Library Overview

Conceived as a key resource for supporting the museum’s educational and research mission, the library opened in 1961 and has since grown to become one of the nation’s premier centers for the advanced study of American art, photography, and history.

The library’s research collections, numbering over 100,000 items, offer a range of interdisciplinary materials covering the early nineteenth century through the present day. The collections emphasize the museum’s art collecting and exhibition program, with particular strengths in the art of the American West and the history of North American western expansion.

Reading Room Services and Guidelines

• A librarian is available at the reading room reference desk during public hours to assist you.
• A photocopier is available for onsite researchers for the cost of fifteen cents per page. Microform copies cost thirty-five cents per page. Computer printouts cost fifteen cents per page.
• Two computers are available for public use; free public Wi-Fi also available.
• Bags 11-by-15 inches or larger must be checked at security.
• Library and archives material may not be checked out.
• Museum staff is not permitted to give monetary appraisals or opinions on works of art.

Testimonials

“The Carter library is one of the two best American art libraries in the nation, along with the Smithsonian.”
— Betsy Fahlman, Professor of Art History and Associate Director, School of Art, Herberger College of the Arts, Arizona State University

“The library at the Amon Carter Museum is a great place to study the American West. It holds an extraordinary collection of books on western painting, drawing, sculpture, and photography, and it has separately maintained biographical files on hundreds of artists. The library also has many rare books on western Americana from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Not only are the collections remarkable, but the staff is first-rate, too. They are knowledgeable, helpful, and accommodating–and they make a great place even better.”
— Francis Flavin, PhD, Washington, D.C.

“It seems no matter what topic I am investigating, the staff and resources at the Amon Carter library are always able to assist me. The library will undoubtedly become my second home as I pursue upcoming projects. It’s truly a state-of-the-art facility.”
— Shirley Reece-Hughes, PhD, art history, independent scholar

“I wasn’t expecting a museum to have such a great catalog of resources. And right here in Fort Worth! It’s a real coup for me and a fantastic surprise.”
— Jason Gillmer, associate professor of law, Texas Wesleyan University School of Law