The Navy Department Library
- Archives
- CORs - Command Operations Reports
- Deck Logs
- Digitized Collections
- Research Guides and Finding Aids
- Administrative History Appendices 1941-1947
- ALNAV Collection 1918-1997
- Applied Physics Laboratory 1942-1956
- Atlantic Fleet Video Collection 1984-1995
- Biography Collection
- Booz, Allen and Hamilton, Inc. 1946-1973
- Bureau of Medicine and Surgery
- Bureau of Personnel
- Chief of Information
- Chief of Naval Operations
- China Repository 1908-1990
- CINCLANTFLT: International Naval Review 1976
- Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Fleet
- Communications Publications Collection, 1929-1989
- Crew Lists and Muster Rolls
- Department of Defense Reorganization 1937-1975
- Early and Pioneer Naval Aviator's Association Golden Eagles Chronology
- Far Seas
- French Translations Collection
- From the Sea: Working Papers and Drafts
- German Naval Archives
- Historical Materials Relating to USS Constitution and OPSAIL 200
- Hospital Ships and USNS Comfort 1906-1991
- Interview and Statement Transcripts, 1942-1946
- Japanese Navy Records
- Loss of Amelia Earhart 1937
- Map Collection
- Medal and Award Citations
- Military Sealift Command 1975-1985
- Military Sealift Command in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm
- Military Sealift Command Transportation Directorate 1950-1983
- National Yeomen (F) 1906-1991
- Naval Bases and Facilities
- Naval History Documentation Team 1990-1991
- Navy Laboratory Center Coordinating Group 1940s-1990
- Naval Military Personnel Command 1930-1964
- Naval Security Group Command 1942-1945
- Naval Security Group Command Intelligence
- Naval Special Warfare Group 1942-1958
- Naval Technical Mission in Europe 1945-1947
- Navy Record Groups at the National Archives
- Office Files of the Director of Naval History 1942-2007
- Personal Papers
- Post-1946 Action and Operational Reports
- Post-1946 Command File
- Post-1946 Plans
- Post-1946 Submarine Patrol Reports
- Post-1946 War Diaries
- Post-1974 Command File
- Post-1990 Command File
- Reserve Fleet 1947-1960
- Sea Frontier Routing Instructions
- Second Fleet Public Affairs 1980-1990
- Seventh Fleet Public Affairs, 1985-1991
- Sources for the Study of Naval Equipment
- Strategic Bombing Survey
- Supervisor of Diving and Salvage, Naval Sea Systems Command 1915-1985
- Transcript of Meetings of the Military Armistice Commission 1965-1966
- Vietnam Records
- WAVES Collection
- World War II Command File
- Year 2000 Program Office 1997-2000
- Yorktown Mine Warfare Engineering Activity
- Resources for Veterans
- Histories
- Naval Profiles
- Colloquium on Contemporary History 1989-1998
- DANFS - Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
- Documentary Histories
- Naval Aviation Histories
- Aircraft History Cards
- Aircraft Markings
- Allowances and Location
- Attack Carriers
- Ault Report
- Aviation Designators
- Aviation Insignia
- Bureau of Aeronautics Newsletters
- Carrier and Air Wing Deployments and Compostion, 1991-2005
- Command Operations Reports
- Dictionary of American Naval Aviation Squadrons: Volume 1
- Dictionary of American Naval Aviation Squadrons: Volume 2
- Escort Carriers
- Evolution of Aircraft Carriers
- The First Flight Across the Atlantic
- History of Marine Corps Aviation
- A History of Sea-Air Aviation, Wings Over the Ocean
- Involvement by Conflict
- Naval Aeronautical Organization
- Naval Aircraft
- Naval Aviation Flight Records: Crew and Passenger Manifests
- Naval Aviation News
- Naval Aviation Training
- Navy's Lighter-Than-Air Experience Monograph
- Records and Special Collections and other Repositories
- U-2 and Aircraft Carrier Deployment
- United States Naval Aviation 1910-2010
- Needs and Opportunities in the Modern History of the U.S. Navy
- Oral Histories
- Ship Histories
- DANFS
- Command Operations Reports
- Confederate Ships
- Ship Abbreviations and Symbols
- Navy Ship Classifications
- US Ship Force Levels
- Christening, Launching, and Commissioning of U.S. Navy Ships
- Merchant Ship Photos
- Sources Of Ship Plans
- Shipboard Life in the pre-1860 U.S. Navy: A Select Bibliography
- The Great White Fleet
- Presidential Visits to Navy vessels
- U.S. Navy PT Boats
- Casualties Navy and Coast Guard Ships
- Casualties Navy and Coast Guard Ships - Continued
- Ships Named for Individual Sailors Present at Pearl Harbor
- Ships Present at Pearl Harbor
- Ships Sunk and Damaged in Action During the Korean Conflict
- Documents Relating to Loss of Indianapolis
- Library
- Catalog
- Online Reading Room
- New Postings - Library
- Beardsley, Henry Leidenheimer
- Beardsley, George Francis
- Beaver, Bud Kearns
- Account of the Battle of Iwo Jima
- Narrative of Captain W.S. Cunningham, U.S. Navy relative to events on Wake Island in December, 1941 and subsequent related events
- Bean, Lawrence Lytton
- Balis, Theodore Lawrence
- Ball, John
- Anderson, Charles Harper Jr.
