The Museum's library is one among the oldest European libraries specialized in arts & crafts. It was established in 1880 by the Art Society as a professional library, along with the collection of ornaments.

Ever since its foundation, the library has occupied a special position among the Museum's collections expected to include exemplary specimens to the advancement of the artistic and craft production's aesthetic & technical quality. The very professionally assembled collection of graphic ornament specimens from all periods was intended for this particular purpose. This unique collection, along with some fundamental 18th and 19th c. art history works, constitutes the library's historic holdings, preserved in their original disposition.

Since 1880, the library has evolved into a modern museum library whose holdings correspond to the Museum's collections (painting, sculpture, furniture, ceramics, glass, textile, clothes & fashion accessories, metal items, clocks & watches, photographs, graphic & product design, architectural items, ivory, musical instruments...), functioning primarily as the source of references for all Museum departments. The holdings encompassing 50,000 volumes include books, journals, manuals, specimen maps, exhibition & auction catalogues. The collection of rare and antique books from the 16th to the 19th c. constitutes a unit apart, having the status of another Museum's collection.

The library's reading-room, which, back in 1910, served as the first lecture-room of the Department of Art History & Archeology, makes all library items accessible to the general public.

The library exchanges publications with over 150 related institutions both in the country and abroad, while it is also subscribed to 20 different international professional journals.