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| National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Central Library | |
|---|---|
| Name | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Central Library |
| Established | 1970s |
| Location | Silver Spring, Maryland, United States |
| Type | Research library |
| Collection size | Extensive oceanographic, atmospheric, and geospatial holdings |
| Director | Senior Library Officer |
| Website | NOAA Central Library |
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Central Library The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Central Library serves as a specialized research library supporting National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration programs including National Weather Service, National Ocean Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, and National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service. The library holds historical and contemporary resources used by staff from agencies such as National Aeronautics and Space Administration, United States Geological Survey, Smithsonian Institution, Environmental Protection Agency, and academic partners including Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory.
Origins trace to predecessor collections from the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, Weather Bureau, and U.S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries, consolidated alongside holdings from Bureau of Commercial Fisheries and National Marine Fisheries Service during reorganizations leading to the formation of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under the Department of Commerce (United States). The library’s development parallels milestones such as the establishment of NOAA Corps, the passage of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the creation of National Marine Sanctuaries Act, and cooperative efforts with institutions like University of Maryland, George Washington University, and Johns Hopkins University. Historical stewardship involved partnerships with agencies including the Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, and the Library of Congress Bibliographic Access Section.
The library maintains extensive print and serial holdings covering subjects represented in collections from International Hydrographic Organization charts, World Meteorological Organization reports, and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessments to technical reports from NOAA Fisheries, National Ocean Service nautical charting, and National Weather Service forecast documentation. Holdings include monographs, peer-reviewed journals from publishers like American Geophysical Union, Marine Technology Society, Elsevier, and Springer Nature; government reports such as those from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Science Foundation, and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization; historical logs from USS Constitution-era surveys; and geospatial data used by Esri and NASA missions. Special collections feature archival materials tied to figures such as Sylvia Earle, Jacques Cousteau, Rachel Carson, and programs including Project Stormfury, Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and Hurricane Katrina response documentation.
Services support research staff from Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research laboratories, NOAA line offices, and external scholars at institutions like Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton University, University of California, San Diego, and Duke University. Facilities include reference services, interlibrary loan coordination with Research Libraries Group, document delivery aligned with Federal Depository Library Program, and map and chart reading rooms compatible with Global Positioning System and Geographic Information Systems applications. The library provides access to subscription resources from vendors such as ProQuest, JSTOR, Web of Science, and Scopus, and supports staff engagement with programs run by National Ocean Service’s navigation teams, National Marine Fisheries Service stock assessment units, and NOAA Fisheries science centers.
Research support emphasizes bibliographic and data curation for projects tied to Climate Change Science Program, Ocean Exploration Trust, NOAA Ocean Exploration, and joint initiatives with National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Outreach activities include exhibits and collaborations with the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History, lecture series featuring scholars from University of Miami, University of Washington, and University of Rhode Island, and participation in conferences such as the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting, AGU Fall Meeting, and Ocean Sciences Meeting. The library also contributes to educational partnerships with National Sea Grant College Program and supports policy research related to legislation like the Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.
Digitization programs prioritize historical nautical charts, bathymetric surveys, and meteorological station logs, coordinated with initiatives from National Archives and Records Administration, Library of Congress Digital Collections, and NOAA Central Library Digital Collections. Online access integrates with data portals operated by National Centers for Environmental Information, NOAA Data Catalog, and federated search services used by DataONE and GEOSS. The library curates digital preservation workflows compatible with standards promoted by International Council on Archives, Open Geospatial Consortium, and Digital Preservation Coalition, and provides metadata conforming to schemas used by Dublin Core, ISO 19115, and DataCite.
The library is administered within the organizational structure of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under the Department of Commerce (United States), with oversight from senior information management officials and coordination with NOAA Office of the Chief Information Officer. Funding derives from NOAA appropriations authorized by Congress alongside interagency grants from National Science Foundation, cooperative agreements with National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and contributions from partnerships with academic institutions such as University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science and private foundations like the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.
Category:Libraries in Maryland Category:National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration