Our Research Facilities comprise a number of study spaces and storage facilities across the city, where visitors are able to view collections not on display. This includes works of art, as well as library, archive and special collections. Access is free, by appointment, and all visitors are welcome.
All of our Research Facilities are currently open to limited numbers, by appointment, in order to protect the health of our staff and visitors.
All visitors are welcome to view these collections in our research facilities, whether for pleasure or for academic study. Visits are free but must be pre-booked.
The Library provides access to resources relating to portraiture and Scottish history. The Print Room houses over 50,000 works of art on paper, including the Photography Collection, and a notable collection of portrait miniatures.
Housing the international and Scottish collections of historic, modern and contemporary works of art on paper, the Prints and Drawings Study Room gives access to over 35,000 works of graphic art not on permanent display.
Home to our library, archive and special collections, the Reading Room is an outstanding resource on the history and theory of art from 1300 to the present. Visitors can access over 100,000 library items, 6,000 artists’ and special books and 140+ archival holdings.
The Gabrielle Keiller Library was specially designed by the architect Terry Farrell to house two key collections of Dada and Surrealist books and papers acquired in the mid-1990s.
The Granton Art Centre is Scotland’s first purpose-built art store for paintings, drawings and sculptures from the national collection. It provides 1,300 square metres of secure and climate-controlled storage space.