About us
Comprehensive catalog of libraries of institutions in the field of art and architecture. The data of this comprehensive catalog contains the library databases of cooperating institutions. After searching in the comprehensive catalog, it is possible to simply switch to the local catalog and use all the services that the given institution provides
National Gallery in Prague
Šternberský palác, Hradčanské náměstí 15, Prague 1;The library of the National Gallery Prague makes accessible to its users rich collection of publications specialized in fine art – painting, sculpture, graphic art, architecture and history of art. The library collections have been collected since 1880 and they consist of 130 000 publications now. Readers can also use 700 specialized periodicals. Exhibition, collection and auction catalogues represent a specific part of its collection; publications about oriental art are also an interesting part. The collection of the library is accessible for in-library use for the public.
Moravian Gallery in Brno
Husova 18, 662 26 BrnoThe history of the Library of the Moravian Gallery dates back to 1873, when the Moravian Museum of Industry was founded in Brno, later the Moravian Museum of Applied Arts. The specialised library was part of the museum from beginnig and was opened to the public ten years later. Since the foundation of the Moravian Gallery in 1961, which was formed by the merger of the Moravian Museum of Applied Arts and the Picture Gallery of the Moravian Museum, it has been incorporated into this newly established institution. At present, the library is housed in the Pražák Palace at 18 Husova street and has been operating as a public library with a specialised book collection for 140 years. It offers for study more than 140 000 volumes of monographs,journal and catalogues in the field of applied and fine art, architecture, graphic design, photography and cultural history. The new library operates the Artothek of the Moravian Gallery - public art lending library. In library´s study room, in addition to new books and open shelves, there is also a space for the presentation of smaller exhibitions focusing on book art. The library also hosts educational gallery activities for the public, e. g. popular lectures about art history.
West Bohemian Museum Pilsen
Kopeckého sady 2, 301 00 PilsenThe library was established in 1878 as one of the specialist departments of the new museum. It soon developed into a center of information for artistic and industrial research, which influenced Czech museums in the second half of the 19th century. Thanks to the judicious acquisition of the administrators of the library at the time, top works by European researchers entered its collection. The systematic replenishment of the fund in the field of art history, classical archaeology, arts and crafts, as well as newly emerging fields of industry and crafts, made it a research center not only for Pilsen, but also for the wider area. Currently, the fund is traditionally replenished not only in the original areas, but also in new scientific areas represented in the museum. The library makes its holdings available through the online catalog and the Brány ART catalog. It makes available to its users a rich collection of digitized manuscripts, originals, as well as a number of unique periodicals.
National Technical Museum
Kostelní 42, 170 78 Prague 7The NTM Library is a publicly accessible specialised library with a specialist collection focused on the history of science, technology and industry not only in the Czech Republic but also in the European and global context. The library was established together with the founding of the museum in 1908 and was later enriched by the very valuable holdings of two important libraries - the library of the Jednota ku povzbuzení průmyslu v Čechách (Industrial Union), which makes up the bulk of the NTM library's historical collection, and the library of the Society of Architects and Engineers (SIA). At present, the library collection consists of around 220,000 volumes and is annually supplemented with specialist literature of both Czech and foreign provenance.
Art Museum Olomouc
Denisova 47, 771 11 OlomoucOlomouc Museum of Art Library – a professional library at the Olomouc Museum of Art was founded after the independence of the institution (Museum of Art) in 1990, until then there was only the Regional Art Gallery in Olomouc, which was part of the Natural History Museum in Olomouc and there was no library. The part of the library collection which related to art history issues, was excluded and transferred from the Natural History Museum library collection. From that moment, purposeful acquisitions of the department aimed at complementing specialized literature were started. The library currently contains more than 60 000 volumes of books, exhibition and auction catalogues, anthologies, expert periodicals and CD-ROMs. A separate part of the collection is a collection entitled Book of the 20th century, focusing primarily on book avant-garde of 1920´s and 30´s, and on the book design of 1960´s. The library fund also includes the Library of O. F. Babler, a notable Olomouc translator, poet and bibliophile. The library provides only local loan with the necessary copying and inter-library loan services.
