National Gallery of Art
Washington, D.C.
Library Acquisitions Policy
To the greatest extent possible, the National Gallery of Art Library acquires those books and journals which support the research needs of the Gallery's curatorial staff and fellows of the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts (CASVA). As a relatively young library, purchases are made of both newly published and out-of-print material. Not all areas of art historical interest are covered and those that are covered are collected to different degrees. This survey of acquisitions policy reflects current collecting levels and represents the ideal. Availability of material and budget constraints account for differences between the amounts bought from year to year.
There are many different levels of coverage possible, but for simplicity they can be summarized into five categories:
1. Negligible: Only very occasional purchases are made and then only for general reference purposes.
2. Cursory: Only the most major artists or topics are purchased in a highly selective manner, e.g., only one monograph on a particular artist. Most minor artists are not represented at all.
3. Moderate: Major artists or topics are covered in some depth but more minor topics are only cursorily represented.
4. Research level: Major artists and topics are collected in a comprehensive manner; minor topics are well-represented in some depth.
5. Exhaustive coverage: Essentially everything ever published is sought, including the rarest material.
The collecting goals of the library can be summarized as follows:
| Non-Western art, including Asian African, Australian, Canadian, Central and South American art | Negligible |
| Ancient Greek and Roman art | Cursory to moderate |
| Byzantine and early Medieval art | Cursory to moderate |
| Medieval art, 13th-15th C.- Painting and sculpture | Research level |
| Medieval art, 13th-15th C.- Architecture | Moderate |
| Medieval art, 13th-15th C.- Decorative arts | Negligible to cursory |
| Renaissance art, Southern - Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael | Exhaustive |
| Renaissance art, Southern - Painting and sculpture | Research level |
| Renaissance art, Southern - Architecture | Moderate to research level |
| Renaissance art, Southern - Decorative arts | Cursory |
| Renaissance art, Northern - Painting and sculpture | Research level |
| Renaissance art, Northern - Architecture | Moderate to research level |
| Renaissance art, Northern - Decorative arts | Negligible to cursory |
| 17th C. European art - Painting and sculpture | Research level |
| 17th C. European art - Architecture | Moderate to research level |
| 17th C. European art - Decorative arts | Negligible to cursory |
| 18th C. European art - Painting and sculpture | Research level |
| 18th C. European art - Architecture | Moderate |
| 18th C. European art - Decorative arts | Negligible to cursory |
| 17th and 18th C. American art - Painting and sculpture | Research level |
| 17th and 18th C. American art - Architecture | Cursory |
| 17th and 18th C. American art - Decorative arts | Negligible to cursory |
| 19th C. European art - French Impressionism | Exhaustive |
| 19th C. European art - Painting and sculpture | Research level |
| 19th C. European art - Architecture | Moderate |
| 19th C. European art - Decorative arts | Cursory |
| 19th C. American art - Painting and sculpture | Research level |
| 19th C. American art - Architecture | Moderate |
| 19th C. American art - Decorative arts | Cursory |
| 20th C. European and American art - Painting and sculpture | Research level |
| 20th C. European and American art - Architecture | Moderate |
| 20th C. European and American art - Decorative arts | Cursory |