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Anchored in History - Stories of America's Navy: Ep. 13 - Navy Library, 225 Years Strong

Naval History and Heritage Command

April 8, 2025 | 30:28

Recognizing the importance of a professional Navy, President John Adams sent a letter on March 31, 1800, to the first Secretary of the Navy, Benjamin Stoddart, directing the establishment of a library containing "It ought to consist of all the best writings...upon the theory and practice of naval architecture, navigation, gunnery, hydraulics, hydrostatics, and all branches of mathematics subservient to the profession of the sea." Two Hundred and Twenty-Five years later, having moved from Philadelphia to New Jersey and then later Washington, D.C., surviving the British attack on Washington, D.C. in the War of 1812, and multiple moves around the greater Washington DC area while falling under various commands of the U.S. Navy, today's Navy Department Library, a part of Naval History and Heritage Command, is one of only a few military historic libraries open to the public. Its vast holdings of over 114,000 book titles, 374,000 manuscripts, and 189,000 issues of periodicals, including 5,644 Rare and 11,011 Special Collections titles, have met many challenges in its history. Still, the Navy Department Library seeks creative and innovative approaches, utilizing new technology to improve reference services while protecting and preserving the home to the most comprehensive collection of historical literature on the United States Navy for another 225 years.

Learn more about this topic and review the show notes at https://bit.ly/NHHCPodcast_Episode13.

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