Since its establishment in
1955, the Academic Library of the United States
Air Force Academy has provided vital,
intellectual support and stimulus to the mission
of the Academy, which is: “To inspire and
develop outstanding young men and women to
become Air Force officers with knowledge,
character and discipline, and motivation to lead
the world’s greatest aerospace force in service
to the nation.” In May 2003, the Academic
Library was named for the first Permanent Dean
of the Faculty, Brigadier General (ret) Robert
F. McDermott.
The McDermott Library
serves the academic, research, and recreational
reading needs of Academy cadets, faculty, and
staff. It maintains 1.5 million items including
books, national and international journal and
newspaper subscriptions, technical reports, an
audio collection, government documents, and a
web page with links to thousands of on-line
indexes, abstracts, and full-text document
services.
The reference collection
contains standard and specialized works on most
subject areas. The library also provides
electronic searching of selected indexes and
access to on-line and CD-ROM databases. U.S.
government and international agency documents
are also available for research and reference in
the Academy’s Documents Depository.
The Library’s Special
Collections Branch contains the official
archives of the Academy, major works in
aeronautics and military aviation history,
including the renowned Colonel Richard Gimbel
Aeronautics Collection, and collections of
personal and official papers donated by
distinguished Air Force officers and civilians
who have been instrumental in the development of
American military air power. In April 2003. the
Special Collections were renamed the "Clark
Special Collections" to honor the sixth
Superintendent of the USAF Academy, Lt Gen (ret)
A. P. Clark. General Clark was a very
active supporter of the Friends.
The Friends of the Air
Force Academy Library was established for the
purpose of enhancing the quality of the
McDermott Library as an educational, research,
scientific, and cultural institution. The
Friends enable the Library to acquire material,
to pursue projects, to create publications, and
to implement services beyond those available
through funds allocated by the Air Force.
Security restrictions are
still in force for the cadet area. DoD
cardholding visitors who are not assigned to
an agency within the cadet area will be issued a
1-day Temporary (T) or Visitor (V) badge and
1-day parking pass in exchange for a driver’s
license at the cadet entry gates near Sijan Hall
and the Fieldhouse; DoD cardholders may not
escort non-DoD cardholding visitors. Non-DoD
cardholding visitors must be sponsored into
the cadet area by prior phone call to Dr. Mary
Elizabeth Ruwell at (719) 333-4674 or Dr. Ed
Scott at 333-2590. They can meet visitors at
the North Gate parking lot, the Visitors Center
or the Falcon Club. Because of security
concerns, groups larger than five must make
arrangements at least two weeks in advance of
their visit.