Národní filmový archiv Prague
Bartolomejská 11, 110 00 Prague 1The NFA Library (founded in 1943) has been for eighty years the natural gathering centre of the intellectual film community. In the past was known under the names of the Central Library of Czechoslovak Film (up to 1975) or the Library of the Czechoslovak Film Institute (up to 1990). Together with students, its users have always been important personalities in the field of cinema: filmmakers, historians, critics, journalists, educators, writers, curators. Its rich collections (135.000 library items) contain sources from the beginning of cinema of international relevance and art historical overlap, undamaged in World War II, film scripts and an extensive collection of newspaper clippings and film periodicals, including an article bibliography in the field of film and it is used by scholars not only from Europe, but also from all over the world. It provides its users with its original online catalog with remote access to licensed film databases and own digital library.
Art and Industry Museum
17. November Street 2, 110 00 Prague 1The UPM Library is the largest Czech public specialist library specializing in free and applied art, architecture and design. The museum and its library were founded in 1885. The library's collections have been built since 1885, it has been open to the public since 1887. The library collects, processes, preserves and makes available relevant Czech and foreign literature. The library collection includes over 190,000 volumes and includes monographs, magazines, exhibition and auction catalogues.
Academy of Fine Arts in Prague
U Akademie 4, 170 22 Prague 7The library is located in the main Academy building, designed by Václav Roštlapil and built from 1897 to 1903. Original historical interior of the Library from well known Czech architect Jan Kotěra was finished in 1923 year. The basic collection of this specialized workplace focusing on fine art, architecture and restoration comprises more than 62,000 volumes, with an annual increase of approximately 750 books and 60 journals. Specialist staff oversee the operations of the historical reading room, catalogue, research and advisory services, and access to the databases plus the interlibrary loan services. It is also the school guarantoor of JSTOR Art and Architecture database.
Gallery of Fine Arts Ostrava
Podebradova 1291/12, 702 00 OstravaIn 1926, the House of Arts in Ostrava was opened, which at that time did not yet include a specialist library. Therefore, the Association of the House of Arts decided to establish a specialist reference library, which was since 1929 it has been listed as the Library of the Association of the House of Arts. Professional journals, exhibition catalogs and monographs were gradually added to the library collection. Currently, the library is GVUO the only publicly accessible gallery library in the Moravian-Silesian Region; its fund contains approximately 17,000 volumes in the field of art. The strength of the library is uninterrupted continuity obtaining catalogs of exhibitions from the region and the entire country since the foundation of the gallery in 1926, and documentation materials that monitor the artistic events of the region in the past and present. Study materials are provided by the library on a face-to-face basis, and access to the library is possible by prior arrangement.
West Bohemian Gallery in Pilsen
Pražská 13, 301 00 PilsenThe library of the Gallery of West Bohemia in Pilsen manages a specialised collection of publications focusing on visual arts and architecture (art history, painting and other related fields) and makes it available to the public. Currently, the library holds over 12,000 volumes. A specific part of the library collection consists of exhibition catalogues, Czech and foreign expert periodicals (magazines and journals such as Ateliér, Umění, Art Journal), as well as bound volumes of the journals Zlatá Praha, Volné směry, Dílo, Výtvarné umění, Výtvarná kultura and others.
Institute of Art History of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic
Husova 352/4, 110 00 Prague 1Founded in 1953, the Library of the Institute of Art History, CAS specializes in history, theory and methodology of visual art and related disciplines (architecture, aesthetics, history, auxiliary sciences of history). It includes the book collection of the N. P. Kondakov Archaeology Institute as well as parts of Zdeněk Wirth's and Josef Cibulka's libraries. The library currently contains approximately 92,000 books, exhibition catalogues and periodicals. The library is equipped with two computers, a self-service colour photocopier with a printer and a self-service scanner. Wifi is available, and the library also provides access to international electronic databases.
