About the Library

Completely renovated in 2006/07, the Arthur & Janet C. Ross Library of the American Academy in Rome contains over 140,000 volumes in the fields of classical studies and the history of art and architecture. Especially strong are the collections in ancient Mediterranean archaeology and art, Greek and Latin literature, ancient topography (including the history of the city of Rome), ancient religions, and related fields such as epigraphy, numismatics and papyrology. There is a good working collection in the history of art and architecture, especially Italian. The rare book collection, housed in the Barbara Goldsmith Rare Book Room, comprises chiefly 16th-18th century imprints in classical studies, archaeology, art and architecture, including sizeable collections of Roman guidebooks and early art treatises. The Library also houses small but noteworthy collections in contemporary art and architecture, landscape architecture, Italian history and literature, American literature, historical travel books and music.
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Friends of the Library (F.O.L.)

The American Academy in Rome invites you to join its "Friends of the Library," whose annual contributions support the Library's collections. Friends of the Library on both sides of the Atlantic receive invitations to special events in their honor: lectures, conferences, and other events featuring books, authors, and readers.
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Access Policy

Access to outside readers
The general qualification is an advanced degree or laurea magistrale in the humanities. All prospective readers must complete a Library Access Form (see below) and submit a letter of introduction from their home institution (or from another reader or authoritative person in the case of unaffiliated individuals) detailing academic background and current research project. The letter must be printed on institutional letterhead and can be submitted via e-mail, regular mail or fax. A photo ID is also required. IMPORTANT: Upon submitting your written request, you must wait for a response from us before showing up at the Gate!
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Modalità di Accesso

Accesso per i lettori esterni
Il requisito minimo per l’accesso è la laurea, laurea magistrale secondo il nuovo ordinamento, nel campo degli studi umanistici, una lettera di presentazione ed un documento di riconoscimento valido.

Per richiedere la tessera di ingresso si deve riempire il modulo di accesso qui sotto (Library Access Form) allegando una lettera di presentazione, su carta intestata del proprio istituto (o da un altro lettore o da una persona qualificata nel caso di persone non affiliate ad un particolare istituto) o inviandola via fax, indicando dettagliatamente il cursus accademico ed il tipo di ricerca che si sta effettuando. Tutti gli ospiti dell’Accademia debbono mostrare un documento di riconoscimento all’ingresso.

ATTENZIONE: Dopo aver inviato la domanda scritta insieme alla documentazione, si deve attendere una e-mail di conferma dal nostro Istituto, prima di presentarsi alla Portineria. Si accettano nuovi lettori e si rinnovano le tessere esclusivamente nei giorni di lunedì, mercoledì e venerdì dalle ore 9:30 alle 12:00.
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Access Form/Modulo di accesso

For access, use this e-mail form.
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Hours

NB: The Library will be closed from July 16 to September 13.

Monday - Friday 9:00 - 18:00
The Library is closed on most Italian holidays, as well as the fourth Thursday of November (American Thanksgiving) and the 4th of July (American Independence Day).

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Rules of the Library/Regolamento della Biblioteca

This lists the rules and etiquette to be respected by the users of the Library.
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Library Services

Services the Library offers, including requesting storage items, in-process items, rare books, interlibrary loan, photocopying, and computing.
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Classifications/Sistema di Classificazione

Outline of the classification of books at the American Academy in Rome (il Sistema di Classificazione dei libri all'American Academy in Rome).
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Collections

Over 140,000 volumes in the fields of classical studies and the history of (Italian) art and architecture (cheifly medieval and renaissance) with strong collections in ancient Mediterranean art and archaeology, classical literature, ancient topography (including the history of the city of Rome), and related fields, such as epigraphy, numismatics, and papyrology.

