The DOE Historical Research Center, maintained and operated by DOE’s Office of History and Heritage Resources, is located at the Germantown facility in suburban Maryland. The mission of the Historical Research Center is to 1) preserve the Department’s historic records and artifacts, 2) prepare and transfer the records to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), including where necessary arranging for declassification, and 3) provide access to the records, in the interim, both to DOE officials and to outside researchers to the greatest extent possible.

The Historical Research Center contains over 3,000 cubic feet of headquarters historic records. The main research room is equipped with a photocopier, access to online resources, and bibliographic and research aids, including AEC and DOE annual reports and a complete set of AEC and DOE headquarters press releases. The Historical Research Center is in a secure building, and access is by appointment only.  International researchers must allow 1-2 months lead time in order to process the required paperwork for a visit.

Office of History and Heritage Resources, MA-75
F-030, GTN
19901 Germantown Road
Germantown, MD 20874-1290

Mailing address:
Office of History and Heritage Resources, MA-75
F-031, GTN
Department of Energy
1000 Independence Ave, SW
Washington, DC 20585-1290
Phone: 301-903-5431
Fax: 301-903-9673
E-mail: HistoryDivision@hq.doe.gov

The Historical Research Center has records from the Atomic Energy Commission, Energy Research and Development Administration, Federal Energy Office/Federal Energy Administration, and Department of Energy. The Historical Research Center also contains a small amount of Manhattan Engineer District records. The materials are organized by collection.

Most of the collections in the Historical Research Center have been catalogued and inventoried on a folder title basis. A paper copy of the Folder Title Inventory is available in the Historical Research Center research room, or the online version is searchable from the research room’s public access computer. A copy of the inventory on CD is available from the Office of History and Heritage Resources upon request.

A Card Catalog for the AEC Secretariat collection was put together by AEC record keepers. Organized by subject and staff paper number, the catalog covers the period from 1947 to 1975 and is applicable to Secretariat records at NARA as well as in the Historical Research Center. Although the 60,000-card catalog has gone through a declassification review, it still contains security-classified entries. A searchable redacted version will soon be available to the public.

The DOE Office of History and Heritage Resources is preparing a Guide to the DOE Historical Research Center. The guide will provide an overview, organized by agency of origin, of the records collections in the archives. More detailed guides exist for the primary collections of the Historical Research Center. These are available from the History Office.