Interior Library

The Library Reading Room will be closed Tuesday, December 24 through Friday, December 27, 2024. Librarians will be available on Thursday and Friday via e-mail (library@ios.doi.gov). 

The Library Reading Room will close at 2:00 pm on Tuesday, December 31, 2024, and will reopen as usual on Thursday, January 2, 2025. We regret any inconvenience these changes may cause. 
 

Where DOI Employees Get Their Information

                
The Interior Library provides a full range of professional reference and research services, available to Interior employees in both the Washington, DC, area and nationwide. The collections include Departmental publications, as well as related books, journals, electronic databases and other resources that support the mission of the Department, its agencies, and bureaus.
 

Search the Library's Catalog

The Library's own collections include some 176,000 current and historical publications.
 

Contact Us

A staff member is available Monday through Friday (except federal holidays) from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm and 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm.
 

Upcoming Programs

Park Ranger Speaker Series

Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle Restoration and Enhancement Program at Padre Island National Seashore
Tuesday, January 21, 2025, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm ET

The Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle Restoration and Enhancement Program at Padre Island National Seashore is a multi-agency effort to save the critically endangered Kemp's Ridley sea turtle from extinction. Restoration activities for Kemp’s Ridleys began in Texas in 1978, as part of the multi-agency, bi-national program.

Please note: This program is only being offered as a simultaneous online webinar. Please contact the Library to obtain webinar information for this program.

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Training Sessions

Settling the Old West: The Legacy of the Homestead Act
Thursday, January 16, 2025, 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm

The Homestead Act has been called one of the most important pieces of legislation in the history of the United States. Signed into law in 1862 by Abraham Lincoln after the secession of southern states, this act turned over vast amounts of the public domain to private citizens. Some 270 million acres, or 10% of the area of the United States was claimed and settled under this act.  Settlers from all walks of life including newly arrived immigrants, farmers without land of their own from the East, single women and former slaves came to meet the challenge of "proving up" and keeping this "free land".

Please note: This program is only being offered as a simultaneous online webinar. Please contact the Library to obtain webinar information for this program.

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Electronic Resources for Departmental Employees

These databases are available to all departmental employees at their desktops. Employees who are teleworking may access them through the Department's VPN. Others must contact a Reference Librarian for assistance.

General Interest

Law and Public Policy

The Interior Library Reference Staff maintains access to the Lexis Advance, Westlaw and PACER online databases. Departmental employees can visit the Interior Library or contact the Library by phone at (202) 208-5815 or via the Library's Questions and Comments form if they would like a reference librarian to conduct a work-related search in any of these databases.
 

Find Electronic Books and Journals By Title

To help you determine whether and where a needed electronic book or journal is available among the databases listed above, we provide a complete, searchable alphabetical list of titles. If you're looking for a particular journal but aren't sure where it's indexed or is available among the Library's online databases, try this list first.

The list combines the full-text journals and other materials in all the database services to which Library users have access.

Also included are some single subscriptions as well as selected open access books and journals. Most entries include coverage dates, and all entries have links directly to the requested title.

Please direct your questions on database searching strategies to a Reference Librarian.
 

The Federal Depository Library Program     

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As a member of the Federal Depository Library Program, the Interior Library provides local, no-fee access to Federal government information in an impartial environment with professional assistance. Anyone can visit Federal depository libraries and use the Federal depository collections. The Interior Library has received Federal depository materials since its designation in 1895.