About the Fisher Fine Arts Library Collections

Collection scope

The Fisher Fine Arts Library collects materials to support research in art and architecture, the decorative arts, photography, historic preservation, city planning, and urban design. The entire history of art is represented, from antiquity to the present. Fisher collects items in many languages. Monographs, exhibition catalogs, journals, facsimiles, reference materials, ephemeral materials, and microforms are all of interest. Fisher acquires electronic resources, including image databases, electronic journals, indexes, and other reference works. Fisher also acquires videos and other media materials; however, the majority of the Penn Libraries media collections are in Van Pelt.

About half of the Fisher Fine Arts Library's general collection does not circulate and falls into a number of categories: the Core Collection located in the Reading Room alcoves, the general non-circulating collection inter-filed with the general circulating collection, the permanent reserves collection located behind the circulation desk, and the special and rare collections. All non-circulating books are indicated as such on the back inside covers.

LIBRA, Penn Libraries' high-density offsite storage facility, holds a significant portion of the Fisher Fine Arts Library collection. Users can search LIBRA's holdings in the library catalog.