The Libraries seek to support research in the history of Western art for all periods, including modern and contemporary, classical art and archaeology, Far and Near East Asian art, Pre-Columbian and African art. It supports the needs of undergraduate, graduate and Ph.D. students, the teaching faculty, post-docs, and visiting researchers.

During the first half of the 1990’s, the number of students enrolled in the Department of Art History & Archaeology quadrupled. During the same period, new programs were added in art criticism and theory, modern art, contemporary art, and Chinese art. Areas of long established specialization are European Renaissance art, especially Italian, Greek, Near Eastern, and Roman art and archaeology, nineteenth-century and twentieth-century European and American art, with a recent strengthened emphasis on Euorpean and American modern and contemporary art.

Overall, the Libraries’ existing collection, its current acquisitions commitment, based upon available resources, and its collecting goal for Fine Arts are all at a very strong research level.

1. Formats collected: We collect annuals, monographs, periodicals, reference tools and scholarly series extensively. CD-Roms and other electronic tools, and microforms are collected selectively. Textbooks, maps and dissertations are rarely acquired. We do not presently collect newspapers, manuscripts, audio-visual material, sales catalogs, "how to" books, or lower undergraduate textbooks in the Fine Arts.
2. Imprint Dates Collected: We collect current publications and twentieth-century materials extensively, nineteenth-century and earlier materials very selectively.
3. Chronological Focus: We collect materials focusing on all chronological periods.
4. Languages Collected: We collect major Western European languages extensively and all others selectively.
5. Place of Publication: We collect North American and major Western European materials extensively and materials published elsewhere selectively.