National Library Provision for Art in the United Kingdom: The Role of the National Art Library

Abstract

From its beginnings in 1836 as the library of the Government School of Design, the National Art Library (NAL) in the UK was intended to have an impact on design in the country. After the Great Exhibition of 1851 it former part of what was to become known as the Victoria and Albert Museum (V & A). By the 1850s it had already adopted the title of National Art Library, although it was called the V & A Museum Library between 1908 and 1985. By 1853 collections aimed to cover the arts and trades comprehensively, and by 1869 the NAL aimed also at comprehensive access to individual objects created in the course of history. By 1852, the library was open to all, although a charge was made at first. Various forms of subject indexing have been used; from 1877 to 1895 subject lists were prepared for internal use and sold to the public, and from 1869 to 1889 a remarkable Universal catalogue of books on art was produced. The present mission statement of the NAL focuses on collecting, documenting and making available information on the history and practice of art, craft and design, and the library aims its services at both the national and international community. However, its great 19th century contribution to published subject control of art materials has been almost completely absent in the 20th century. During 1994 the NAL will contribute records to the British Library (BL) Conspectus database, though there is little formal cooperation between the two libraries. As a specialist library it can organize its collections and index them in ways that are impossible for a comprehensive library such as the BL, and it therefore has an important part to play in the national library scene.