USE  |  MISSION  |  STAFF AND DIRECTORS  |  HOURS AND DIRECTIONS  |  SERVICES

HISTORY

George L. Ohrstrom Sr., president of the Orange County Hunt in The Plains, Va., and Alexander Mackay-Smith MFH, editor of The Chronicle of the Horse in Middleburg, founded the National Sporting Library in 1954, encouraged by Ohrstrom's foxhunting friends Lester Karow of Georgia and Orange County MFH Fletcher Harper. These colleagues wanted book collections such as theirs to remain intact after their deaths; they contacted other friends, who liked the idea, and the collection rapidly grew. From its inception, the NSL was a non-circulating research library, and its founders encouraged anyone interested in horse and field sports to come in and enjoy the books, magazines, and unpublished papers.

When Ohrstrom Sr. died in 1955, his son George Ohrstrom Jr. became the guiding force behind the Library until his death in 2005; he was Chairman of the Board for 48 of the Library's 50-year history. Mackay-Smith was its first director, from 1954 until 1991 when Peter Winants succeeded him. In 1998 Ken Tomlinson took Winants' place. Since September 2005, Nancy Parsons has been President & CEO.

The Library's collection was first housed in an 18th century brick house on Washington St. (Rt. 50) in Middleburg before moving to the 1804 red brick building on the seven-acre Vine Hill property (pictured above). Vine Hill is adjacent to the facility that opened in 1999; both are at the corner of Route 50 and The Plains Rd just west of town.

Until the late 1990s, both the NSL and The Chronicle of the Horse occupied this handsome pre-Civil War edifice, which the Library plans convert to an art museum in the near future. In 1999, after Jack and Martha Daniels donated a spectacular 5,000-volume collection of sporting books, the Library moved to a new 15,000-square-foot, climate-controlled facility. The new building, which resembles a 19th century carriage house, today houses more than 15,000 books. Its other important collections include the extraordinary Hünersdorf Collection, donated by the Ohrstrom Foundation; 102 sporting books from the estate of Harry T. Peters MFH; and the famed Huth-Lonsdale Library, donated by Russell Arundel and his family. The Library also houses the outstanding collection of Vladimir Littauer, the famous proponent of forward riding. These rare books are housed in the F. Ambrose Rare Book Room.

The opening of the Library's new home in 1999 ushered in a new and exciting era. Today, under the leadership of NSL President & CEO Nancy Parsons, the Library offers educational lectures, book-signings and film-screenings, frequently held in the spacious Founders' Room. Art exhibits include paintings and bronzes from rarely-seen private collections and from museums; these are displayed in the Paul Mellon Foyer, the Founders' Room, and in the Forrest E. Mars Sr. Exhibit Hall. Art from the Library's permanent collection is found throughout the Library, including eye-catching weathervanes from the estate of the late philanthropist Paul Mellon.

USE

Researchers, students, passers-by, residents, tourists and visitors are all welcome to peruse the NSL's collections on the premises. (The Library does not loan books to individuals.) Those who cannot visit in person may be able to access library materials via interlibrary loan through their local library (see the Services page).

The Library has an active membership organization, The Friends of the National Sporting Library. Library members receive notices of lectures, exhibitions and other events, as well as the NSL Newsletter, which publishes articles on current and historic issues, book reviews and information about library activities. Members can also bid on rare and contemporary books in the Library's annual Duplicate Book Sale, a silent auction held each fall that is restricted to members of the Library.

MISSION

To preserve and to share the art, literature and culture of horse and field sports.