US National Agricultural Library NAL

History and Founding

The National Agricultural Library (NAL) was established on May 15, 1862, when President Abraham Lincoln signed the Organic Act creating the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The act mandated the Commissioner of Agriculture to acquire and preserve all information concerning agriculture. It served as the USDA's departmental library until 1962, when the Secretary of Agriculture formally designated it as the National Agricultural Library. The first librarian was appointed in 1867. Over the following decades, the library moved through a series of increasingly large Washington, D.C. facilities before groundbreaking for a purpose-built 17-story building in Beltsville, Maryland in 1967, which opened in 1969 as the Abraham Lincoln Building.

Collections and Holdings

NAL is one of the world's largest libraries devoted to agriculture and related sciences, holding more than 3.5 million items. Its collections span all aspects of agriculture, food science, nutrition, forestry, veterinary medicine, rural sociology, and related fields from the 1500s to the present. Special collections of particular note include:

• Pomological Watercolor Collection: Over 7,500 original watercolors of botanical subjects, mainly fruits and nuts, created by USDA artists between 1886 and 1942, representing 38 plant families.
• USDA History Collection: Transferred from the Economic Research Service in 1996, this collection documents the work of the USDA from its founding in 1862 through the late 20th century, including newsletters, agricultural organization publications, correspondence, photographs, and research notes.
• Special Collections: Rare books, manuscript collections, nursery and seed trade catalogs, photographs, and posters from the 1500s to the present.

The NAL Digital Collections offer searchable, full-text access to historical USDA publications, including the Yearbook of the United States Department of Agriculture (from 1894) and the Journal of Agricultural Research (1913-1949).

Access and Usage

The main library in Beltsville is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. NAL also operates a Washington, D.C. branch (the DC Reference Center) in the USDA South Building. The AGRICOLA and PubAg databases, NAL Digital Collections, and many special collections finding aids are accessible online at no charge. Special Collections require advance contact. NAL is one of five national libraries of the United States.