📚Watson Library will close to the public on October 29 as we begin an exciting renovation of the Nolen Study Room—set to reopen in late spring 2026.
The redesigned space, led by architecture firm Young & Ayata, will transform the former Periodical Room into a more flexible, multipurpose environment for researchers, students, and visitors.
✨What’s to come:
• 5,000 books on new open, browsable shelves
• A refreshed mid-century modern design and adaptable layout for classes, talks, and programs
• A reimagined circulation and research assistance desk and new lockers
This renovation reflects The Met’s commitment to creating welcoming, inspiring spaces for scholarship and discovery within the Thomas J. Watson Library.
While we are closed, our team will be available online to assist with research inquiries and to provide limited scanning services. Learn more at the link in bio.🔗
Images courtesy of Young & Ayata.
September is Library Card Sign-Up Month! Get your library card @metlibrary to read the most recent @metpubs releases for free.
Just visiting for one day? Don’t fret; just walk in to tour the library or pick up a one-day library pass at the information desk for more complete access. Visitors using the Watson Library can present their library card or reservation confirmation to obtain a free ticket to the Museum at the ticketing and membership desks.
Watson Library is closed for Labor Day but resumes regular hours on Tuesday, September 5th. In the meantime, fill out your registration form online (link in the @metpubs bio).
Watson Library regular hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
#LibraryCardSignUpMonth #LibraryCard #MetLibrary #WatsonLibrary #MetPubs #MetPublications #ArtBooks #fallreads
The bigger the book, the closer to God 📚
What’s the biggest book you’ve ever seen? See how this one stacks up as Collections Manager Holly Phillips shares the rare and majestic high-fidelity pages of “The Sistine Chapel.”
Printed in six-color offset lithography, this trilogy features frescoes from the Sistine Chapel in one-to-one scale, color matched to original frescoes.
Want to visit @metlibrary ? Tap the link in bio to learn how to schedule a time or get a library card.
📖 Callaway Arts & Entertainment (2020). Page from one of three volumes of “The Sistine Chapel.” Six-color offset lithography on paper.
Watson Library is grateful to Estrellita and Daniel Brodsky for funding the acquisition of The Sistine Chapel Trilogy. #MuseumLibraryWeek
Get lost in the depths of "Loom," a textile-themed tunnel book by artist Carol June Burton. A peek through the small window on the cover shows images of carpets in color and monochrome. #MetLibrary
🚧👷🏗👷♀️Watson Library is currently closed to visiting researchers while we undergo a renovation project. We look forward to welcoming you back to our new and improved spaces in spring 2026. 🚧👷🏗👷♀️
On May 15th, we are participating in "Teens Take The Met," a program organized by the Museum's Education Department. Our book conservation team will be presenting, "From Paper to Textblock," which will include a number of demonstrations. They will be presenting alongside colleagues from the Sherman Fairchild Center for Works on Paper, Photographs, and Time-Based Media Conservation, who will explore elements of papermaking and bookbinding.
🚧👷🏗👷♀️Watson Library is currently closed to visiting researchers while we undergo a renovation project. We look forward to welcoming you back to our new and improved spaces in spring 2026. 🚧👷🏗👷♀️
Peek into this great volume — a new addition to our collection of decorated-paper samples — that will soon be available for viewing in our library! Published in England, “Sanderson Packaging Papers" (c. 1960) advertises a comprehensive range of papers for commercial uses. The trade catalog is arranged in six sections: Christmas and Easter papers; golds and silvers; embossed satins and micas; textured marbles and woodgrains; leatherettes and calf papers; and tints and dollhouse papers.
🚧👷🏗👷♀️Watson Library is currently closed to visiting researchers while we undergo a renovation project. We look forward to welcoming you back to our new and improved spaces in spring 2026. 🚧👷🏗👷♀️
Our latest blog post, "Think Globally, Catalog Locally," looks at library cataloging by examining what went into creating the record for Amina Rezki's (@aminarezki2 ) exhibition catalog, "Through Earth, Sea & Space" (link in bio).
🚧👷♀️🏗👷Watson Library is currently closed to visiting researchers while we undergo a renovation project. We look forward to welcoming you back to our new and improved spaces in spring 2026. 👷🏗👷♀️🚧
#MetLibrary #InCirculation
This trade catalog, “Neuheiten 1936 : Goldbrokat, Make Exzellenz,” printed in 1936, features 129 samples of gilt-printed decorated papers. Despite its vulnerable structure — covers extending beyond the text block and a restrictive binding secured with a brass fastener — it has stood the test of time and is in excellent condition! This volume is a new addition to our collection of decorated-paper samples and will soon be requestable for viewing in our library.
#MetLibrary 🚧👷🏗👷♀️Watson Library is currently closed to visiting researchers while we undergo a renovation project. We look forward to welcoming you back to our new and improved spaces in spring 2026. 🚧👷🏗👷♀️
Marimekko is a Finnish textile, clothing, and home furnishings company founded by Viljo and Armi Ratia in 1951. This 1974 textile sample book, which contains 22 leaves and 107 textile swatches held together by rivets, showcases a vibrant range of colors and patterns.
#MetLibrary
🎂 “Just try to say "cake" without smiling. Impossible.” 🎂 This challenge from publisher Two Ponds Press encapsulates the joy of Cig Harvey’s “Cake,” which includes thirteen sumptuous photographs of cakes, frequently in precarious positions that emphasize their ephemerality. Come for the cakes, stay for the exquisite binding details.
@cigharvey@twopondspress #metlibrary
🚧👷♀️🏗👷Watson Library is currently closed to visiting researchers while we undergo a renovation project. We look forward to welcoming you back to our new and improved spaces in spring 2026. 👷🏗👷♀️🚧
Here’s a look at the “A-POC spring/summer 1999 lookbook,” which is featured in our latest blog post, “Regarding Issey Miyake through the Costume Institute Library’s Ephemera” (link in bio).
@costumeinstitutelibrary@metcostumeinstitute
#MetLibrary
Today is the final day of #MuseumLibraryWeek, and we're featuring versions of the "act to incorporate the Metropolitan Museum of Art, passed April 13, 1870." The first three images are from the signed and printed act itself, and they include signatures from some of the most well-known American artists and cultural figures of the time - do you recognize any of them? Spoiler: W(illiam) C(ullen) Bryant appears as the fourth signatory...
The last two images are from the gorgeously penned manuscript of the "act to incorporate...," which states that not only will a museum be established, but a library as well: "...to be located in the city of New York, for the purpose of establishing and maintaining in said city a museum and library of art, of encouraging and developing the study of the fine arts..."
From the very beginning, the library has been a vital part of the museum.
🚧👷🏗👷♀️Watson Library is currently closed to visiting researchers while we undergo a renovation project. We look forward to welcoming you back to our new and improved spaces in spring 2026. 🚧👷🏗👷♀️
#MetLibrary
