National Defense University Library

National Defense University Library
Name	National Defense University Library
Location	Washington, D.C.
Established	1976
Type	Academic library
Director	[Name]
Collection size	>500,000 volumes

National Defense University Library The National Defense University Library serves as the principal research library supporting National Defense University instruction and scholarship. It provides specialized holdings in strategic studies, international relations, security policy, and regional studies to faculty, students, and visiting scholars from institutions such as United States Army War College, Naval War College, Air War College, Harvard University, and Georgetown University. The library's holdings and services support study of events like the Cold War, Gulf War, War on Terror, and treaties such as the Treaty of Versailles, Treaty of Paris (1898), and Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.

History

Founded amid post-Vietnam restructuring alongside the elevation of professional military education exemplified by institutions like National War College and Industrial College of the Armed Forces, the library's early acquisitions emphasized materials on the Korean War, Vietnam War, and doctrines from figures such as Colin Powell, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and William Westmoreland. During the 1980s and 1990s the collection expanded to include analyses of conflicts like the Falklands War, Yom Kippur War, and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, while integrating archives relating to policymakers including Henry Kissinger, Zbigniew Brzezinski, and Madeleine Albright. Post-2001 priorities shifted to resources on counterinsurgency, counterterrorism, and stabilization operations referencing events such as the Battle of Fallujah, Operation Enduring Freedom, and accords like the Camp David Accords.

Collections and Resources

The library maintains monographs, serials, government publications, maps, and multimedia on subjects tied to strategic thought from authors like Sun Tzu, Carl von Clausewitz, Alfred Thayer Mahan, and contemporary analysts such as Thomas Schelling and Andrew Marshall. Collections include official documents from agencies including the Department of Defense (United States), Central Intelligence Agency, and United States Congress hearings, as well as foreign policy papers from ministries such as the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), Bundeswehr, and Ministry of Defence (India). Special collections hold papers and oral histories connected to leaders and scholars like George C. Marshall, William J. Perry, Eliot A. Cohen, and Samuel P. Huntington, plus maps and imagery related to operations including Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom. The library houses periodicals including Foreign Affairs, International Security, Jane's Defence Weekly, and archival runs of newspapers like The Washington Post and The New York Times.

Services and Facilities

Users access reference, interlibrary loan, and document delivery services modeled on cooperative networks with institutions such as the Library of Congress, Defense Technical Information Center, and university consortia including the Association of Research Libraries. Facilities include secure reading rooms for classified materials compliant with guidelines from the National Archives and Records Administration and training spaces for seminars tied to curricula at schools like the Eisenhower School and programs involving representatives from organizations such as NATO, United Nations, and the World Bank. The library provides access to electronic databases including ProQuest, JSTOR, LexisNexis, and specialized platforms like Globalsecurity.org and subscription services used by think tanks such as the Brookings Institution and RAND Corporation.

Research and Academic Support

Embedded librarians collaborate with faculty leading courses on strategic leadership, defense acquisition, and regional security studies taught by scholars connected to institutions like Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, Stanford University, Yale University, and King's College London. Support includes research consultations, bibliographic instruction, systematic review assistance, and data management guidance for projects citing cases such as the Suez Crisis, Bay of Pigs Invasion, NATO intervention in Kosovo, and analyses of treaties like the North Atlantic Treaty. The library fosters student publications, capstone research, and faculty monographs engaging with authors and policymakers such as Anthony Cordesman, Robert Gates, and Michael O'Hanlon.

Digital Initiatives and Archives

The library has digitized collections of declassified documents, lecture series, and theses, partnering with repositories such as the Digital Public Library of America and initiatives by the National Security Archive. Digital finding aids assist discovery of collections related to incidents like the Iran Hostage Crisis and operations including Operation Urgent Fury. The institutional repository preserves faculty scholarship, research reports, and multimedia from conferences featuring speakers like Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and Barack Obama. Collaborations enable integration with global cataloging systems including OCLC and metadata standards influenced by practices at the Smithsonian Institution.

Administration and Partnerships

The library is administered by professional staff with ties to organizations such as the American Library Association and Special Libraries Association, and works in partnership with military schools, federal archives, academic libraries, and think tanks like Center for Strategic and International Studies and Heritage Foundation. Cooperative agreements support exchange with foreign institutions including the Royal United Services Institute, Centre for Strategic and International Studies (Indonesia), and regional archives such as the National Archives (United Kingdom) and Bundesarchiv. Funding and governance reflect relationships among entities like the United States Department of Defense, congressional oversight committees, and endowments influenced by philanthropic organizations including the Carnegie Corporation.

Category:Libraries in Washington, D.C.