About
U.S. Military Academy Library, Archives, and Special Collections
Library
The USMA Library serves the 4,600+ cadets and cadet candidates, and 650 staff and faculty at the United States Military Academy and Prep School. The Library supports the mission of the Academy by empowering our cadets and faculty to be leaders of distinction in scholarship and research. We provide teaching and expertise in the discovery and application of scholarly information, access to information that supports the curriculum and independent research, and a place to engage with knowledge, ideas, and one another.
Archives
The Archives collection is comprised of the historical administrative records of the U.S. Military Academy, dating from its founding in 1802 through the present. Manuscripts, typescripts, publications, photographs, sound recordings, and maps are included in the collection. To qualify for the Archives, the material must have been generated by the Academy in the course of official business and must be of permanent historical value. Although maintained at West Point, these materials constitute record group 404 of the National Archives of the United States.
The Archives include many series of Academy publications, such as the cadet yearbook, Howitzer; the post newspaper, Pointer View; Annual Reports of the Superintendent; and many others.
In addition to the original records comprising record group 404, the USMA Archives maintains National Archives Microfilm Publications of related records from other record groups.
Special Collections
The Special Collections are comprised of a variety of materials from private and commercial sources. They are often made available to researchers from outside the Academy by request.
The Special Collections include approximately 1,500 linear feet of manuscript materials. Most of the collection consists of personal manuscripts of Academy alumni; however, some non-graduate papers are also included.
The collections also contain published sources such as books, maps, photographs, and ephemera. The book collection includes early European and American imprints, and the Sylvanus Thayer Collection acquired in the early years of the Academy and association volumes, books by and about Academy alumni, and books on the history of West Point, the Academy, and the Hudson Valley.