The Dudley Knox Library (DKL) supports the instructional and research programs and requirements of the Naval Postgraduate
School. Towards this goal, the Library collects or provides materials in multiple formats, to include an expanding range of
resources in electronic formats. To a lesser degree, the Library also supports the larger community of Department of the Navy
and other Department of Defense clientele, other government agencies and the citizens of the communities on the Monterey peninsula.
The purpose of this plan is to provide the guiding principles for the development and maintenance of the Library’s collection.
School’s Mission Statement
The Naval Postgraduate School was established to serve the advanced educational needs of the Navy. The broad responsibility
of the School is reflected in its stated mission:
Provide relevant and unique advanced education and research programs in order to increase the combat effectiveness of U.S.
and Allied armed forces and enhance the security of the U.S.A.1
An expansion upon this mission has been excerpted from SECNAV INSTRUCTION 1524.2A, April 4, 1989:
The NPS exists for the sole purpose of increasing the combat effectiveness of the Navy and Marine Corps. It accomplishes this
by providing post-baccalaureate degree and nondegree programs in a variety of sub-specialty areas not available through other
educational institutions. The NPS also supports the DoN through the continuing programs of naval and maritime research and
through the maintenance of an expert faculty capable of working in, or as advisors to, operational commands, laboratories,
systems commands, and headquarters activities of the Navy and Marine Corps. To fulfill its mission, the Naval Postgraduate
School strives to sustain excellence in the quality of its instructional programs, to be responsive to technological change
and innovation in the Navy, and to prepare officers to introduce and utilize future technologies.2
Dudley Knox Library’s Mission Statement
The mission of the Dudley Knox Library is to provide the Naval Postgraduate School and the broader defense and security communities
with an information rich environment supporting academic and research pursuits.3
School Profile
To meet its educational requirements, the Navy has developed a unique academic institution at the Naval Postgraduate School
(NPS). The student body consists of U.S. officers from all branches of the uniformed services, civilian employees of the federal
government and military officers and government civilian employees of other countries.
Students receive graduate degrees as a result of successful completion of study programs designed primarily to prepare them
for future career assignments. Degrees are awarded on the basis of the same academic standards that prevail at other accredited
institutions. NPS is an academic institution whose emphasis is on study and research programs that are relevant to the Navy's
interests, as well as the interests of other arms of the Department of Defense (DoD).4
NPS provides an array of learning opportunities, including Graduate Degree Programs, Continuous Learning, Distributed Learning
and Non-Resident Programs, Refresher and Transition Education, Executive Education and Joint Professional Military Education
(JPME). These programs are under the auspices of the four graduate schools.5
Library Profile
The Dudley Knox Library offers students and faculty in-depth support by providing library-related instruction, research assistance
and access to a collection containing more than 450,000 volumes, 1,500,000 microform holdings, over 32,000 classified documents
and an increasing collection of electronic materials (databases, books and journals).
The Library belongs to several organizations and consortia. These include: the Military Education Coordination Conference
(MECC), Consortium of Navy Libraries (CNL), National Research Library Alliance (NRLA), Monterey Bay Area Cooperative Library
System (MOBAC), and the Library of California.
The Library was designated a federal depository in 1963 and has, since then, been receiving publications from the federal
government with a significant emphasis on defense and military related documents. The Library has an extensive collection
of scientific and technical reports from the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA), National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) and the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) as well as the NPS generated theses and technical
reports.
The Library’s Restricted Resources and Services (RRS) area contains a vault and houses a collection of materials of various
formats classified from Limited Distribution through the SECRET level. Access to the SIPRNET (Secret Internet Protocol Router
Network), a classified Internet network will be added in late 2004 to help facilitate access to classified materials and research.
The Library also houses several special collections including the Christopher Buckley, Jr. Collection of books on naval and
maritime history, the Yangtze River Patrol collection and an unclassified collection of intelligence materials.
The development of the Homeland Security Digital Library (HSDL) began in late 2002 and is an ongoing project designed to support
the homeland security oriented instruction and research done by the faculty, staff and students of the Naval Postgraduate
School as well as the broader needs of the Department of Homeland Security.
1 A View to the Future: The Naval Postgraduate School Strategic Plan, 2003. p. 4.
2 SECNAV Instruction 1524.2A, Policies Concerning the Naval Postgraduate School, 04 April 1989, p. 1.
3 Dudley Knox Library. Strategic Plan 2003-2006. June 2003. p. 3.
4 Naval Postgraduate School Academic Catalog, 2002.
5 NPS Academics webpage.
