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Each of the Metropolitan Museum's libraries and study centers has a distinctive collection and character, and all serve the research needs and educational mission of the Museum. All users must check bags, coats, briefcases, and packages in the Great Hall or at the 81st
Street entrance and must comply with the individual library's or
study center's access policies and registration procedures. Some
libraries and study centers close for all or part of the month of
August and for various staff holidays. Please call ahead to confirm
hours.
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Thomas J. Watson Library is the research library of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Its noncirculating collection of books and periodicals relating to the history of art is one of the most comprehensive in the world. The scope of the library reflects the Museum's permanent collection, with particularly strong holdings in European and American art—including architecture and the decorative arts—as well as substantial holdings in Ancient Near Eastern, Egyptian, Greek and Roman, Asian, and Islamic art.
The library contains approximately 500,000 volumes (books, periodicals, exhibition catalogues, and auction and sale catalogues); 2,500 current serial subscriptions; collections of autograph letters; and extensive ephemeral files relating to individual artists and to the history of the Metropolitan Museum. WATSONLINE, the Museum libraries' online catalogue, provides access to the records of Watson Library's holdings and includes records for partial holdings of the other Museum libraries.
Guidelines for Admission (effective September 1, 2004)
The Thomas J. Watson Library's primary mission is to serve the Museum's staff. It is also available to experienced researchers who have begun their research elsewhere, and/or who have appropriate documentation indicating their affiliation and reasons for using this library.
Watson Library is a closed-stack collection. Requested books are paged for visitors and must be used in the library. Basic computer skills are necessary for using WATSONLINE, the online catalog, and other electronic resources.
All library users must check bags larger than 9 x 12 x 3 in., laptop cases, and coats BEFORE coming to use the library.
Reading privileges are extended to the following, upon presentation of appropriate documentation and identification:
- Currently enrolled graduate students (need current ID showing graduate status)
- Current faculty or teaching staff at a university, college, or school (need current ID)
- Current staff of a museum, gallery, auction house, or art dealer (need current ID showing institutional affiliation)
- Researchers who are professionally or officially involved in work which requires the resources of a specialized art history research library after beginning research elsewhere (need current ID showing institutional affiliation, a letter from a professional in the field describing the research, or a written referral from a librarian)
- Published author (supply list of published work/s or book contract)
All applicants must present identification including:
- Photo ID
- Institutional affiliation
- Current address
If you have any questions about your qualifications for using the Watson Library, please call the Head of Reader Services at 212-570-3739 during business hours.
Hours: Tuesday–Friday 10:00 a.m.–4:40 p.m.; paging until 3:45 p.m.
Telephone: 212-650-2225
Fax: 212-570-3847
Email: watson.library@metmuseum.org
The library is closed to outside researchers on national holidays, Election Day, and during the last two weeks of August.
The Central Catalog, which is administered by Watson Library,
maintains the object records for The Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection
(with the exception of The Robert Lehman Collection, prints from the Department of Drawings and Prints, and the Department of Photographs). The contributing Museum departments provide object records with some or all of the following information: object description, exhibitions in which the object has appeared since acquisition by the Museum, curatorial notes, bibliographic references, and locations in previous collections. The Central Catalog is open to all visitors by appointment. To make an appointment, go to the Reception Desk at the Museum's 82nd Street entrance or call directly during hours of operation. You will be given directions to the Central Catalog at the Reception Desk.
Hours: Tuesday and Thursday, 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
Telephone: 212-650-2312
Fax: 212-650-2316
Email: central.catalog@metmuseum.org
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Lita Annenberg Hazen and Joseph H. Hazen
Center for Electronic Information Resources
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The Lita Annenberg Hazen and Joseph H.
Hazen Center for Electronic Information Resources, located in and part of Thomas J. Watson Library, provides access to an extensive collection of databases, CD-ROMs, online journals, and indexed Internet resources for the history of art, as well as training and support in their use. The center serves the research needs of Museum staff and other qualified Watson Library users (see above). In addition, the center's staff has catalogued hundreds of art-related and general Internet resources for online research; view these links.
Consult the Hazen Center's policies for independent research and instruction. Get more information about instruction offered in the Hazen Center.
View a list of electronic resources available in the Hazen Center.
Get more information about the Hazen Center's mission from the inaugural press release.
Hours: Tuesday–Friday 10:00 a.m.–4:40 p.m.
Telephone: 212-650-2912
Fax: 212-570-3847
Email: hazen.center@metmuseum.org
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The Library and Teacher Resource Center in The Ruth and Harold D. Uris Center for Education |
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The Library welcomes readers of all ages to consult a wide range of noncirculating materials about the Museum’s current exhibitions, permanent collection, and general art history. Most of the Library's holdings are cataloged into WATSONLINE, the Museum’s Libraries online catalog. Self-service black and white copiers are available; printing costs $.35 per page.
Children’s Books
A children’s section has picture books and books for young readers. The Library’s picture-book collection includes all those that have won the prestigious Caldecott Medal.
