WASHINGTON (NNS) - One of the oldest federal government libraries, and one of the few major military historical libraries open to the public, the Navy Department Library serves an international audience and provides resources vital to the writing and publishing of naval history, as well as information relating to the needs of today's Navy.

"Tourists come and go in Washington. They pass the Navy library by. They do not know that they miss the most interesting library in the United States."

These words appeared 100 years ago in a New York Herald feature article about the Navy Department Library under the headline "The Navy's Century Old Hall of Fame." Many historians and researchers of today would say these words still ring true.

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The Navy Department Library, part of the Naval History and Heritage Command is located at the Washington Navy Yard, Building 44.
Close up of books in the World War Two section housed in compact shelving units.
View of the Library's new compact shelving in the general collection stacks.
View of the Library's general collection extending the length of building 108.