National Art Library

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section is written like an advertisement.
Please help rewrite this article from a neutral point of view.
Mark blatant advertising which would require a fundamental rewrite in order to become encyclopedic for speedy deletion, using {{db-spam}}. (December 2007)

The National Art Library (NAL) is a major reference library, freely accessible to the public five days a week. It specialises in material about the fine and decorative arts of many countries and periods and is also an excellent source for information about artists. In the past, the NAL operated a restrictive admissions policy and was known as a library of last resort but that has all changed: nowadays, everyone is welcome to use the library and its collections.

The NAL is in a superb location on Level 3 (first floor) of the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), the world's greatest museum of decorative arts, overlooking the John Madejski Garden. The library's subject coverage includes those central to the work of the V&A and its collections, including: prints, drawings and paintings; furniture and woodwork; textiles, dress and fashion; ceramics and glass; metalwork; sculpture; and art and design of the Far East, India and South East Asia. The library also functions as the V&A's curatorial department for the art, craft and design of the book which means that some books are collected as examples of this, rather than for their documentary value.

1 Access to the collections
2 Highlights of the collections
3 Services to readers
4 References
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Access to the collections

Visitors are welcome to walk into the reading rooms simply to look around the Grade II listed interior, which is stunning. Visitors wishing to just have a look are asked to sign the Visitors’ Book at the entrance; those wanting to actually use the library material need to complete a registration form (and show some personal identification) to obtain a reader's ticket on their first visit. There is no charge for this.

The NAL is a reference library and does not lend material so readers need to use the collections in one of the public reading rooms. The library is known as a closed access library which means that most material (apart from the reference books on open shelves) has to be requested via staff at the counter. The library's catalogue is available on the web so that material can be requested in advance of a visit.

[edit] Highlights of the collections

The main strength of the NAL lies in the range and depth of its documentary material on the fine and decorative arts but it also has significant holdings of material in a particular genre as well as important historic collections, deemed 'special' either because of their provenance or their rarity, including:

• Artists' books • Auction sale catalogues • Calligraphy • Chapbooks • Children's books • Comics • Documentary manuscripts • Early printed books • Exhibition catalogues • Fine bindings • Illuminated manuscripts • Trade literature • Special collections, such as the Dyce and Forster collections

[edit] Services to readers

Services to users include: self-service photocopying facilities; a bookable digital camera for use with material unsuitable for photocopying; a bookable camera stand for use with readers' own cameras; computer print outs and a microform reader/printer. In addition, the library provides access to a range of electronic resources, including e-journals (some full text), abstracting and indexing databases, image and bibliographic databases and other reference sources. Some of these are only available onsite due to licensing restrictions. Staff are on hand to assist with readers’ research queries and will help with using the NAL catalogue and the available online databases, as well as dealing with enquiries about the Museum’s collections, requests for biographical information about artists and a wide range of other general art historical enquiries.