When Howard University opened in 1867, its library consisted of a small reading room and a few thousand books in the frame building in which classes were held. Today, the University Library System is among the nation's larger academic and research libraries. It consists of a central library group (comprised of the Founders Library/Undergraduate Library and four branch libraries in professional schools―Architecture, Business, Divinity, and Social Work); the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center; the Louis Stokes Health Sciences Library; the Law Library; the Ralph J. Bunche International Affairs Center Library; and the Afro-American Studies Resource Center.

Together, these facilities contain more than 2.2 million volumes; 14,000 current journal subscriptions; 3.7 million microform pieces; 6,600 manuscripts; and thousands of audio-visual items. Services and traditional collections are greatly enhanced by a rich universe of digital resources and the smart use of information technology.

The Founders Library, named in memory of the seventeen founders of the University, is the main facility in the University Library System. Opened in 1938, the building was designed by Albert Irvin Cassell (1895-1969), an African American architect from Towson, Maryland.

The contiguous Undergraduate Library (UGL) opened in 1983. The Founders Library and UGL house more than half of the books, periodicals, microforms, and other resources held at the University, with comprehensive coverage of disciplines in the behavioral and social sciences, the sciences, engineering, and the arts and humanities.

Special Libraries

     The Architecture Library (806-7773), located on the ground floor of the School of Architecture (Howard H. Mackey Building), houses print and non-print materials in the areas of building design and construction, interior design, city planning, and preservation of the built environment.
     The Business Library (806-1560), located in the School of Business, houses print and electronic resources to support the School's programs in business administration, accounting, finance, marketing, insurance, computer-based information systems, real estate and housing, management, hospitality management, and international business.
     The Divinity Library (806-0760), located on the East Campus, 1400 Shepherd Street, NE, in the School of Divinity (Benjamin E. Mays Hall), covers all areas of religious studies and houses the African Heritage Collection and audio tapes from the Howard Thurman Educational Trust.

The Louis Stokes Health Sciences Library (884-1532), located at 501 W Street, NW, supports the teaching, research and professional needs of the colleges of Medicine, Dentistry, and Phamrmacy Nursing and Allied Health Sciences, as well as the Howard University Hospital.		The Law Library (806-8045), located on the West Campus, at 2929 Van Ness Street, NW, provides the Law School with the resources, facilities and services it needs in teaching, research and professional practice.
		The Moorland-Spingarn Research Center (806-4237), located on the 1st floor of the Founders Library, is recognized as one of the world's largest and most comprehensive repositories for the documentation of the history and culture of people of African descent in Africa, the Americas, and other parts of the world. As one of Howard University's major research facilities, the MSRC collects, preserves, and makes available for research a wide range of resources chronicling the Black experience « Program of the Max Schmeling vs. Joe Louis fight. June 18, 1936. Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, Howard University, Washington, DC.

     The Ralph J. Bunche Reference Library and Reading Room (806-4363), located at 2218 6th Street, NW, contains a core collection of about 1,000 books and current periodicals on various subjects in international affairs.

      The Social Work Library (806-4737), located in Inabel Burns Lindsay Hall, supports the School of Social Work's programs on social welfare theory, criminal justice, displaced populations, family and child welfare, gerontology, and social work in health and mental health care settings.

     The Department of Afro-American Studies maintains a reading collection in the Afro-American Studies Resource Center (806-7242), located on the 3rd floor of the Founders Library.