The library is a specialist research level collection of books, exhibition catalogues and sale catalogues on Western art covering most of the major European schools of painting from the early Renaissance to twenty-first century, the history of collecting, and some Byzantine art. It has important collections of exhibition and auction catalogues.
A large part of the Library’s collections is housed in the Research Reserve and must be requested in advance of your visit.
The University of Birmingham’s Special Collections department comprises three distinct research libraries: the Barber Fine Art Library, the Cadbury Research Library, and the Shakespeare Institute Library.
The Barber Coin Study Room is not part of the Barber Fine Art Library but its books are listed on FindIt@Bham.
Making our service inclusive
We are committed to making our service inclusive, and respectful to all. We are aware that there is much work to do to make sure that our catalogues and other research tools reflect this commitment. We are working to improve our knowledge and understanding so that we can revise the language used in our catalogues and other finding aids that are already in use, and write for the future in a way that is relevant, helpful, does not make anyone feel excluded or unwelcome, or use prejudicial language. If you have any suggestions or comments, please email fine-arts-library@contacts.bham.ac.uk