- The U.S. Navy Enlistment, Instruction, Pay, and Advancement
- Baldwin, Frank Edward
- My Days Aboard U.S.S. Santa Fe
- Baldwin, Frank
- Ball, Claude Russell
- About the Library
- The Collection
- Bibliographies
- African Americans in the Navy: A Bibliography
- Aircraft Carrier Bibliography by Author
- Atlantis: A Select Bibliography
- Atmospheric Nuclear Testing: A Select Bibliography
- Barney, Joshua, Commodore: A Select Bibliography
- Battle of Iwo Jima: A Select Bibliography
- Battle of Midway 4-7 June 1942: A Select Bibliography
- Bermuda Triangle: Selective Bibliography
- Bismarck, German Battleship - Sources
- The Boxer Rebellion: Bibliography
- Bronze Guns of Leutze Park - Bibliography
- Burke, Arleigh A., Admiral: A Select Bibliography
- Bush, George H. W., in World War II: A Short Bibliography
- Cruise Books
- Desert Shield and Desert Storm
- Dominican Republic Intervention of 1965: A Short Bibliography
- Great White Fleet: A Select Bibliography
- Haiti and Santo Domingo Bibliography
- Historical Manuscripts
- Hopper, Grace, Admiral: A Select Bibliography
- Hull, Isaac, Captain: A Select Bibliography
- Influenza (Spanish Flu) Pandemic 1918-1920 in Historical Contect: a Select Bibliography
- Irregular Warfare: A Bibliography
- Jones, John Paul: A Select Bibliography
- Knox, Dudley W., Commodore, Chronological Bibliography of Writings of
- Knox, Dudley W., Commodore, Bibliography of Writings of
- Korean War Naval Operations
- Lynch, William F., Captain, and the Expedition to the Dead Sea
- Mahan, Alfred Thayer: A Select Bibliography
- Matthew C. Perry and the Opening of Japan: A Select Bibliography
- Midway Select Bibliography
- Navajo Code Talkers: A Select Bibliography
- Naval Abbreviations: A Select Bibliography
- Naval Customs and Traditions: A Select Bibliography
- Navy Biographical Sources: A Select Bibliography
- Navy Ratings: A Select Bibliography
- Navy Terminology: A Select Bibliography
- Navy Uniforms: A Select Bibliography
- OPNAV INSTRUCTION 5070.1C - Acquisition of Cruise Books and Unit Yearbooks of Navy and Marine Corps Units
- Patches and Insignia Bibliography
- Port Chicago Naval Magazine Explosion, 1944
- Prisoners of War: World War II - A Bibliography
- Publications by the Naval History and Heritage Command and its Predecessors: A Bibliography
- Reestablishment of the Navy, 1787-1801
- Riverine Warfare in Vietnam (1946-1973): A Select Bibliography
- The Royal Navy of Great Britain, 1485-1914
- Samuel Eliot Morison: A Bibliography
- Shellback and Other Navy Ceremonial Certificates: A Select Bibliography
- Shipboard Life in the pre-1860 U.S. Navy: A Select Bibliography
- Shipboard Life in the US Navy, 1775-1899: A Select Bibliography
- Ships: A Navy Bibliography
- Shiner, Michael - The Diary of - Bibliography
- The Somers' Mutiny - Bibliography
- Spanish American War Bibliography
- Spruance, Raymond A., Admiral, USN: A Select Bibliography
- Terrorist Attack on the Pentagon, 11 September 2001
- United States Naval History: A Bibliography
- Washington Navy Yard: A Select Bibliography
- Cruise Books
- Research Guides
- British Admiralty Prize Case Books, 1780-1822, in the Navy Department Library
- Collection Development Policy
- Commissioning Certificates of US Navy Officers in the Navy Department Library.
