TheNavy Department Library is the official library of theUnited States Department of the Navy. Located at theWashington Navy Yard inWashington, D.C., it is a part of theNaval History and Heritage Command.
Secretary of the NavyBenjamin Stoddert received a letter from PresidentJohn Adams dated On March 31, 1800 directing him to establish a library for the United States Department of the Navy. It was asked that the literature acquired and stored included works detailing the theory and practice ofnaval architecture,navigation, and naval combat. Additionally, the parameters for the written works origin was not to be limited to English but inclusive of any nation's success.[2]
Despite the letter dating back to 1800, the library's origin can be dated back to the War Department in Philadelphia in 1794. Subsequently, the Navy received departmental status in 1798 and the collection of materials relating to naval affairs were transferred out of the Philadelphia library and into that of a tavern in Trenton, New Jersey. It was once the national capital moved to Washington that the Department of the Navy officially found refuge in Georgetown.[2]
The Navy's library survived the 1814burning of Washington during theWar 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 theLibrary of Congress.[1]
The Library is part of theFederal Depository Library Program.[3]
As of 2019, the Library contains an estimated 114,000 book titles; 374,000 manuscripts; and 189,000 periodical issues.[3] Some 5,644 items in the collection are considered rare.[3] The collection emphasizes "naval, nautical, and military history" including thehistory of the United States Navy and foreign navies.[3] The public may borrow from most of the library's collection viainterlibrary loan.[4]
The library uses theLibrary of Congress Classification system and employsOnline Computer Library Center services (with an interface viaWorldCat) for cataloging and interlibrary loans.[3]
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 asJohn Paul Jones'calling card collection from when he was with theRussian navy, and documents captured onGerman submarineU-505 whenDaniel V. Gallery boarded it in 1944.[5] Another item isCaptain John Smith’s treatise on the duties of sailing men, calledAn Accidence or Path-way to Experience (1626), a precursor toThe Bluejacket's Manual.[6] Additional highlights of the collection includeThomas Truxtun'sInstructions, Signals and Explanations... (1797), the U.S. Navy's firstsignal book; rareCivil War materials from theUnion Navy andConfederate Navy; andGermany Navy war diaries.[3]
The library's logo, derived from a 1906bookplate designed in theU.S. Naval Hydrographic Office, features abald eagle, ananchor,Neptune andNereid, aseashell, and theUSSConstitution, all nautical and national symbols.[1]
38°52′30″N76°59′38″W / 38.875°N 76.994°W /38.875; -76.994
