National Art Library
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The National Art Library (NAL) is a major reference library, situated in the
Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
(V&A), a museum of decorative arts in London. The NAL holds the UK's most comprehensive collection of both books as art and books about art, which includes many genres and time periods. The NAL is open to the public, and as a closed reference library, items must be requested through the staff and cannot be removed from the reading room. The collections cover a wide range of art and design topics, including books about artists and art techniques, and consists of many different collections materials, including archival materials,
artist's books Artists' books (or book arts or book objects) are works of art that utilize the form of the book. They are often published in small editions, though they are sometimes produced as one-of-a-kind objects. Overview Artists' books have employed a ...
, and
children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...
. The library also serves as the museum's curatorial department for book arts. As a reference library, the NAL also serves as a training library for students, curators and museum staff, and the public. The current mission of the NAL includes making information about art history and practice widely available, and aims to serve both national and international communities.


History

What is today the NAL was originally founded in 1837 as the library for the Government School of Design, where it primarily served as an educational tool for craftsmen to learn techniques and aesthetics. It later moved to the current V&A museum site in 1857. While the NAL remains part of the V&A, it was named the National Art Library in 1865 in part to establish its independence as an institution, which allows it to develop collections independently from the work of the museum. However, from 1908 to 1985 the NAL was most often called the V&A Museum Library. By 1852, the library was open to everyone, though patrons were charged a fee. As the library for the design school, collections were focused on instruction and meant to serve as examples of good design. Early collections associated with the museum depended greatly on donations from artists and collectors. As the collections grew through the early 1900s, patronage consisted mostly of art historians, collectors, curators, and high-profile artists, though it remained focused on the needs of students and others learning about art. Starting in the 1970s and continuing today, students make up a large percentage of patrons visiting the NAL for educational and artistic purposes. Collection of particularly experimental and contemporary artist's books began in the 1980s with the work of Jan van der Wateren, who served as the Chief Librarian. In the early 2000s, the library was merged with the Prints, Paintings and Drawings department to form the Word and Image Department, which serves curatorial staff of the museum. The NAL is known for publishing the ''Universal Catalogue of Books on Art'' in the 1960s, which served as an international bibliography of art books. It was named after previous iterations of the same publication from the late 1800s that served the same purpose.


Collections

The General Collection consists of materials whose subjects align with the work of the Museum, including books about various arts (such as painting, woodworking, and ceramics) with a special focus on art and design of the Far East, India, and Southeast Asia. The other main focus of the General Collection is the history of the design and artistry of books, including early printed books and children's books. Most of what can be found in the NAL collections is not available in public institutions. As part of its work in collecting items and materials specific to the V&A's particular areas of research, the Library takes special care to catalog its collection. For example, the NAL cataloging methods include noting the number of illustrations in a given work, as well as detailing the physical elements of the books in its collections, due to the NAL's focus on the book as object and their value as resources for art history and the history of craft and design.


Special Collections

Special Collections at the NAL are generally more focused on books as objects of study, though they also contain archival materials, artists' letters, artists' manifestos, and manuscripts. Included in Special Collections are a number of Closed Collections, which are collections taken in from an independent collector. The Closed Collections include three collections of
Beatrix Potter Helen Beatrix Potter (, 28 July 186622 December 1943) was an English writer, illustrator, natural scientist, and conservationist. She is best known for her children's books featuring animals, such as ''The Tale of Peter Rabbit'', which was he ...
works.


