How to Leverage the NAR Library & Archives

Founded in 1923, the NAR Library and Archives is the largest real estate library in the world — yes, in the world. Their collection includes residential and commercial real estate, sales and marketing, property management, appraisal, land use and development, association management, finance and economics, technology, general business, personal growth and more. That’s a whole lot of knowledge that’s available to you as a REALTOR®. But how can you leverage this incredible member benefit for your business? We have a few ideas.

Looking for letter templates for new business ventures? Look no further. NAR has created templates that are free for you to download, including:

• Referral letters and thank yous
• Marketing checklists
• Prospecting templates
• Office and firm moves
• Client testimonial letters
• And so many more

You can also make suggestions for future templates.

NAR’s eBook collection is extensive and contains books on everything from business planning to dieting and exercise to foreign language learning. And, many are available in audiobook form so you can learn and grow on the go. Some recommendations:

• Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell
• The New Urban Crisis, by Richard Florida
• The Ultimate Guide to Urban Farming, by Nicole Faires
• Zero Waste Home, by Bea Johnson
• The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, by Patrick M. Lencioni
• Fanatical Prospecting, by Jeb Blount
• Web Copy That Sells, by Maria Veloso
• Mindful Eating, by Jan Chozen Bays
• Year of Yes, by Shonda Rhimes
• Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur, by Derek Sivers

To check out electronic and audio books or reports from the eBooks collection, login to NAR’s eBooks site with your NRDS ID. Be sure to select “National Association of REALTORS®” as your primary library in the drop-down menu on the sign-in page. You may check out up to six items at a time at no cost. Many items can be borrowed for up to 21 days, and lending periods can be customized in your eBooks Account after signing in. Members may place a hold on print items to check out, and a librarian will contact you to obtain your mailing address and shipping options. For $10, you may check out up to three items at a time for a 30-day period, with the option to renew, pending a waitlist. Recent print titles added to NAR’s collection include:

• So You’ve Got Your Real Estate License… Now What?, by Mitch Ribak
• Everybody Matters: The Extraordinary Power of Caring for Your People Like Family, by Bob Chapman and Rajendra Sisodia
• The Price of Inequality, by Joseph E. Stiglitz
• Success Under Stress, by Sharon Melnick, Ph.D.
• The Lost Art of Closing: Winning the Ten Commitments that Drive Sales, by Anthony Iannarino

Members may place a hold on print items to check out, and a librarian will contact you to obtain your mailing address and shipping options. For $10, you may check out up to three items at a time for a 30-day period, with the option to renew, pending a wait list. Recent print titles added to NAR’s collection include: • So You’ve Got Your Real Estate License… Now What?, by Mitch Ribak • Everybody Matters: The Extraordinary Power of Caring for Your People Like Family, by Bob Chapman and Rajendra Sisodia • The Price of Inequality, by Joseph E. Stiglitz • Success Under Stress, by Sharon Melnick, Ph.D. • The Lost Art of Closing: Winning the Ten Commitments that Drive Sales, by Anthony Iannarino

NAR’s online library catalog is your gateway to the world’s largest real estate library — and all the information it contains. The online catalog is basically an academic-level research portal, so you have access to research, journals and more.  

Before you search elsewhere, take advantage of the research NAR has already done for you. Formerly known as Field Guides, the Library’s References webpage contains links to external articles, titles from the NAR Library eBooks collection, websites, statistics and other material to provide a comprehensive overview of perspectives on each topic. This includes field guides on everything from antitrust, appraisal and valuations, auctions and buying versus renting, to crowdfunding, drones, installations affecting property values and working with different demographics.

NAR’s archives contain over 500,000+ historical documents and images documenting the whole history of real estate in the United States. It’s an incredible accumulation of historic items about our profession — and it’s headquartered here in Chicago, so you can visit in person, email infoservices@realtors.org or just browse online. We particularly love some of the old REALTOR® print ads.