A good working collection in the history of art and architecture, especially the Renaissance. Small but noteworthy collections include contemporary art and architecture, landscape architecture, Italian history and literature, American literature, historical travel books, and music.
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New Acquisitions List

A list of newly-acquired books (updated regularly).
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Desiderata List

A list of desiderata for the library.
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Book Acceptance Policy

The Library welcomes the gift of books in its areas of collecting – Classical Studies, the Italian Middle Ages and Renaissance -- especially Art and Architecture, but also Political, Social and Intellectual History -- Italian Language and Literature (highly selectively), Contemporary Art Theory (highly selectively), and Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque Music (highly selectively) -- whether single volumes or entire collections.
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FOL event, spring 2009


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FOL event, spring 2010


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Catalogs

AAR Library Catalog
The catalog of the Library at the American Academy in Rome
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Italy
Catalogs in Italy
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World Wide
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Electronic Resources

Electronic Journals
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Periodical Indexes and Research Databases
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Useful Links
Links to significant scholarly e-resources and useful sites related to daily life in Italy.
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Other Collections

CDs and Multimedia
A list of uncataloged music CDs in the Library.
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Maps
A partial inventory list of the AAR map collection.
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Microfilm & Microfiche
Lists of uncataloged microfilm reels in the Library.
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Music Scores
A list of uncataloged music scores in the Library.
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Rare Books & Manuscripts
The Barbara Goldsmith Rare Book Room was dedicated on June 4, 1996. Its patron, Barbara Goldsmith, is a noted author, an advocate of paper and book preservation, and a Trustee of the American Academy in Rome. The architect, Michael Graves, FAAR'60, RAAR'79, is also a Trustee of the Academy and a book-lover. Their common goal was to create a state-of-the-art rare book room with controlled temperature and humidity, custom shelving, and appropriate housing material and lighting, all designed to enhance the life of the books. Trustee Robert S. Pirie contributed support for a conservation survey of all the books destined for the collection, and Barbara Goldsmith has supported the continuation of preservation treatments, an ongoing process.
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Libraries / Institutions

Consortium of Hellenic Studies Librarians
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List of Libraries in Rome and Beyond
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Organizations & Associations
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Publishers & Booksellers
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About the Archive


The Photographic Archive of the American Academy in Rome consists of several valuable and specialized collections of photographs on archaeology, architecture and art, as well as landscape architecture and gardens. It also includes special collections important to the history of the Academy.
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Hours

NB: The Photo Archive will be closed from July 16 to September 13.

Regular hours: Monday - Friday 10:00 - 13:00; Tuesday - Thursday 14:00 - 17:00 or by appointment (+39 06 5846281 or photoarchive@aarome.org).

The Photographic Archive is closed on most Italian holidays, as well as the fourth Thursday of November (American Thanksgiving) and the 4th of July (American Independence Day).

Use of the Collection

The study collection contains over 70,000 images. Reproductions for study and publication are available for a fee (for orders contact: photoarchive@aarome.org).

Many of the photographic collections have been cataloged in the database of URBS (Unione Romana Biblioteche Scientifiche), an online network that links the American Academy and several foreign institutions in Rome. The Askew (the Arch of Septimius Severus), Parker (Roman and Medieval art and architecture in Italy), Van Deman (travels in Europe and North Africa; archaeology, architecture, and building techniques in the Roman world), Moscioni (Etruscan sites and art), Gatteschi (reconstruction drawings of Imperial Rome), Beato - Des Granges (archaeology of Egypt), Detweiler (archaeology of the Near East), Library collection (art and archaeology of Italy and Europe), Masson and Landscape Architecture (landscape architecture and gardens) and Fellows' Work (works of art and architecture) collections are online). Other collections are available through inventory lists.

The original Nash donation and some subjects of the Fototeca Unione such as ancient Rome and Ostia, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt are also cataloged online. The rest of the Fototeca Unione is accessible through a card catalog and the published microfiche edition: Ancient Roman Architecture: Photographic Archive on Microfiche (1979-1982).

