Location
The Institute of World Politics Library is located on the basement level and first floor of Bently Hall at 1523 16th St. NW, Washington, D.C.
Hours and Contact Information
Please see this page for hours and contact information.
Circulation Policy
Circulating books may be checked out for three weeks (you will be issued an IWP ID card by the Office of Student Services to be presented upon checkout of books), and photocopying is available for reserve materials, special collections, and other items which are for in-library use only.
Orientation Sessions
The Library offers scheduled orientation sessions each semester. These orientations are opportunities to meet with the library staff and to get a flavor of the many services available. Additionally, students are encouraged to request individual or small-group research instruction at any time throughout the semester.
These orientation sessions, while not mandatory, are strongly encouraged. It is important for IWP library staff to let students and users know about the library’s services and what they might be able to do for them. The IWP library supports these sessions throughout the year with further training on all aspects of information skills-from using the library’s print collections to making the best use of electronic resources.
Library Holdings and Information Access
The Institute of World Politics Library currently contains more than 40,000 volumes, including thousands of rare and out-of-print national security books and documents from the American Security Council Foundation and from former senior government officials. In June 2002, the Institute received the gift of the extraordinary private library of William J. Casey, the late Director of Central Intelligence.
In addition to a basic collection of foreign affairs periodicals and reference works, the IWP library has several specialized resources. These include collections of books in: U.S. foreign policy; U.S. intelligence and counterintelligence; and primary-source Cold War materials in Soviet/Russian/East European affairs and U.S. internal security.
A suite of electronic databases is available to researchers. This suite includes such tools as:
- HeinOnline
- JSTOR
- EBSCO Political Science Complete
- EBSCO Military and Government Collection
- EBSCO International Security & Counter Terrorism Reference Center
- EBSCO Academic Search Premier
- EBSCOhost for Electronic Books
- Columbia International Affairs Online (CIAO)
- Britannica Online
- Forgotten Books
- World Politics Review
- Homeland Security Digital Library
- Military Education Research Library Network
High-speed Internet access is also available to students and faculty. Other electronic resources include e-books, newspapers, and other materials. Topical pathfinders are being developed by the IWP library to assist researchers.
One must be a current IWP student, faculty member, or other authorized user for access to IWP’s electronic databases, and all databases may be accessed from off or on campus. Authorized users may enter this secured section of the library website by authenticating themselves with their “My IWP” user ID and password.
Reflecting the Institute’s philosophy that a moral foundation is required to practice the various arts of statecraft effectively and ethically, a central element of the IWP library’s mission is to support the principle that “wisdom is knowledge applied to the benefit of humanity.”
Online ResearchTools
In addition to the advice and research instruction available from the library staff in person, the library maintains an extensive list of online research tools, including:
- Tutorials on research and writing skills
- Electronic books and other scholarly texts available online
- Online databases for other area libraries
For more information about these important resources, please contact Dmitry Kulik, Library Manager, at dkulik@iwp.edu.