The Spencer Art Reference Library Informations

The Spencer Art Reference Library (SARL) is a library housed in the Bloch Building of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri in the United States. Its collection of over 260,000 visual arts related resources support the work of the museum.

Plans for a library were included in the original design for the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, however, the Kenneth and Helen Spencer Art Reference Library did not officially open until 1962. The library's growing collection necessitated an expansion in 1977 which was led by Helen Spencer. The library was again expanded in June 2007 as part of the Bloch Building expansion led by architect Steven Holl.

The library's collection currently holds 264,000 volumes covering the history of art and other topics to support the museum's art collections. In addition to books, the library provides access to arts journals, auction price indexes, online art research resources. Access to these collections is provided via the library's online catalog.

The library operates as reference library to members of the public, as well as a service to museum staff. It provides reference assistance in person, by email and phone. For teachers and college faculty members, the library supports personal learning/research goals in the visual arts. The library also hosts educational events including

The library hosts the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art archives which include correspondence, memoranda, and other records relating to the building, staffing and development of the collections of the museum, the Nelson Gallery Foundation and related organizations. Among these major record groups and collections are the William Rockhill Nelson Trust Records, the Paul Gardner Papers, the Director's Office Records, the Laurence Sickman Papers and the Friends of Art Records. Various administrative and curatorial records are held in the archives as well, which include documentation of the Museum's acquisitions, exhibitions, and educational programs.

The Artist File Initiative was established in 2015 by Marilyn Carbonell, the Head of Library Services. Carbonell works with Kansas City artists documenting the careers of the creative community to preserve their legacy. The files are cataloged in the library.

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