- Conference Transcripts of the Allied Combined Chiefs of Staff
- Cruise Books - Ships, Seabees and Training/Education
- Cryptologic Documents in the Navy Department Library
- Dept. of the Navy Documents in Record Groups (RG) at the National Archives & Records Administration (NARA)
- Foreign Language Periodicals in the Navy Department Library
- George Henry Preble Collection
- German Navy U-boat (Submarine) Headquarters War Logs from World War II
- Guide to United States Naval Administrative Histories of World War II
- Guide to US Naval Administrative Histories of WWII - Appendices
- Inventory of the Naval Records Collection of the Office of Naval Records and Library
- Irregular Warfare Reading Room
- Lists of Senior Officers and Civilian Officials of the US Navy
- Maritime Research: Selected Institutions With Significant Collections
- Military History and National Security
- Military Service Records and Unit Histories: A Guide to Locating Sources
- Modern Biographical Files in the Navy Department Library
- Naval Training/Education Yearbooks
- Navy Personnel: A Research Guide
- Navy-Themed Sheet Music
- Newsletters in the Navy Department Library
- Organizational Charts and Directories of the US Navy
- Postal Cover Collection in the Navy Department Library
- Rodgers Family Collection at the Navy Department Library
- Shipbuilding Contracts
- Source Guide Entry by State
- Terrorism: A Navy Department Library Research Guide
- UFO Research Guide
- U.S. Military History and National Security: A Research Guide
- US Naval Administrative Histories of World War II in the Navy Department Library
- US Naval Institute Oral Histories Available in the Navy Department Library
- US Naval Technical Mission to Japan: Reports in the Navy Department Library
- US Navy Uniforms - Edwards Collection
- Wars and Conflicts of the United States Navy
- Z-Files
- Exhibits
- "A Fast Convoy" by Burnell Poole
- America's Naval Heritage
- Anti-slavery Operations of the US Navy
- Commodore Matthew C. Perry and the Opening of Japan
- Documents Captured on German Submarine U-505
- Half-hull Models
- Maps
- Menus From Ship to Shore
- President Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1936 Cruise to Latin America
- Selected Pre-1700 Imprints
- Selection of Signal Books
- Uniform Regulations Color Plate Book [1852]
- World War II Newsmaps
- Manuscripts
- Oral Histories
- Z-Files
- Biographies
- Publications
- Underwater Archaeology
- Timeline
- Heritage-Customs and Traditions
- Organizations and Offices
- Finding Aids Glossaries Guides
- Image (gif, jpg, tiff)
About the Library
Mission
The Navy Department Library, founded in 1800 by the executive order of President John Adams, promotes the operational effectiveness of the United States Navy through the support of strategic planning, the education of naval personnel and the nation, and the inculcation of pride in the heritage of the naval service. By acquiring, organizing, preserving, and providing access, through reference services and Internet outreach, to pertinent books, manuscripts, and other textual sources, the Navy Department Library enhances and enriches the understanding of naval and maritime history, customs, and traditions.
Library History
The Navy Department Library traces its roots to a letter dated 31 March 1800 from President John Adams to Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Stoddert directing him to establish a library that would contain "the best writing...on the theory and practice of naval architecture, navigation, gunnery...." From that beginning, the Library's collections have grown to 114,000 book titles, 374,000 manuscripts, and 189,000 issues of periodicals, including 5,644 Rare and 11,011 Special Collections titles, with an emphasis on naval, nautical, and military history including foreign navies. The Library is home to the most comprehensive collection of historical literature on the United States Navy. Over 13.5% of the cataloged items are unique, and located nowhere else.
