1. Introduction
2. Our community
3. Accessing the collections
4. Making our collections available
5. Tate Library and Archive Production
6. Restrictions on access
7. Enquiries
8. Photography and imaging service
9. Online access
10. Promoting our collections
11. Customer care and consultation
Tate’s Library and Archive is a world-renowned national collection, a centre of excellence for art historical research, and an essential tool for understanding Tate’s wider collection.
Our mission is to acquire, document, preserve, and make accessible a rich and diverse collection of material on British and international art for staff, visitors and researchers, adding context and meaning to the story of art. Our vision is to engage audiences through innovative and imaginative practices in discovery and access, support and contribute to Tate’s exhibition and display programme, and grow in tandem with Tate’s art collection. We are a major, collecting Library and Archive, with three interconnected strands.
Tate Library is a centre of excellence for art historical research; its holdings include half a million publications on British art since 1500, and international art since 1900:
Tate Archive collections contain over a million items related to artists, art world figures and art organisations in Britain:
Tate’s Public Records document the full range of Tate's activities, with thousands of records from 1897 onwards, including:
This policy explains how Tate provides public access to its collections in line with best practice and relevant legislation. Detailed information on staff access is available via Tate’s intranet.
Tate Library and Archive serves the following communities both onsite and remotely:
The Hyman Kreitman Reading Rooms are located at Tate Britain and provide a free to use study space to explore Tate’s Library, Archive and Public Records collections. Tate Britain's step-free entrance is on Atterbury Street. The Reading Rooms are located on the Lower floor, past the cloakroom.
The Reading Rooms are open from 11-5 Monday to Thursday and provide seating for up to 40 people. The Reading Rooms are closed on public holidays and for two weeks during the Christmas and New Year period.
First time visitors must register for a Reader account, and all visitors must book an appointment and can request items in advance.
Group visits to our Reading Rooms are possible when arranged in advance. Requests need to be made at least 1 month before your visit to ensure we can support your group.
For more information on the collections, to arrange a visit, or to access our services, email reading.rooms@tate.org.uk
We are committed to making our collections as accessible and discoverable as possible through our dedicated Library, Archive, and Public Records catalogues.
For information on Tate Library collections and a link to their catalogue, visit Tate Library.
For information on Tate Archive and Public Records collections and a link to their catalogue, visit Tate Archive.
Our Library and Archive collections are also available via the following union catalogues:
Tate Library also participates in the British Library On Demand service and SCONUL (Society of College National and University Libraries) Access scheme.
We offer a closed-access reference service and require advance requests be placed a minimum of two working days for library material, five working days for archive material and public records. Ten working days is required for any collection related records (TG4), which will be indicated on the Public Records catalogue.
We currently accept up to 10 advance requests for library, or up to 15 archive folders/3 boxes of archive material, or up to 15 public records (up to 5 collection related TG4 records).
Visitors can place same day requests for up to 5 items, to be ordered using our online catalogue before 12.30pm on the day of their visit (for 1.30pm delivery). Items are retrieved by staff and issued to a specific desk.
Some items which are uncatalogued or are governed by legislation, may require more advanced notice and this is communicated with the researcher upon initial request.
All users are required to adhere to the rules for accessing and handling the collections, copies of which are displayed an desks in the Reading Rooms.
Staff will help with providing support in using documents and we will provide book rests, weights, magnifying glasses and nitrile gloves as appropriate.
We also provide AV equipment for accessing other formats of material, including audio-cassette players, vinyl record player, microfiche/film readers, VHS and DVD players, iPad for digitised content.
Access to a document may be refused if the item is in a fragile condition and handling is likely to cause further damage to the item. The decision to refuse access on the grounds of preservation purposes is made at the discretion of the collection manager. We endeavour to make fragile material available to researchers in the form of a surrogate, such as a microfilm or digitised copy available online or in the reading rooms.
Closures and access restrictions are inevitable due to the nature and contents of the unique records held by Tate Archive. Access to archive material which contains personal or sensitive information concerning potentially living individuals is restricted for a term of years under the Data Protection Act and the Freedom of Information Act. Non-statutory access restrictions are negotiated with the legal owner of the material on accession to the archive.
Access to specific material in uncatalogued collections is considered carefully, provided 20 working days’ notice is given, but may be restricted due to the staff time required to check, prepare and enumerate relevant information. Tate Archive will always work with researchers to find a solution which allows access to the required information, as an original document, if possible, otherwise in a surrogate or different format.
Tate is a Public Record Body and designated ‘place of deposit’ under the Public Records Act 1958 for Tate’s institutional records. Some records are withheld in their entirety or partially redacted if extended closure is required under the relevant exemptions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. This is indicated on the Public Records catalogue.
Our staff can help with questions relating to our collections and services, including locating specific items within our collections, with a limit of 15 minutes per research enquiry. We respond to enquiries by email and phone as well as in the Reading Rooms. We are unable to undertake personal research for users (with the exception of closed commercial records).
With notice and within limits, Archive staff can undertake provenance research of the commercial records we hold as these are not publicly accessible. These enquiries can be very time consuming, so we ask readers to be specific and provide as much information as possible artist, title, date, dimensions, image of item and any gallery labels on the back/reverse).
