Baranof Books

Baranof Books occupies a cedar-shingled building on Lincoln Street in downtown Sitka, just steps from the harbor where fishing boats and cruise ships share the waters of Sitka Sound. The store takes its name from the island on which Sitka sits, and its collection reflects the rich and sometimes turbulent history of this place where Tlingit, Russian, and American cultures have intersected for centuries. The Tlingit culture section is curated in partnership with the Sitka Tribe of Alaska and includes oral histories, language primers, and scholarly works alongside contemporary fiction and poetry by Native authors. The Russian-American heritage shelf preserves the memory of Sitka's years as the capital of Russian America, with rare accounts of the fur trade and the Orthodox Church's mission. The temperate rainforest ecology section draws researchers and nature lovers with its comprehensive selection of field guides and scientific works on the Tongass National Forest. The store has been a fixture of Sitka's cultural life since 1978 and continues to serve as a bridge between the town's many communities.