How to Learn About Your New Hobby Organizations, publications, and other collectors can help you grow in the hobby. If your local library has no books on stamp collecting, you can borrow some from the huge collection of the American Philatelic Research Library through interlibrary loan or by becoming a member of the American Philatelic Society. There also are many newspapers and magazines in the stamp hobby, including Line's Stamp News, Stamp Collector, Scott's Stamp Monthly, Melee's, Global Stamp News, and Stamps. Some can be found on large newsstands. Taking Care of Your Collection Paper is very fragile and must be handled with care.
Stamp collectors use special tools and materials to protect their collectibles.
Plastic that is not archival safe has oil-based softeners that can leach out and do much damage to stamps. In recent years philatelic manufacturers have become more careful about their products, and it is easy now to find safe paper and plastic for hobby use. Never use cellophane or other tapes around your stamps. Mounts keep stamps in the condition in which you bought them. Other hobby tools include gauges, for measuring the perforations on stamps, and watermark fluid, which makes the special marks in some stamp papers visible momentarily.