Information packets about From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler are available upon request. Email the librarians at education@metmuseum.org and include your postal address in your request.
The Teacher Resource Center
A collection of materials to help teachers incorporate art and art history into their curriculum, including:
- Titles on theory, methodology, and the history of art education
- Videos and teacher resource kits with slides and/or CD-ROMs that circulate free of charge to registered teachers, community group leaders, and others for educational use
- Curriculum planning guides
- Interdisciplinary lesson plans for integrating art and art history into the classroom
Some educational materials may also be purchased in the online Met Store.
Borrowing Policy
In order to borrow these circulating materials, the school or community group representatives must register in person with the Library by presenting proof of eligibility in the form of a faculty ID or letter on letterhead stationery from a supervisor, as well as a second form of ID (preferably a photo ID). All materials must be picked up and returned in person. However a teacher from outside the metropolitan area who has a confirmed school group visit may make arrangements for materials to be mailed. The materials can be returned on the day of the visit.
A list of the circulating collection and the guidelines for borrowing is available on request. Please email your name and mailing address to education@metmuseum.org.
Reference Questions
The Library staff will provide general information about the Metropolitan’s
collection, the artists represented in the Museum, and if appropriate, bibliographic references. Send your mailing address along with your inquiry to education@metmuseum.org.
Hours
September through May: Tuesday–Thursday 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 10:00 a.m.–8:00 p.m.; Sunday 11:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Closed Monday.
June and July: Tuesday–Saturday, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.; Sunday, 11:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.. Closed Monday.
August: Tuesday–Saturday 11:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. Closed Sunday and Monday.
Closed Easter weekend, Memorial Day weekend, July 1–4, 2006, Labor Day weekend, Election Day, Thanksgiving weekend, December 23–25, 2006, December 30, 2006–January 1, 2007.
Telephone: 212-570-3788
Email: education@metmuseum.org
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The Henry R. Luce Center for the Study of American Art |
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The Henry R. Luce Center for the Study of American Art makes available for inspection those American fine art and decorative art objects that are not currently on view in the Museum galleries and period rooms or on loan to other institutions. The combination of works of art and research facilities makes the Luce Center a focal point for educational programs in The American Wing, home of the Departments of American Paintings and Sculpture and American Decorative Arts.
Objects in the Luce Center are arranged by material (oil paintings, sculpture, furniture and woodwork, glass, ceramics, and metalwork) and within these categories are organized by form and chronology. With the exception of those objects particularly sensitive to light (such as works on paper and textiles), most of the reserve items are on constant view.
As the labeling is minimal for individual items on view, visitors are encouraged to use the computerized catalogue of the collection, with information on all objects in the Departments of American Paintings and Sculpture and American Decorative Arts (not just those on view in the Luce Center).
The Henry R. Luce Center for the Study of American Art is made possible by the Henry Luce Foundation, Inc. Generous support was also provided by The Pew Charitable Trusts. Additional grants were received from the National Endowments for the Humanities and the Arts.
The Luce Center is open to all visitors during public Museum hours.
Hours: Friday and Saturday 9:30 a.m.–8:45 p.m.; Sunday and Tuesday–Thursday 9:30 a.m.–5:15 p.m.
Telephone: 212-570-3903
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The Robert Goldwater Library
Department of the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas |
The Robert Goldwater Library is dedicated to the documentation of the arts of Africa, the Pacific Islands, and native and Precolumbian America. The library contains more than thirty thousand volumes and 150 current periodical subscriptions.
The Robert Goldwater Library is open to qualified researchers.
Hours: Tuesday–Friday 10:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
(closed August)
Telephone: 212-570-3707
Fax: 212-570-3879
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The Photograph Study Collection
Department of the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas |
The Photograph Study Collection consists of more than 120,000 photographs dedicated to the arts of Africa, the Pacific Islands, and native and Precolumbian America. Both nineteenth- and twentieth-century images are included; among them are photographs showing the cultural context of art and photographs of individual works in public and private collections.
The Photograph Study Collection is open to the public. Advance appointments are needed to view fragile materials and special collections.
Hours: Tuesday–Friday 10:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
(closed August)
Telephone: 212-650-2823
Fax: 212-396-5039
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The Cloisters Library and Archives
The Cloisters |
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The Cloisters Library and Archives contain materials specifically for the study of medieval art and related topics. The library's collection of approximately thirteen thousand volumes encompasses medieval architecture, tapestries, painting, illuminated manuscripts, stained glass, sculpture, ivories, and metalwork. Works on medieval history and the medieval garden are also collected. The archives contain material relating to the history of The Cloisters, as well as the papers of Sumner McKnight Crosby (1909–1982; medieval art historian, Yale University), the papers of Harry Bober (1915–1988; medieval art historian, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University), and other research collections.
