How many books are there?

821 books, 26 magazines, 270 brochures, unknown number of pebbles and shells.

In what languages?

In English and Latvian, but also in Spanish, French, Slovakian, German, Ukrainian.

Where can I browse the books?

You can check a simple A–Z list or browse the catalogue of books with photos and quotes. The catalogue is still in the making – only part of it is uploaded, a patient and beautiful task, carried out day by day.

How can I borrow a book?

Most sea lovers around the world use the Sea Library as a compass for what to read about the sea. You can also become a Sea Library reader by borrowing books by post. There is no time limit – some readers are fast, others read slowly. Anna covers the global postage when sending the book; the reader pays for its return. Donations to the tip jar are welcome and help buy new books and cover postal costs.

Can I donate a book?

Yes! Many books in the Sea Library arrive as gifts from readers, writers, and publishers. Many carry signatures and personal dedications to Sea Library readers. If you would like to donate a book, please contact Anna.

Where is the Sea Library?

The Sea Library lives and grows in Anna’s family home in Jūrmala, Latvia – on a dune peninsula between the River Lielupe and the Gulf of the Baltic Sea. It is a hundred-year-old wooden house, dark red with white windows, as if from a fairy tale.

Can I visit?

Not at the moment. While Anna is working on her book, the Sea Library has been physically closed since 2025. You are still welcome to write letters or emails, send books, and borrow books by post. The Sea Library will reopen in the future.

Who is Anna?

Anna Iltnere was born into a family of artists, architects, and actors, and grew up among books and notebooks.

Ten years ago, she left a promising career in art and design journalism, moved with her family from the capital city to a small riverside village in Jūrmala, and began living in an old wooden house. There, the sea cast its spell and gave her a mission: to gather its stories. In 2018, she opened a room in her home, and the Sea Library was born.

Her passion for building a collection led her into the library world. For the past few years, by day, Anna has worked as an editor at the National Library of Latvia for an online media dedicated to librarians; for this work, she was named among Latvia’s Outstanding Women Achievements 2025. At all other times, she is a sea librarian – collecting books from around the world and tending a growing body of water literature.

She takes long walks with her border collie Nemo along the river, forest, and shore; she swims, reads slowly with a pencil in hand, and loves her husband and two sons. Anna weaves bookmarks, crochets corals, and lives most of her life neck-deep in water. She secretly believes the Sea Library is alive – scaled with pages, breathing stories.

She is its keeper.

In June 2028, Facet Publishing will release her book Sea Libraries, dedicated to libraries and archives that focus on the sea, are built by the sea, or even float upon it, her first book for an international readership.

Anna is represented by Allison Remcheck at Stimola Literary Studio.

Is Anna on social media?

Anna deleted Facebook when she left her career and chose to leave Instagram and X in 2025. She can still be found on Bluesky and LinkedIn, but mostly she writes monthly letters here. Anna believes there is still a world out there where people can connect with one another without social media: writing e-mails, posting letters and postcards, and seeing each other.

Sea Library in Press

Photos by Lauma Kalniņa, DEKO Magazine / Anna Salmane, IR Magazine / Sea Library