There are several mysteries about the libraries and books at the successive bases begun and used by Richard Byrd: who was responsible for selecting the books, were they all donated or were some purchased, and were they disassembled at the end of each mission or were they allowed to float away along with the bases themselves. There is little doubt that the leadership of Little America saw their book collections as vital components of the psychological health of the personnel. [See David H. Stam, “Byrd’s Books: The Libraries of Little America I-III. ” Coriolis: Interdisciplinary Journal of Maritime History vol. 6 no. 1, and his Adventures in Polar Reading: The Book Cultures of High Latitudes. New York: The Grolier Club, 2019. pp. 263
David H. Stam's Anthologies of the Reading Experience