The Library, which has a professional staff of two, presently supports the informational needs of museum staff, ANS membership and the general public through the acquisition, cataloguing and referencing of numismatic publications, domestic and foreign. Society programs such as the Graduate Seminar in numismatics require a library collection that will support graduate level research. The pamphlet collection, consisting of thousands of numismatic offprints, along with the library's extensive current periodical collection, provide both seminar students and visiting readers with the latest findings in numismatic research. The very large holdings of commercial literature, consisting of auction catalogues and fixed price lists, enable individuals to track provenances and price changes for the particular numismatic objects that interest them. These catalogues and lists often include illustrations of the object not to be found elsewhere.

In order to maintain consistency in its cataloging, the library employs the "List of Subject Headings for Specialized Collections in Numismatics". This "List" was compiled by library staff during the period 1978-1987, with funds received in three successive grants awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. As one of the world's leading centers of numismatic research, the Library of the Society has developed a subject cataloging system, the specificity of which is of great value to scholars. The system grew out of a need to facilitate access to the Library's holdings and to accommodate the cataloging of thousands of numismatic articles in the periodicals that the Library regularly receives. With the availability of the Library's catalogue on the Society's website, consistency in subject assignment will assure that those who research specific topics will find the bulk of the material on those topics held by the Library.

To service its clientele, the library maintains a core collection of the early works on numismatics as well as the key numismatic references published over the centuries. Many of these works have come from the private numismatic libraries of distinguished numismatists and collectors, including those of Edgar H. Adams, William S. Appleton, Harry W. Bass, Jr., David M. Bullowa, Charles A. Hersh, Archer M. Huntington, Richard Hoe Lawrence, George C. Miles, Herman Miller, Edward T. Newell, Charles K. Panish, Daniel Parish and Isaac F. Wood. Recent archival acquisitions have included the numismatic archives of Virgil M. Brand, the New Netherlands Coin Company, the Garrett and Norweb families, John S. Davenport, the Chapman Brothers' Auction firm, and the John Adams Large Cent archives.

Along with physical growth, the Library has had to expand its services and shift the emphasis of its collection development in order to support the Society's expanded activities and programs. Advances in information technology have also transformed the traditional role of the Library and its Librarians. In particular, the internet now brings the Library's entire card catalog to the international numismatic community and that community is making increased use of the Library's resources. Whereas, in the past, we were primarily servicing the public via the mails and telephone, we now have a daily stream of e-mail inquiries from all corners of the globe. Because our collection is international in scope, those living abroad have found that the ANS Library is able to satisfy many of their research needs, whether those needs involve an antiquarian numismatic work, a current auction catalog, or an obscure article.