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About the Collection

The DDOT Library: A Storied Past 

The DDOT Library has undergone a transformation. Built from the ground up after the move to DDOT's new headquarters at Navy Yard in May 2011, the collection's come a long way. We began with nearly 300 boxes of loosely organized items and worked our way up to being a fully-functioning embedded library and archive within the agency. 

The library's had several incarnations over the years-and was sometimes abandoned- with various caretakers collecting items from the late 1800s to present day. This unique history helped to create a remarkable, but until now, hidden collection detailing the city's transportation history and the story of DC itself, and our hope is to shake off the dust. 

While building this new foundation over the past five years, we’ve worked to organize, preserve, and make the library’s collections accessible to employees and the public both, and this Omeka site is part of the result of that effort. While very much under construction, this online collection will contain a look at DDOT’s historical photograph collection, as well as a snapshot of archival materials that are candidates for digitization. We'll be adding more photos, newspaper clippings, maps, and other historical documents in the near future. 

If you'd like to know more about our collection or would like to make an appointment to visit, contact us at kathleen.crabb@dc.gov