The Clark houses one of the most distinguished art research libraries in the country, with over 300,000 volumes in more than 130 languages. From its opening in 1962 the library has grown and changed over the years to accommodate teaching spaces, visual resources, new programs and initiatives, and a never-ending array of new technologies (in addition, of course, to its growing collection of books), always striving to meet the needs of our valued students, scholars, staff, researchers, and visitors.
The library’s special collections enhance both library and museum holdings. Highlights include the founding collection of Robert Sterling Clark's rare books, the history of photomechanical reproduction, early illustrated printed books, decorative arts and sample books, twentieth- and twenty-first century artists’ books, and archival collections.
special collections book of the month
Julius S. Held Collection
In his introduction David Brower writes: “The faces here represent California tribes that white men exterminated – tribes whose elements were slowly gathered together, each one discrete, each one alive on a living land, and each one now gone. Empathy may not rise high when a piece of wild land perishes, but when a whole tribe vanishes, when fifty tribes disappear forever, we may well think that there but for grace of God go we. Perhaps these faces can be symbols for us, can make more poignant the tragedy we are inflicting on living things… Man has been forgiven often for knowing not what he does, [but] for the kind of error that wiped out this kind of uniqueness there cannot be much more forgiveness.”
Photographs of “the faces of some one hundred Indians of California” were selected from the collections of the R.H. Lowry Museum and the C. Hart Merriam Collection (Berkeley) and the American Museum of Natural History (New York), as well as the collection of Mr. F.F. Latta, “the foremost student of the Yokuts Indians.” Text by archeologist Robert Heizer and anthropologist Theodora Kroeber includes cultural outlines and insightful observations.
FOLLOW THE LIBRARY
Serving the general public as well as visiting scholars and local students and faculty, the Clark library welcomes all visitors to use its reference and research services and to enjoy its collections. An extensive array of electronic resources and reference materials support scholarly research in the field of Art History. Library staff are dedicated to assisting all users to access the library’s wide-ranging and diverse collections.
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New Acquisitions Book of the Week
Through her profound imagery and investigation into the decolonization of the body and nature, Kahraman challenges fear and apprehension of otherness, advocating instead for compassion and acceptance. In the artist's unique compositions, questions inspired by immunology and microbiology, as well as history, are approached through the lens of the othered body, often represented in contortionist postures as a means to interrogate normative gender constructions and racial stereotypes that can adversely affect migrant groups. This conceptual focus and innovative practice are presented through a selection of more than forty paintings and drawings from public and private collections in the United States and abroad. In addition to several large-scale canvases, the exhibition will feature intimate drawings that demonstrate the artist’s meticulous draftsmanship and mastery of line and color.
Spanning the last five years of her practice, the works in this exhibition trace Kahraman's shift in technical and thematic focus while revealing a constant concern for the trauma of displacement and the healing power of cultural reconnection. Seen together for the first time, this selection of artworks presents a poignant and timely invitation to consider reframing our relationship with difference in order to choose collaboration over fear.
LIBRARY HOURS
PUBLIC HOURS
The library is open without appointment.
Summer hours are:
Monday - Friday, 9 am to 5 pm
Saturday, 10 am to 3 pm
All are welcome to email the library with reference/research questions.
HOLIDAYS
The library is closed to the public on the following holidays:
New Year's Day
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Presidents' Day
Memorial Day
Juneteenth
Independence Day
Labor Day
Indigenous Peoples Day
Thanksgiving (2 days)
Christmas (2 days)
EXTENDED HOURS
Extended hours are available to holders of a Clark badge or a Reader's Card. Reader's cards are given by application. Cards may not be appropriate for all applicants but we will always do our best to meet your research needs.
Mon-Thurs 8 am to 11 pm
Friday 8 am to 6 pm
Saturday 9 am to 6 pm
Sunday 9 am to 11 pm
HOLIDAYS
With the exception of Christmas Day and New Year's Day the library is open during holidays to anyone eligible for extended hours.