Visitors and staff at AEI may have noticed recently the AEI library was in a state of disarray. With the assistance of four terrific Summer interns, we took a full inventory of the shelves for the first time in six years. There are now around 1,100 books housed in our library, and we are working to ensure the library has a good representation of current and former scholars’ work. 

The in-house library at 1789 Mass Ave is different from our former library at 1150 17th Street, AEI’s home for more than 40 years. That library was thought to be one of the finest small economics libraries in the country. When we moved and realized the old library would have to be dismantled, AEI invited librarians from the Federal Reserve and the Brookings Institution to take what they wanted for their excellent collections, which they did.

In its early history, AEI (then called the American Enterprise Association) was a specialty publisher of sorts. While AEI had no resident scholars until 1971, we did commission a small number of legislative analyses written by lawyers from around the country. Some of these early, historical publications are available to view in the credenzas in the library. 

One such publication, The Role of Government Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy (1965), written by Arthur Kemp, director of the Institute on Freedom and Competitive Enterprise at Claremont Men’s college and later an AEI Advisory Board member, may be the Institute’s only publication to contain a foreword by a US president. Herbert Hoover wrote:

A possible vast field of scientific discovery and invention lies ahead of us. The engineers and the scientists can make possible further major productive strides—if their minds and spirits are kept free from the stifling of bureaucracy.

Kemp wrote that as far as the peaceful uses were concerned, the goal was “an atomic industry competitively owned and operated with the Atomic Energy Commission,” a regulatory agency, avoiding “both subsidization and a government guaranteed or controlled market for nuclear production.”

The contributions of AEI scholars over the years to our library stand the test of time and continue to provide valuable insights. We welcome you to come and visit our library and check it out for yourself! 

The AEI library is a repository of our scholars’ work. It is not a lending library. If you would like a copy of a publication from the library, please contact Sarah Bowe.

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