The Public Library for Art and Photography
The Art and Museum Library is a public reference library. It offers users literature, informative material and photos on art from the Middle Ages to the present. The main focuses of the collection are on:
- 20th and 21st century art
- Great achievements in film and photo
- Art from Benelux
This is one of the world's largest art and museum libraries dedicated to modern art and photography. Along with 393,000 publications (books, CDs, catalogues and over 6,500 periodicals, c. 800 of which are on subscription), the museum has an extensive archive of grey literature (incl. art-related newspaper cuttings, invitation cards and information brochures from the 1950s to the 80s). While all of the publications are listed in the library's Online Catalogue, the auction catalogues and occasional publications have to be requested on the premises, in the reading rooms. The printed works are augmented by 750,000 photos of art in the Rheinisches Bildarchiv, which is part of the Art and Museum Library. This is one of the four largest visual archives in Germany for art and architecture. A large portion of the collection is directly accessible from the Image index via the Internet. Expert information on the photographic collection is available in the reading rooms, especially in the reading room of the Museum für Angewandte Kunst.
Reading room in Museum Ludwig
Collection on art from the Middle Ages to the present
Heinrich-Böll-Platz, 50667 Cologne
Opening hours: Monday 2 p.m. to 9 p.m., Tuesday to Thursday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.,
Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Expert information on the collections Tues-Fri 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Reading room in the Museum für Angewandte Kunst
Collection on the applied arts, photography and film
An der Rechtschule, 50667 Cologne
Opening hours: Tuesday to Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Large parts of the collection are stored elsewhere, so it recommended to order the required literature in advance.
www.museenkoeln.de/kunst-und-museumsbibliothek
