Religion Collections in Libraries and Archives: A Guide to Resources in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia Table of Contents - Preface/Acknowledgements - Abbreviations Lists of Entries: District of Columbia - Maryland - Virginia

National Conference of Catholic Bishops, US:
Catholic Conference Library

Access Policies

Closed for national and major Catholic holidays. Open to the public by appointment and with approval by library staff. Photocopying by requestor, 10 cents per page.

Reference Policy:

The Library accepts queries via mail, telephone, and on-site that would be considered ready-reference, referral, and/or brief research. They cannot perform in-depth research.

Borrowing Privileges:

Not a lending institution except to staff.

Networks/Consortia:

None.

Background Note:

Founded in 1989 as a facility to support National Conference of Catholic Bishops and United States Catholic Conference staff work.

Description of Collections

Books and monographs:

The collection holds approximately 10,000 volumes, primarily from 1940 to date. Strengths include reports, documents, and other papers from the Catholic Church, ecumenical groups, and non-governmental organizations.

The online catalog includes the entire cataloged collection, but does not include special collections.

Periodicals and newspapers:

Holdings in this area number about 150 current subscriptions and some 300 bound volumes. These date from 1939 to present, although the largest portion of the collection is from 1989 to present. This collection contains primarily official and semi-official Catholic Church publications from the United States, the Vatican, and elsewhere.

Archives, manuscripts, correspondence, and oral histories:

509 linear feet of material from 1965 to date, including meeting minutes, correspondence, and other material from the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and United States Catholic Conference.

There is a finding aid for vault locations. For further information, contact Nancy Patterson at (202) 541-3193.

Other holdings not listed above:

Uncataloged collections include publications of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and United States Catholic Conference; U.S. reprints of Vatican documents; and publications of other episcopal conferences, especially the Consejo Episcopal Latinoamericano (CELAM).

Subject Headings