Collection profile:

Prime focus: the art of the German-speaking world from the early middle ages to the present day

In addition, the library collects specialized literature on material culture, parallel to the extensive collections of the museum.The holdings of the museum include not only paintings, sculpture, decorative arts, prints and drawings, but also such fields as numismatics, folk art, Judaica, toys and games, musical instruments, scientific instruments, arms, armor and hunting artifacts, medical and pharmaceutical equipment, textiles, jewelry, prehistory and ancient history.And in 2003, the library acquired the ‘historic library’ of the Bavarian Museum of Applied Arts, comprising ca 30,000 volumes (all prior to 1950).Further thematic priorities are German topography and regional and cultural studies.

Searchable holdings (as of 29.10.2012): 410,433 catalogue records (incl. 116,090 retro-converted titles); total holdings ca 660,000 volumes; 3,218 periodicals (1,678 current); since 2003, in conjunction with‘Schrifttum zur deutschen Kunst’, the oldest and only bibliography of the art and culture of the German-speaking world from Carolingian times until ca 1900, a total of 23,678 articles have been registered electronically.

The library is a standing reference facility and fulfills inter-library loan requests with copies only, except in the case of exclusive possession.