The library's circulation and reference holdings represent a well-rounded collection of over 80,000 volumes with special strength in marine engineering, naval architecture, marine transportation, oceanography, transportation economics and management, and meteorology. The library currently receives over 374 magazines and journals, binds 134 significant titles and has retrospective holdings of 101 other titles on 7,000 reels of microfilm. In addition to its print and microform resources a non-print media collection is located in the Library Reading Room. You may access the collection by searching the the Sextant, the library's online catalog.

Government Documents
As a selective depository of U.S. Government documents, the library selects 333 items, representing approximately 2,400 documents annually. With an emphasis on maritime related documents, items received include nautical charts, sailing directions, and US Coast Guard and MARAD (Maritime Administration) publications.