[2] The USGS Library is open to the public for in-person research at locations in Reston, Virginia and Lakewood, Colorado.

The library was formally established in 1882, with the naming of the first librarian, Charles C. Darwin, and began with a staff of 3 and a collection of 1,400 books.

L., 394-395, 3 March 1879)[3] authorized the creation of a program for exchanging copies of USGS reports for publications of state, national, and international organizations.

Other early gifts were made by Major John Wesley Powell, second Director of the USGS, who donated his collection of State Geological Survey reports and the family of Dr. Isaac Lea (Philadelphia publisher and gem collector whose family donated nearly 600 items of his personal library).

Materials within the library system include books and maps dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries, as well as a nearly complete set of the various State Geological Survey publications.

Of special note are many 19th century maps with topics such as American political boundaries, transportation, geology, and mining.

Acquired by the library in 1933, the George F. Kunz Collection is a significant special collection on gems and minerals including rare books on gemology, the folklore of gemstones through history, lapidary arts and archival gem trade records important to the provenance of named stones such as the Hope Diamond.

The Center maintained the nation's most comprehensive collection of Antarctic aerial photography, maps, charts, satellite imagery, and technical reports.

The current collection includes materials produced by the following Antarctic Treaty nations: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, China, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Poland, the Russian Federation, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Uruguay.

Subjects include earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, topography, historical mining operations, earth science, and a substantial collection of USGS personnel portraits.

Currently, the USGS Library Photographic Collection website provides online access to less than ten percent of the entire archive.