Individual images in the Parker, Gatteschi, and Masson collections are available in digital form.

Digital Collections

As part of its mission, the Photo Archive of the American Academy in Rome provides online access to digital versions of selected materials from its collections for educational, research, and publishing purposes.

The site includes over 4,000 photographic images. Additional collections will be added as time and resources permit.

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Finding Aids

Finding Aids provide a summary description, and more detailed information about, an entire collection. These will help locate historical and documentary images described and, often, pictured on the Digital Collections site.

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Publications, Exhibitions, and Funding

Publications

Roma antica ricostruita nelle fotografie di Giuseppe Gatteschi (exhibition catalog edited by A. Capodiferro), Pescara 2006.

Georgina Masson, 1912-1980: Selections from the Photographic Archive
(exhibition catalog edited by A. Capodiferro and C. Lauf), Milan 2003.

A. Capodiferro in Esther Boise Van Deman: An archaeologist's eye.
Images from the Photographic Archive, American Academy in Rome (exhibition catalog), New York 2001.

Ernest Nash - Ernst Nathan, 1898-1974. Photographie: Potsdam, Rom, New York
(exhibition catalog edited by M. R. Alföldi and M. C. Lahusen), Berlin 2000.

Esther B. Van Deman. Images from the Archive of an American Archaeologist in Italy at the Turn of the Century
(exhibition catalog edited by K. Bull-Simonsen Einaudi), Rome 1991.

Fotografia Archeologica 1865 - 1914.
(exhibition catalog edited by K. Bull-Simonsen Einaudi), Rome 1979.

Exhibitions

Roma antica ricostruita nelle fotografie di Giuseppe Gatteschi,
Roma 2006.

Georgina Masson, 1912-1980: Selections from the Photographic Archive,
Rome 2003.

Esther B. Van Deman: An archaeologist's eye,
New York 2001-2002.

Ernest Nash - Ernst Nathan, 1898-1974. Photographie: Potsdam, Rome, New York,
Postdam 2000.

A Question of Time. Photographers: Marco Delogu, Veronique Ellena, Luca Nostri, David Spero. Rome 2009.

Collaboration on Exhibitions

Roma dall'alto
(exhibition and catalog edited by M.F. Boemi and C.M. Travaglini), Rome 2006.

Trastevere: Societá e trasformazioni urbane dall'ottocento ad oggi (exhibition and catalog edited by C. M. Travaglini et alii), Rome 2008.

Current Funding

Samuel H. Kress Foundation. The Getty Foundation.

Index to the Collections

Collection Contents


Archaeology
Askew Collection (1932)
A. Beato and H. Des Granges Collection (second half of 19th century).
Bini Collection (1970-1980)
Cosa Collection (1948 – 1988)
Detweiler Collection (ca. 1930)
Fototeca Unione (ca. 1936 to the present)
Gatteschi Collection (1900-1935)
Knauer Collection (1960)
Laidlaw Collection (1960-1980)
Library Collection (until 1939)
Ludwig Collection (1967-1968)
McCann Collection (1965-1987)
Moscioni Collection (1868-1921)
Parker Collection (ca. 1865-1879)
Regia Collection (1965-1975)
Van Deman Collection (1898-1930)
Vermeule Collection (1966, 1976)
Warsher Collection (ca. 1930-37)
Winslow Collection (ca. 1950-1960)

Special Collections
American Academy in Rome, Buildings and Memories (1904-)
Berman Collection (ca. 1950)
Fellows' Work Collection (1911-1960)
Aronson Collection (1979)

Landscape Architecture and Gardens
Landscape Collection (ca. 1918-20)
Masson Collection (ca. 1950-1970)
J. K. Smith Collection (ca. 1923)

Contemporary Collections
Abigail Cohen Collection (1990-2000)
Paul Warchol Collection (2001)
A Question of Time Collection (2009)
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Virtual Exhibition: Gatteschi Collection

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