Artists’ Books + Special Collections

Discover unique works, including more than two thousand artists’ books created or altered by individual artists and collectives. You’ll find rare and notable materials that offer new ways to explore art, design and creative practice.

A spacious library area with rows of bookshelves filled with books, organized by categories. A student is seated at a table in the foreground, working on a laptop and surrounded by study materials. The environment is well-lit, with natural light streaming in from large windows, creating a conducive space for focused study and research.

The Artists’ Books Collection

This collection contains over two thousand books crafted, published, produced or altered by an artist or artist collective with the intention of creating an independent art work.

In addition to self-published artists’ books, the collection also includes limited edition publications resulting from collaborations with art organizations, artists’ books from both independent and mainstream presses and a growing collection of artists’ audio works.

We currently collect contemporary, limited edition print publications that exemplify the international collaboration occurring between designers, typographers, visual artists, poets, writers + curators and publishers.

The Special Collections

The Special Collections contains a variety of notable materials, including

  • Rare and out-of-print exhibition catalogues
  • Special magazines
  • Type-specimen posters
  • Comics
  • Sound recordings
  • Vinyl
  • Videos

These collections are library use only and viewing requests can be made at the Service Desk, Reference Desk or online.