More Than Just Words: A Walk-Through of the National Art Library

A modern binding of Shakespeare's
Ten Greatest Plays

If there is one thing that you learn by touring the National Art Library, it's that books can be more than just words on a page. As a future librarian/archivist and lover of books, I already knew this and could see the beauty in a book beyond the words meticulously chosen by the author. A book's specific binding matters, as does the font used and the size chosen. Choosing a hardback over a softback; the type of paper used; all of these matter to how the book is recognized by the public and by private collectors.

A 16th Century Bible
bound in Tortoise Shell

At the National Art Library, located in the Victoria & Albert Museum, one of the collection policies of the library is to collect books with rare and interesting bindings. In fact, the library has a very wide array of books that fall under their collection development policy. The library is currently one of the three major reference art libraries in the world and holds about 1 million books. It is one of the peer institutions for the study of art, craft, and design, and collects books dealing with these subjects. However, it's collection is quite extensive and varied. As stated above, it collects books dealing with the design of the book. Thus, it will collect a very popular and well known book that is published everywhere, but only if it has a very different and special binding. This photo here is an example.

The Book Of Nails! You cannot open it!

Moreover, the books it collects do not have to have words to still have intrinsic value and be deemed of value by the library. Books as art, or Artist Books, is a very popular genre of art and one that the library focuses much of their collection on. Here is a website that explains much more about these books, for it can be hard to put into words. Some are one of a kind, because these artists only make one copy of these books. Others are not, for the artists want their work disseminated throughout the world. Of these, the library has about 4,000 items.

A Dickens Manuscript of Bleak House

These are just a few aspects of the National Art Library that make it stand out as a special institution in the study of art. They also have some very special documents, given to them by John Forster in the 19th century. The Forster Collection really helped this library expand and branch out in several different directions. Some of the items from this gift include manuscripts from Charles Dickens', a good friend of Forster, as well as Leonardo Da Vinci codices. A museum library is very different from other types of libraries. It must collect items that correspond to the holdings in the museum but can also branch out and collect different items, such as this one does in collecting Artist Books. Most museums have libraries, but they are often hidden from public, so next time you're in a museum, make sure to scope out the library and see what it has to offer. It may surprise you.

http://www.vam.ac.uk/page/n/national-art-library/