Artists' books

Because the NAL has a focus on the book as art and object, it has a large collection of
artist's book Artists' books (or book arts or book objects) are works of art that utilize the form of the book. They are often published in small editions, though they are sometimes produced as one-of-a-kind objects. Overview Artists' books have employed a ...
s housed primarily in Special Collections. The collection contains items documenting the history of artist's books, including the early livres d'artistes as well as contemporary and experimental book objects. The NAL artists' book collection is one of its greatest strengths, and includes the first artists' book
Ambroise Vollard Ambroise Vollard (3 July 1866 – 21 July 1939) was a French art dealer who is regarded as one of the most important dealers in French contemporary art at the beginning of the twentieth century. He is credited with providing exposure and emotio ...
published. The collection also contains books created by artists such as
Sol Lewitt Solomon "Sol" LeWitt (September 9, 1928 – April 8, 2007) was an American artist linked to various movements, including conceptual art and minimalism. LeWitt came to fame in the late 1960s with his wall drawings and "structures" (a term he pref ...
,
Ed Ruscha Edward Joseph Ruscha IV (, ''roo-SHAY''; born December 16, 1937) is an American artist associated with the pop art movement. He has worked in the media of painting, printmaking, drawing, photography and film. He is also noted for creating severa ...
,
Édouard Manet Édouard Manet (, ; ; 23 January 1832 – 30 April 1883) was a French modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism. Born ...
, and
David Hockney David Hockney (born 9 July 1937) is an English painter, draftsman, printmaker, stage designer, and photographer. As an important contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s, he is considered one of the most influential British artists o ...
. This section of the collections experienced a boom in the 1980s and 1990s, when many contemporary works were collected by artists of various levels of popularity by former Chief Librarian Jan an der Wateren. Although the collection of artist's books has slowed to allow funds to be used more broadly among the collections, there is still considerable collecting done of individual book objects. Artists represented in the collection also have information files in the library, which include ephemera and information about the artists and their works, even when individual works have not been collected, and some artists' information files have been created even when the library has not been able to collect any works by a particular artist.


Artists' Book Visual Database

To accompany the NAL's artists' book holdings, the V&A has an abridged Artists' Book Visual Database. This online resource allows any patron to view a portion of the NAL's artists' books, which they otherwise would not be able to see. Due to the books' rare nature, the artists' book collection is physically handled only by NAL staff and is available for patron perusal only by request.


Additional collection highlights

Among the NAL's other unique holdings are the
Dyce Dyce ( gd, Deis) is a suburb of Aberdeen, Scotland, situated on the River Don about northwest of the city centre. It is best known as the location of Aberdeen Airport. History Dyce is the site of an early medieval church dedicated to the 8 ...
& Forster collection, auction sale catalogues,
calligraphy Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...
,
chapbooks A chapbook is a small publication of up to about 40 pages, sometimes bound with a saddle stitch. In early modern Europe a chapbook was a type of printed street literature. Produced cheaply, chapbooks were commonly small, paper-covered booklet ...
,
children's books A child (plural, : children) is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers ...
,
comics a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...
, documentary manuscripts, early printed books, exhibition catalogues, fine bindings,
illuminated manuscripts An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared document where the text is often supplemented with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Church for prayers, liturgical services and psalms, the ...
, and trade literature.


Visitor access


Patron services

The NAL is a
reference library A library is a collection of Document, materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or electronic media, digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a ...
, which means that its materials are available for viewing and use only within the library itself—materials are not available for checkout. Some reference books are out on open shelves, but otherwise, materials must be requested via staff at the reference desk. The library's catalogue is also available on the web, and materials can be requested in advance of a visit.


Getting a library card

A National Art Library card is needed to place requests for library materials and access study rooms at the V&A. To get a library card, users must create an NAL account, which can be done online or in person at the Library.


Accessibility

The National Art Library offers the below services for patrons with disabilities: * Materials delivery options * Text magnification technology * Advance book ordering * Hearing induction loops for the hearing impaired * Copying services More information on accessibility to the V&A, NAL, and study rooms can be found on the V&A website, including a digital map of each floor of the museum.


References


Sources

*Bettley, James, ed. ''The art of the book: from medieval manuscript to graphic novel''. London: V&A Publications, 2001.
Essential information about the National Art Library


External links

*
National Art Library catalogueArtists’ books databaseDigital map
{{Authority control Libraries in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Public libraries in London Visual arts libraries