My personal library includes the following  books and pamphlets about swimming pools.

BOOKS

1. "Swimming Pool Maintenance Manual" by Leslie's Swimming Pool Supplies, 164 pages, softcover, Copyright 1993, Leslie's Poolmart, 20222 Plummer Street, Chatsworth, CA 91311, (818)993-4212 or (800)537-5437.

This is a maintenance manual available at all Leslie's pool stores for about $10 and it's well worth the price. The glossary and troubleshooting sections are useful, the chemical section has a lot of important information, and there are (b&w) drawings and/or charts on almost every page. 

2. "The Springboard in the Pond - An Intimate History of the Swimming Pool" by Thomas A. P. van Leeuwen, 321 pages, hardcover, Copyright 1998, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, http://mitpress.mit.edu .

A very interesting scholarly work with numerous photos (b&w as well as color). According to the jacket notes "it is the story of the origin and evolution of the private swimming pool as a building type and cultural artifact. And at still another level, it is a material philosophy of water. Van Leeuwen explores the human relationship to water from a variety of viewpoints: social, religious, artistic, sexual, psychological, technical, and above all architectural." 

3. "The Swimming Pool - Everything You Need to Know to Design, Build, and Landscape the Perfect Pool" by Tom Griffiths, 144 pages, hardcover, Copyright 1994, Simon & Schuster, Rockerfeller Center, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

This is the best looking book in the library, but it doesn't really live up to it's sub-title. All photos are large color shots that sometimes spread across two pages. Listed originally at $27.50, I found it on a bargain table for $6.98!

4. "What Color Is Your Swimming Pool? - The Guide to Trouble-Free Pool Maintenance" by John M. O'Keefe, 103 pages, softcover, Copyright 1987, Storey Communications, Pownal, VT  (800)793-9396.

If I were going to write a book about pool maintenance, this is the book I would write. It's got tons of information on every page, with a good mix of drawings and photos (all b&w). I got my copy at Barnes & Noble for $12.95, but I've seen it at other bookstores too.

PAMPHLETS

Pamphlets are easier to find than books and most are free. They may be in the form of a page of instructions that comes with a water test kit, or perhaps a more formal booklet of the type that are published and distributed by chemical manufacturers and chlorinator companies.

I've accumulated some pretty good ones over the years and I plan to put them in PDF form to share with you. I'll keep you posted on the Latest News page. Stay tuned...