Founders Library, Academic library in the Howard/Shaw neighbourhood, Washington, D.C., United States

Founders Library is a Georgian-style red brick academic library on Howard University's main quad in Washington, D.C., designed by architect Albert Irvin Cassell. Its central clock tower, modeled on Independence Hall in Philadelphia, rises above four stories and six levels of stacks. The main reading room measures 120 by 32 feet, and the building holds over one million volumes.

Congress first appropriated $1 million for a new Howard library in 1929, but construction only began in 1936, after the original Main Building was demolished and the President's house moved. Architect Albert Irvin Cassell designed the Georgian red-brick building; its cornerstone was laid on June 10, 1937, and it opened for service on January 3, 1939, with a dedication that May.

The library holds the Channing Pollock Theater Collection and is home to the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, whose holdings began with Jesse E. Moorland's 1914 gift of over 3,000 documents on African and African American history. The building is named for the 17 men who founded Howard University.

Students and researchers can access reading rooms, research assistance, and digital resources during the academic year. The building is centrally located within the university quadrangle and easily accessible to visitors.

The tower was modelled on the one at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, chosen because the library honours the university's founders and their link to liberty. The building was dedicated on 25 May 1939, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation named it a national treasure in 2012.