All requests should be sent to reading.rooms@tate.org.uk and marked PROVENANCE ENQUIRY. Please allow up to 20 working days for a response. We will acknowledge receipt of your request, but please do not send further requests before your initial one has been completed. For any follow-up queries, that require a similar level of research, a further period of 20 working days may be needed to answer the enquiry.
You can take photographs using a handheld camera, for non-commercial research and private study only, subject to UK copyright law. You will be required to complete a self-declaration form. A book scanner is available for use for library collection items only, for non-commercial research and private study only, subject to copyright restrictions.
The onward use, e.g., publication or wider dissemination of any document consulted within our collection is not permitted and will require express copyright clearance, for which the researcher is solely responsible.
For photographs from our collections intended for publication, please contact Tate Images.
We offer a scan and send service for small quantities of information from our Library, Archive and Public Records collections for those unable to visit in person. This service is free and available for those undertaking non-commercial research and private study only, within copyright law limits. Express permission from copyright holders is required for any other use.
To make a request, email: reading.rooms@tate.org.uk
Selected material from our special collections have been digitised, including artists’ books.
The Panchayat Collection Research Resource presents the result of a collaboration with artists, curators and researchers and incorporates digitised material from the collection.
Tate LibGuides are a set of bibliographies, lists of resources and curated selections.
More than 75,000 items from Tate Archive including material by artists such as Francis Bacon, Felicia Browne, Aubrey Williams, Ithell Colguhoun, and Paul Nash, can be viewed online.
As well as browsing the Collections of Digitised Archive items, you can learn about the stories behind Tate's archives with this video series.
Public records related to the history of Tate at Millbank are available online: History of Tate Britain
Tate Library and Archive staff work closely with colleagues from across Tate to promote research, learning, and teaching into our collections for Tate colleagues, the wider art research community, and interested members of the public. As part of Tate’s vision, we aim to welcome audiences that better reflect our nation and attract a diverse international public through our active programme of displays, events, and tours which are open to all. Examples of the way we do this are outlined below.
A colourful, visual overview of the three separate collections is on a wall in the corridor leading from the Djanogly café to the Library and Archive Reading Rooms at Tate Britain, which acts as an introduction for all visitors.
We participate with curators and artists on Tate wide events and celebrations such as Diggin’ the Gallery and Queer and Now. We also design and deliver a programme of activities focusing on our collections and areas of expertise, with events like Folding the Page.
We provide access to and advice on our collections for schools, further education, and higher education institutions, alongside local and community-based groups, with a focus on diversity and inclusion. These include visits, tours, displays and workshops.
We work closely with colleagues across Tate to support both research into, and the delivery of, Tate’s exhibition, display, and loans out programme. Items from our collections can form the basis for an entire exhibition, such as Red Star Over Russia or provide meaning and context to Tate’s wider exhibition and display programme.
Late at Tate is a gathering space for experimentation and idea generation inspired by displays and exhibitions and is an ongoing research project currently developed and delivered by Tate Collective Producers, groups of 15-25-year-olds based in London, Liverpool and St Ives. The teams often work with emerging artists, designers, musicians, curators, and library and archive staff such as the recent Late at Tate Britain: Desire, Culture and History.
We welcome enquiries from national and international organisations to display items from Tate’s Library and Archive collections and Tate’s Loans policy can be accessed here.
Our ‘Show and Share’ programme invites visitors to explore highlights from the Library and Archive collections. Previous highlights have included letters, sketchbooks, artists’ books, zines, catalogues, ephemera, photographs, and other special collections.
Each display is curated to a specific theme or collection and includes a guided talk from the Library and Archive team, as well as occasional guest talks and performances. ‘Show and Share’ displays such as Emigre Art Collections provide a unique viewing and handling experience highlighting art and ideas found in Tate’s Library and Archive collections.
Occupying a space at the centre of Tate Britain within the foundation of the oldest part of the building's structure, the Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Archive Gallery draws on Tate's vast holdings of artworks, sketchbooks, letters, photographs, publications and other library and archive material. Changing exhibitions are regularly organised in this space by archivists, librarians, curators and artists, showcasing treasures from our Library and Archive collections.
We work closely with Tate’s Publishing and Tate’s Members magazine ‘Tate Etc.’ to highlight many artists and ideas contained in our collections, including publications such as Visions of the Occult. We also support access to Library and Archive collections for independent academics, scholars, and writers.
We support academic research through Tate Studentships and work closely with Tate Research, artists, and other organisations to deliver externally funded projects including Provisional Semantics and Reshaping the Collectible.
We work closely with Tate Digital to create a variety of routes in for members of the public to engage with the collection, including a call to name the unidentified location in John Piper's Photographs of Britain and the Animating the Archive film series created through the Archives & Access project.
Our Reading Room staff treat all readers and enquirers with courtesy and respect in a welcoming and recently refurbished environment. Staff receive regular training to support readers and we regularly review our policies and procedures. We are committed to ensuring that Tate galleries are safe, inclusive and respectful places. We will take immediate action when this is not supported by those visiting our sites.
We welcome feedback on our collections and services. Please contact us at reading.rooms@tate.org.uk if you have any suggestions or comments about the content of our catalogues, digitised materials, or elsewhere on our library pages. We will also be introducing an annual visitor survey to further embed visitor feedback.
