Navy Department Library

Coordinates: 38°52′30″N 76°59′38″W / 38.875°N 76.994°W / 38.875; -76.994
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The library's logo, originally a 1906 bookplate[1]

The Navy Department Library is the official library of the United States Department of the Navy. Located at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., it is a part of the Naval History and Heritage Command.

History

On March 31, 1800, President

Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Stoddert directing him to establish a library of "the best writing...on the theory and practice of naval architecture, navigation, gunnery, hydraulics, hydrostatics, and all branches of mathematics subservient to the profession of the sea."[2][1]

The Navy's library survived the 1814 burning of Washington during the War of 1812 and, after the end of the war, located to the Old Navy Department Building.[1] The library had some 1300 volumes in its collection by 1824, although many items were subsequently transferred to the Library of Congress.[1]

The Library is part of the Federal Depository Library Program.[2]

Collections and subjects

As of 2019, the Library contains an estimated 114,000 book titles; 374,000 manuscripts; and 189,000 periodical issues.[2] Some 5,644 items in the collection are considered rare.[2] The collection emphasizes "naval, nautical, and military history" including the history of the United States Navy and foreign navies.[2] The public may borrow from most of the library's collection via interlibrary loan.[3]

The library uses the

Online Computer Library Center services (with an interface via WorldCat) for cataloging and interlibrary loans.[2]

The library's rare book room, a climate-controlled vault being renovated in 2013–2014, contains books written before 1600, and many more recent items such as

The library's logo, derived from a 1906

Nereid, a seashell, and the USS Constitution, all nautical and national symbols.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Hort, Jean (2002). "The Cover". Libraries & Culture. 37 (2): 175. Retrieved 2014-02-27.
  2. ^
    Naval History & Heritage Command
    . Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  3. ^ "Library Services: Circulation". Navy Department Library.
  4. ^ Comerford, Tim (November 26, 2013). "Navy Department Library Looks to Future-Proof Unique Historical Documents". Navy News Service, U.S. Navy. Retrieved 2014-02-27.
  5. ^ Whittaker, Walton (June 22, 2016). "By the Books: At the Navy Yard, Rare Jewels Between the Covers". Naval History and Heritage Command.

External links

38°52′30″N 76°59′38″W / 38.875°N 76.994°W / 38.875; -76.994