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The Pentagon Library is a strategic knowledge management resource that enables WHS customers to gain and maintain full-spectrum information and knowledge superiority, while concurrently facilitating research, education, training, self development, well-being, outreach, and continuous career learning—the right information at the right time and place to support the DoD mission.  Within the Department of Defense, the Pentagon Library is distinguished as the singular headquarters library and primary information provider for the personnel working in the Pentagon and the National Capital Region.  The Pentagon Library provides limited services to the public by responding to requests for publicly available information, filling authorized interlibrary lending requests, and servicing FOIA requests as directed.

The purpose of the Pentagon Library is to provide professionally managed library services to customers and their communities to meet a broad spectrum of mission support and unique requirements essential to the DoD.  As an “official business” library, the Pentagon Library is a class of special library distinguished from other libraries by its narrowly delineated collection and sharply defined customer base.  The Pentagon Library is the service interface between a highly select collection of print, digital, and human information resources and customers who use information to accomplish their work. 

When the Pentagon Library was established in 1944, twenty eight departmental libraries and information centers were consolidated into one main library for the Pentagon.  By having a central library that served all work-related functions in the building, the library mitigated the establishment of departmental collections and eliminated the duplication of expenditures and effort, resulting in cost reduction for the Government.