(The O'Toole Library and the centrally located Degheri Reading Room provide students with resources critical to their academic and pastoral ministries. The Library honors the memory Therese and Edward O'Toole, who established the O'Toole Foundation in 1967 as one of the largest philanthropic organizations dedicated to the support of religious institutions world-wide. Their relatives, Chris and Delores Degheri also provided substantial support to the Union.
The O'Toole Library maintains a carefully selected collection of literature for the study of theology and pastoral ministry. The Library's collection in Franciscan, Carmelite, and Augustinian studies remains unparalleled in the Washington area. Two additional Franciscan collections are the St. Anthony-on-Hudson collection encompassing general monographs and periodicals (now part of the Library's permanent collection) and the Academy of American Franciscan History collection (on long term loan) covering Franciscan history in the Americas, with materials in English, Spanish, Portuguese and Native American languages.

The library contains over 130,000 volumes, approximately 500 periodical subscriptions, and several online resources (including ATLA Religion Database, Catholic Periodical and Literature Index, Proquest, and the Anchor Bible Dictionary). Additional services include an extensive collection of theological reference sources in the Chris and Dolores Degheri Reading Room, computers and printers with Internet and Wi-Fi access, and audio-visual equipment and materials. Additional access to Caremelite materials is available at nearby Whitefriars Hall and access to over 1 million volumes of theological sources is available through the Washington Theological Consortium (WTC).
8:00am - 9:00pm
8:00am - 8:00pm
8:00am - 4:30pm
11:00am - 4:00pm
God be thanked for books; they are the voices
of the distant and the dead and make us heirs of the spiritual
life of past ages.
—Channing