Information and records on battleships?

Try the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS) at http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs.html

      Rebecca's answer Darren is a great place to start. You may also want to check with the folks at the United States Navy Naval History and Heritage Command. The link is here: http://www.history.navy.mil/ .

As for resources that the National Archives and Records Administration holds you can also search the National Archives Catalog for related records, including photos, films, and plans & drawings.  And check the research tips for Naval Records at www.archives.gov.

The Library of Congress also has some really great photographs and other resources on early battleships. Search results for Battleships | Library of Congress.

Hope this helps.

More specifically Darren, you can look for documents and plans for battleships in Record Group 19, Records of the Navy's Bureau of Ships.  The various correspondence series in the record group contain information on the design and construction of the battleships.  Also Record Group 24 contains the various deck logs of U.S. battleships--the daily record of the ship's life. 

A great secondary source for the design and construction of U. S. Battleships is Norman Friedman's U.S. Battleships: An Illustrated Design History, (Annapolis, U.S. Naval Institute Press, 1985).  This book is well footnoted and has an extensive bibliography.