Naturism, like most any topic, has a rich history that can be investigated through many sources whether written, oral, pictorial or cinematographic. On this blog, my fellow writers and site contributors have posted about the importance of research in the writing process (such as Paul’s post here and Robert’s here) – research is of course important for almost all kinds of writing, not just naturist fiction. In this post, I’m offering a links-heavy quick look at how things stand currently regarding naturist research in the United States.
There are four dedicated naturist research libraries in the United States. They began a new level of cooperation a few years ago, formalized collectively as the Nudist Research Library Consortium – check out a brief, very well-done video about the consortium here. The member organizations are the American Nudist Research Library (ANRL) in Kissimmee, Florida; the Naturist Education Foundation Research Library (NEFRL) in Oshkosh, Wisconsin; the Western Nudist Research Library (WNRL) in Temescal Valley, California; and the AANR-NW Regional Library and Archive in Springfield, Oregon. In general, they are updating their services and digitizing materials as best as they can while cooperating among themselves to fill out complete collections.
In addition to this library consortium, there exist other organizations such as the Naturist Education Foundation (NEF) and the Professors and Researchers SIG (Special Interest Group). NEF recently split from The Naturist Society Foundation (TNSF), whereas the Professors and Researchers group retains affiliation within TNSF as one of its many special interest groups. Both of these groups produce research-oriented newsletters: NEF’s Pages of History is accessible to the public (February 2022 issue), while the Professors and Researchers newsletter is sent by email attachment to group members. Additionally, there are a few special collections on nudism and naturism at certain US university libraries.
Not to be overlooked are excellent magazines and podcasts that, if we’re staying within the United States, include TNSF’s N magazine, the more recent issues of the AANR Bulletin, the Naked Age podcast and the New Nudist Podcast.
Within the United States, what have I left out? In the world beyond the US, there are of course many terrific naturist publications and podcasts… but what about naturist research libraries or consortia – are there any similar organizations in other countries?
thank you. two thumbs up!
As always, thanks for stopping by!
Interesting and good question. I wouldn’t know about any good nudist resources here in Europe, can you believe that??
If you read German, there is an immense literature about nudism. One current German author on the subject is Maren Mohring. That will get you started.
Thank you. That might also be very interesting for the Naturist Library.
Thanks, Michael. Yes, there is, as you say, “an immense literature about nudism” in German, also French, and etc., although the question was more specifically about libraries, holdings, research consortia or the like. Do you know of any such institutions or affiliations in Europe?
Hello.
Gathering here a collection of documents on our nudity is really enriching. Thank you for this work for us who are millions around the world who like to live normally naked.
Thanks for reading! The real work is done by the dedicated librarians at these four locations. Their recent successes in integrating into one system are most impressive, for the benefit of all.
Thanks for this we added articles to all the libraries and the consortium to the naturist wiki
Good idea – Thanks for this important collaboration, Earl!