The Mint Museum Library
The Mint Museum Library collects, preserves, and provides access to resources related to the museum’s collections.
Mint Museum Randolph
Located at 2730 Randolph Rd, Charlotte, NC 28207
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By appointment only | 704.337.2023
Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday 11 AM–4 PM
Wednesday from Noon–6 PM.
Preparing for Your Visit
You can contact the library at library@mintmuseum.org or by calling 704-337-2023. Appointments can be made Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday 11 AM–4 PM and Wednesday from Noon–6 PM.
The library provides:
- Over 27,500 total volumes on visual art, material culture, and museum studies.
- Over 130 serial and magazine titles: current and historical
- Auction catalogs: digital and print
- Subject and artist files
- In-library access to online resources and databases (see resources list below).
As an art reference library all physical materials must be used in the library.
Art Resources and Databases
( 🔒 = In-library access only)
A–Z Resources
A
AP Archive: Film and Video Archive of the Associated Press.
Archive Grid: Database of U.S., Australian, and Canadian archival collections including finding aids.
Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America: This resource from the Frick Collection searches the collections, individuals, and institutions related to the history of art and cultural collections in the U.S.
🔒 Art and Architecture Source: Provides access to a wide range of scholarly articles, journals, and publications related to the fields of art, architecture, and design.
Art & Architecture Thesaurus® Online: Vocabulary database that provides standardized terms for describing and categorizing art, architecture, and material culture to improve search results.
Art 21: Database for contemporary art and the work of living artists around the world.
🔒 Art Bulletin: Scholarly journal that publishes research on the history of art with a focus on critical analysis and interdisciplinary approaches.
Art Inventories Catalog: Database that provides detailed records of artworks held in public collections across the United States, including paintings, sculptures, and other visual art forms.
Art Jewelry Forum: Connects artists, collectors, and enthusiasts of contemporary art jewelry, offering discussions, articles, and exhibition information.
🔒 Artnet Price Databases: Online resource that provides access to auction results for artworks, allowing users to track the market value and historical sales data for fine art objects.
🔒 Art Newspaper: Global publication that covers news, analysis, and features on the international art world, including topics such as exhibitions, auctions, art market trends, and cultural policy.
Artcyclopedia: Provides links to the works of thousands of artists, offering access to their biographies, galleries, and exhibitions from museums and other art-related websites.
🔒 Artnet Price Databases: Offers access to auction results, allowing users to track the sales history, market trends, and valuation of artworks across various genres and periods.
🔒 Artstor: Digital library of images, videos, and other media that is used for teaching and research.
🔒 AskArt: Provides information about American artists, including biographies, auction records, exhibition histories, and images of their works, helping collectors, researchers, and enthusiasts explore the art market.
B
🔒 Berg Fashion Library: Offers access to a vast collection of fashion-related content, including encyclopedias, journals, images, and historical fashion publications, supporting research in fashion studies and design.
Bibliografía Mesoamericana: Search scholarly works related to the history, culture, archaeology, and anthropology of Mesoamerica.
Bibliography of the History of Art (BHA): Provides scholarly literature on the history of art, covering a wide range of periods, regions, and topics.
D
Dictionary of Art Historians: Offers information on influential art historians from around the world, offering insights into their contributions, works, and impact on art history.
Digital Library for the Decorative Arts and Material Culture: Provides access to digitized materials related to decorative arts, design, and material culture, including books, exhibition catalogs, and scholarly articles.
Directory of Open Access Books: Scholarly, peer-reviewed academic books that are freely available to the public.
Digital Public Library of America: Online platform that provides access to millions of digitized items from libraries, museums, and archives across the United States, offering a wide range of resources such as books, photographs, manuscripts, and more for research and educational purposes.
🔒 Dress: Academic journal that focuses on the study of fashion and dress, covering topics related to clothing, textiles, and their cultural historical and social significance across different time periods and societies.
F
Frick Digital Collections: Access to digitized artworks, archives, and scholarly resources from the Frick Collection and the Frick Art Reference Library, offering a rich resource for art history research and study.
G
Getty Provenance Index: Historical documents related to the ownership and provenance of artworks, helping researchers trace the history of art objects and understand their origins, transactions, and previous owners.
🔒 Grove Art Online (Coming Soon): Authoritative online resource for art research, offering access to the Grove Dictionary of Art and other related content, including biographies, articles, and bibliographies on artists, art history, and visual culture.
H
Hathi Trust: A library of millions of digitized books, journals, and other scholarly materials from libraries and institutions around the world to support research, education, and preservation of cultural heritage.
I
IFAR Catalogues Raisonnés: Provides access to authoritative catalogues raisonnes, which are complete listings of an artist’s entire body of work. Catalogues Raisonnes provide detailed documentation of an artist’s career.
Internet Archive: Digital library that offers free access to a vast collection of digital content, with the goal of preserving the cultural and historical record of the internet and other media.
Internet Archive Scholar: A specialized section of the Internet Archive that provides access to scholarly literature, including academic papers, journals, conference proceedings, and research articles.
J
🔒 JSTOR: Digital library that provides access to academic journals, books, and primary sources across a wide range of disciplines.
M
Mint Museum Art Collection Online: Offers access to the Mint Museum’s extensive collection of artworks, including American, European, and contemporary art, allowing users to explore detailed information and images of pieces in the museum’s holdings.
The Marks Project: Provides information about the maker’s marks, signatures, and symbols found on decorative arts, ceramics, and other objects, helping researchers and collectors identify and trace the origins of these items.
N
National Gallery of Art Library Image Collections: Provides access to a vast array of images from the National Gallery of Art’s library, including photographs, prints, and digital reproductions of artworks, archival materials, and exhibition catalogs.
P
Pioneer American Photographers, 1839-1860: Shares over 25 years of research on early American photographers, offering detailed insights and primary source materials about their work from 1839 to 1860.
Print Council Index to Oeuvre-Catalogues of Prints by European and American Artists: Provides searchable listings of authoritative catalogs for British and American artists.
S
Social Networks and Archival Context (SNAC): Locates information about individuals, families, and organizations documented in primary source materials, while also connecting them to related archival collections from institutions worldwide.
Smarthistory.org: Offers free resources, including videos and essays, to help users understand and appreciate art history from a global perspective.
T
The Digital Archaeological Record (tDAR): Provides access to digital data and resources related to archaeological research.
U
Umbra Search: Searches digitized material of over 1000 libraries and archives for primary source material related to African American culture.
Union List of Artist Names (ULAN): A database maintained by the Getty Research Institute that provides standardized names and biographical information for artists.
V
Visual Arts Data Service (VADS): Provides access to a large collection of visual art images. The images are copyright cleared for use in teaching, learning, and research.
W
🔒 West 86th: Repository of books, manuscripts, photographs, maps, and digital resources.
WikiArt- Visual ArtEncyclopedia: Offers images, artists biographies, and information about various movements and styles of art.
WorldCat: Search libraries worldwide for materials. Items can be requested by the Mint Museum Library on your behalf.
Image Research
Artist Research