About the Library

The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art Library is an inviting and tranquil space, with rustic southern yellow pine beams from Magnolia, Arkansas overhead and stunning views. The Library houses a collection of more than 50,000 items on over 3,000 linear feet -- most of which are available for guests to browse.  We invite Museum guests of all ages to visit the Library and peruse the books, enjoy the highlighted displays of special and rare books, use one of the six computers, or simply relax and enjoy the beautiful views.

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art Library is the combined collections of:

• Over 20,000 items acquired as a collection in 2005. These are mostly American art reference books and include monographs on artists and museum and gallery exhibition catalogs; however, there are also museum bulletins, periodicals, ephemera, pamphlets, and manuscripts.
• Over 22,000 items acquired as a collection in 2006. Also mostly American art reference books, this collection includes American architecture, decorative arts, art technique, European, Asian, Australian, Canadian, classical, African, Latin American, Middle Eastern, and Russian art and photography.
• More than 1,000 nineteenth-century American color plate books in the genres of natural history, early American exploration, materia medica, and smaller genres such as trade books, architecture, military, sports, and a few illustrated children's books.
• 12,000 additional items such as artists' books, vertical files, institutional files, and general ephemera, as well as a large number of monographs and exhibition catalogs acquired during the 5-to-6-year planning stages of the Museum.

Library Facts

• The Library collection is comprised of two large collections acquired in 2005-2006, several additional collections acquired from 2006 to 2011, and ongoing acquisitions totaling approximately 60,000 items.
• 3,000 linear feet of library shelving
• Two main sections: a large open stack for art reference, and a closed stack housing the rare book section
• The Library ceiling contains native yellow pine beams made in Magnolia, Arkansas.
• The Library offers two comfortable reading areas, study tables, computers, additional space for wireless access, and four private viewing/study modules.
• Not all titles are shelved. Approximately one third of the collection is not available in the open stacks as items are fragile, very rare, or not yet catalogued.