One of the few major military historical libraries open to the public, the library serves an international audience. It provides resources vital to the writing and publishing of naval history, as well as information relating to the needs of today's US Navy. The Navy Department Library joined the Federal Depository Library Program in 1895. The library's older holdings are included in the National Union Catalog of Pre-1956 Imprints , a set of 754 volumes, compiled from 1968 to 1981. The library uses the Library of Congress Classification system, and employs OCLC (Online Computer Library Center) services to assist in cataloging and interlibrary loan. The publicly accessible interface to OCLC is Worldcat, which allows researchers to search for items and determine which libraries, including the Navy Department Library, they are located in. The Library's catalog is online.
Individual highlights of the collection include the US Navy's first signal book, Thomas Truxtun's Instructions, Signals and Explanations... (1797); David Porter's signal book (1809); rare Confederate and Union signal books; calling cards collected by John Paul Jones in Russia; hundreds of unpublished World War II administrative and cryptological histories; translations of war diaries from various German Navy headquarters; material captured on the German submarine U-505 in 1944; and a collection of ship half-hull models.
For further information see "History of the Navy Department Library".
Subjects Emphasized
- Naval, maritime, and military history
- Naval architecture and shipbuilding
- Naval customs and traditions
- Naval doctrine
- Naval ordnance
- Naval shore and fleet activities
- Naval uniforms, insignia, and awards
- Navigation, voyages, and exploration
- Irregular Warfare
Special and Rare Collections
- Cruise books
- Cryptologic documents
- Early military periodicals
- Foreign language periodicals
- General/special orders and circulars (pre-World War II)
- Manuscript collection (including letters, journals, diaries, logbooks, etc.)
- Menus
- Modern Biographic Files
- Naval administrative histories of World War II
- Naval Technical Mission to Japan reports
- Navy officer registers (1800-1994) and directories (1908-1942)
- Navy shipbuilding contracts
- Navy uniforms
- Navy Z files
- Newsletters
- Postal Covers Collection
- Secretary of the Navy annual reports (1822-1948)
Resources
- Searchable online catalog
- Online Reading Room
- Bibliographies and Research Guides
- Interlibrary Loan
- Naval History and Heritage Command
- Federal Depository Library (see Collection Development Policy)
- Digital microfilm/fiche reader
- Photocopier
- Vertical and pamphlet files
Circulation Policy
Personnel stationed or employed on the Washington Navy Yard may borrow materials for one month. The Library participates in interlibrary loan.Rare, Special Collection, and Reference books, as well as bound periodicals do not circulate. The Library reserves the right to refuse to circulate or permit the reproduction of any items considered unique or fragile. Items over 100 years old are not available for interlibrary loan. Faxed requests for interlibrary loan are not accepted.
Reference Assistance and Policy
The Library provides limited telephone, in person and written reference assistance. Detailed questions requiring in-depth research must be conducted in person at the library or by employing a commercial research service. Typically, the staff will suggest possible sources of information, such as a book or archival facility, to assist patrons in conducting their own research. Simple questions such as "When was USS America (CV-66) commissioned?" or "Who was the Secretary of the Navy in 1938?" can sometimes be answered via telephone.
Cruise Books: Borrowing Conditions and Reproduction Services
Most cruise book in the Navy Department Library may be reproduced. Researchers are encouraged to bring a digital camera to the library, or contact the Naval Historical Foundation concerning purchasing a reproduction. In some cases, photocopying or scanning by visitors and the Naval Historical Foundation will not be permitted when a volume is too fragile. World War II cruise books are not available for interlibrary loan. Duplicate copies of post-World War II cruise books may be loaned to your local library for "in library use" only, if your library agrees to return the books via a commercial courier service such as UPS or FedEx rather than the US Post Office.
Read about opportunities for volunteers, interns and Navy Reservists.
Location
Washington Navy Yard, first floor, Building 44.
Map of WNY & Information on Visiting the Command
Hours
Mon-Fri: 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. Closed weekends and federal holidays
Phone
(202) 433-4132 DSN: 288-4132
Footnotes
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