US Treasury Library United States Department of the Treasury

Overview

The Treasury Library is the official library of the United States Department of the Treasury, located in Washington, D.C. It provides mission-critical information resources for Treasury's Departmental Offices and its bureaus, and serves as a congressionally designated Federal Depository Library, guaranteeing public access to its government documents collection under Title 44 of the United States Code.

History and Founding

The oldest known reference to the library in Treasury documents dates to 1823, making it one of the longer-established departmental libraries in the federal government. Among the oldest items in its holdings is a first edition of Secretary Albert Gallatin's A Sketch of the Finances of the United States, published in 1796. The library was designated as a Federal Depository Library in 1895, and 2015 marked its 120th anniversary in that capacity. It relocated from the Main Treasury Building to the Freedman's Bank Building (formerly the Treasury Annex) in January 2013.

Collections and Holdings

The collection covers Treasury's organizational history, law, politics and international relations, economics, tax policy, domestic finance, and national security studies. In partnership with the St. Louis Federal Reserve's FRASER (Federal Reserve Archival System for Economic Research), the Treasury Library has digitized 452 volumes of press releases—approximately 40,000 releases from 1916 to 2009—providing an overview of American financial history from World War I through the 2007–2009 financial crisis. The FRASER collection for Treasury also includes statements and speeches by Treasury officials, data releases, and policy documents.

Notable Materials Related to Journalism and Media

The digitized press release collection (1916–2009), accessible via FRASER, constitutes a primary source record of Treasury communications with the press and public across nearly a century.

Access and Usage

Members of the public are welcome to visit the Treasury Library by appointment. All visitors must be cleared by the Secret Service prior to entry. The library's circulating collection is available to affiliates of Treasury's Departmental Offices. Public access to the government documents collection is guaranteed by law, and soft copies may be requested from the library.