The Cloisters, the branch of The Metropolitan Museum of Art devoted to the art of medieval Europe, is located in Fort Tryon Park in northern Manhattan; for directions, see Visitor Information. Its library is open to qualified researchers by appointment only, and access to the archives is granted only after a letter is received stating specific research needs and only for graduate-level students and above.
Hours: Tuesday–Friday 10:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Telephone: 212-396-5319
Fax: 212-795-3640
Email: cloisters.library@metmuseum.org
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The Irene Lewisohn Costume Reference Library
The Costume Institute |
The Irene Lewisohn Costume Reference Library is one of the world's foremost fashion libraries. Its collection includes approximately 30,000 noncirculating monographs, rare books, and periodicals, as well as design archives, sketchbooks, photographs, drawings, prints, and extensive files of clippings pertaining to the history and study of the arts of adornment throughout the world. The library contains fifty current fashion periodical subscriptions, including a wide range of international magazines and scholarly journals.
The Irene Lewisohn Costume Reference Library is open to researchers by appointment, preferably arranged one week in advance. Before making an appointment, visitors are encouraged to consult the holdings of The Costume Institute in Watsoline, the Museum libraries' online catalogue.
Hours: By appointment, Tuesday–Friday 9:45 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Telephone: 212-650-2723
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Study Rooms for Drawings and Prints
Department of Drawings and Prints |
The Metropolitan Museum has more than four thousand master drawings, more than ten thousand architectural and ornamental drawings, more than one million prints by virtually every master printmaker who has ever practiced, and extensive holdings of illustrated books and printed ephemera. Most of these works can be pulled from storage for examination by qualified researchers in the study rooms.
The study rooms also contain an extensive reference library of books on the history of prints and drawings. Partial holdings of this reference collection appear in Watsonline, the Museum libraries' online catalogue.
The Study Rooms for Drawings and Prints are accessible to qualified visitors by appointment and with proper identification.
Hours: Tuesday–Friday 10:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.; 2:00 p.m.–4:45 p.m.
Telephone:
212-570-3920 (prints); 212-570-3912
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The Robert Lehman Collection Library
The Robert Lehman Collection |
The library of the Robert Lehman Collection contains approximately 23,000 books, with an emphasis on the arts of the Italian Renaissance; the history and culture of Siena, Italy; the history of frames; and illuminated manuscripts.
The Robert Lehman Collection Library is open to qualified researchers by appointment.
Hours: Tuesday–Friday, hours variable
Telephone: 212-650-2340 (library); 212-570-3915 (office)
Email: lehman.library@metmuseum.org |
Joyce F. Menschel Photography Library
Department of Photographs |
The Joyce F. Menschel Library contains more than six thousand volumes relating to the history of photography and the Museum's collection of photographs. Located in the curatorial Department of Photographs, the library primarily serves the Museum's staff, but its collection is also accessible to outside researchers by appointment.
Before making an appointment, visitors are encouraged to consult the holdings of the Menschel Library in Watsonline, the Museum libraries' online catalogue.
Hours: Tuesday and Thursday 10:00 a.m.–noon
Telephone:
212-570-3889 |
Study Room for Photographs
Department of Photographs |
The Museum's collection contains approximately fifteen thousand photographs spanning the entire history of the medium, including four hundred photographically illustrated books and albums. Almost all of these are eligible for firsthand inspection in the study room.
The Study Room for Photographs is accessible to qualified researchers by appointment and with proper identification.
Hours: Tuesday and Thursday 10:00 a.m.–noon
Telephone:
212-570-3889 |
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Antonio Ratti Textile Center and Reference Library |
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One of the largest, most technically advanced facilities for the study, storage, and conservation of textiles in any major art museum, the Antonio Ratti Textile Center reflects the Metropolitan's long-standing commitment to collecting textiles, beginning with its first textile acquisition in 1879. The collection is now remarkably diverse, with more than 36,000 objects dating from 3000 B.C. to the present. Formerly dispersed among the various curatorial departments according to the cultures that produced them, most of the Museum's textile holdings are now gathered in the Ratti Center under the controlled environmental conditions necessary for their long-term preservation.
Objects from the collection are featured, on a rotating basis, in a small gallery at the entrance to the center; others can be examined in the center's study rooms with advance appointments (size or extreme fragility may make it impossible to view certain textiles). In addition, a database of digital images and descriptive information about the Museum's textiles is available on the center's computer terminals, to maximize access for scholars and the public while minimizing exposure to light, dust, and handling. (You may also visit the Museum's online collection to view a selection of fifty textiles from around the world.)
The center's reference library contains approximately 3,400 books and journals devoted to the historical, technical, and cultural study of textiles. The library is open to the public without an appointment, but use of the database system must be scheduled in advance. Most of the library's holdings appear in Watsonline, the Museum libraries' online catalogue.
Hours: Tuesday–Friday 10:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m. (database and library); Tuesday–Friday 2:00–4:00 p.m. (study rooms)
Telephone: 212-650-2310
Fax:
212-650-2676
Email: RattiTextile.Center@metmuseum.org |
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