There are several excellent libraries in the DC area with larger collections, more space, more staff, and more extensive opening hours than the CHS library. We try to accommodate as many books and users as we can in a library with a distinctive focus on ancient Greece, vanishing space for books, a limited budget, and a small staff. If the CHS library cannot accommodate all needs, fellows and readers may have to become itinerant scholars. Before setting out on research trips, though, always check each library’s catalog to make sure that it has the books needed and that they are not checked out but available when you arrive.
The institutions below have materials of interest to classicists and others.
American University
4400 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016
Library catalog
Visitor services
Catholic University of America
620 Michigan Avenue NE, Washington, DC 20064
Library catalog
Visitor services
Dumbarton Oaks
1703 32nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20007
Library catalog (limit to Dumbarton Oaks as location)
Visitor services
Georgetown University
37th and O Streets NW, Washington, DC 20057
Library catalog
Visitor services
Must bring government issued ID (passport, driver’s license).
Howard University
500 Howard Place NW, Washington, DC 20059
Library catalog
Visitor services
Library of Congress
101 Independence Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20540
Library catalog
Visitor services (must register in person for a reader library card)
Readers must submit requests in person for specific items; only the reference rooms have open stacks.
National Gallery of Art
6th and Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20565
Library catalog
Visitor services
Smithsonian Libraries and Archives
Natural History Building, 10th St. and Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20560
Library catalog
Visitor services