique. She especially sought out technical titles while working on her Master’s thesis: “A biomechanical comparison of the diagonal stride on skis and roller skis.” The collection continued to expand throughout the 1980s and 1990s, growing exponentially with the advent of the Internet and the access it permitted for world wide access to books once thought unobtainable.*
Currently...
The collection currently numbers approximately 2,700 books, hundreds of magazines, almanacs, and annuals, and thousands of pieces of ephemera including: brochures, broadsides, catalogs, programs, announcements, newsletters, posters, and advertisements.
Because of the size and breadth of the collection, Wicken purchased and placed a 24’ x 40’ portable building on her property to house it, shown here (left) in artist's watercolor.
The Collection continues to grow...
This resulted in the donation of significant ski memorabilia collections from around the state, including: Ethel Van Degrift Collection, Wolfgang Lert Photograph Archive, Carson and Vi White Collection, Luanne Pfeifer Papers, and Cecil Charles Photograph Collection.
Wicken continues to seek out rare and hard-to-find books and ephemera as well as newly published titles to add to the collection.
*Stop! Don’t throw it away! The California Ski Library accepts donations of ski memorabilia, from one piece to large collections. Please contact us if you have materials you would like to donate.