La Seccion de Arte de la Biblioteca del Centro de Estudios Historicos de Madrid

Abstract

The Art Section of the Library of the Centre for Historical Studies in Madrid inherited part of the art library of the former Centro de Estudios Históricos (CEH) and the entire collection of the Instituto de Historia del Arte y Arqueologia ‘Diego Velazquez’. The Art Section is particularly well endowed with monographs on painting from the 15th to the 18th centuries, and on silver, and with guides and catalogues relating to regional art. The collection of periodicals is one of the best of its kind in Madrid. Other notable holdings include the manuscripts of the Catálogos Monumentales Nacionales, a collection of auction catalogues, and a magnificent collection of photographs. The CEH Library has been part of a libraries automation programme, the Programa de Informatización de Bibliotecas del Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (PRIBIC) since 1988, and in 1989 made a start on the retrospective conversion of the catalogue records of the Art Section. The Art Section collaborates with other art libraries in Madrid and contributes data to documentation centres such as ISOC and to the Répertoire d’Art et Archéologie (now succeeded by the Bibliography of the History of Art). Projects currently under consideration include indexing and automating the auction catalogues, and copying the photograph collection onto videodisc.