Home Is Where the Cart Is

Departmental Technician Fredy Rivera heroically setting out to deliver books to departments throughout The Met. Photo by William Blueher

Watson Library is the central research library of The Metropolitan Museum of Art and one of the most encyclopedic art libraries in the world, but The Met also has over twenty departmental libraries throughout the building. Part of my job includes visiting and getting to know these libraries, and over time I've found that each one has its own distinct personality, with the style, quirks, and design of the library often matching the department it serves.

A corner of the European Sculpture and Decorative Arts Library. Photos by author unless otherwise indicated

One of my favorite examples of this is the European Sculpture and Decorative Arts Library, which is lined with dark wooden shelves and has a great selection of armchairs that seem better suited to the sitting room of a country estate than a research library.

The entirety of the Objects Conservation Library

Another is the Objects Conservation Library, which is kept behind lock and key in secured metal shelving. This is both practical and perfectly symbolic of the lengths the department will go to to protect and conserve all of the art objects that cross their threshold.

Paging from the Egyptian Art Library. Photo by Daisy Paul

With few exceptions, these libraries' holdings appear in, and can be requested through Watsonline, Watson Library's online catalogue. These libraries vary from small, highly specialized collections on a specific topic, to large, nearly independent research centers like the Irene Lewisohn Costume Reference Library, the Onassis Library for Hellenic and Roman Art, and the Cloisters Library and Archives.

The European Sculpture and Decorative Arts library still has a charming card catalogue.

In service to the mission the Museum, Watson staff members work hard every day to make materials from the departmental libraries just as accessible to patrons as Watson's own materials. This requires a coordinated effort on the part of the circulation staff—especially Departmental Technician Fredy Rivera—who make daily rounds to departments across the Museum. When Fredy is away, other circulation staff—including me, Jessica Ranne Cardona, and Maria Schurr—share the responsibility of departmental rounds.

The Robert Goldwater Library for the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas

We often explain to patrons that when they request a book from a departmental library, it can take up to two business days to arrive on the hold-shelves in Watson. That's because the process for paging these books is much more complicated and time-consuming than many realize. A main consideration is just how large the Museum is. I'm still blown away by the sheer size and complexity of the building. I've been working here in some capacity for the better part of a year, and I haven't even come close to seeing everything there is to see. The facade of the Museum spans four entire city blocks, or roughly a quarter of a mile. Just the public spaces alone take up a massive amount of room, and they only account for a portion of the overall square-footage of the building. Offices can be found from the basement to the Fifth Floor, and Fredy and other circulation staff members page from and deliver to departments from one end of the building to the other.

Here I am, on my way to deliver books! Photo by Daisy Paul

In addition to paging from the numerous departmental libraries, we also deliver to staff in all departments, including those that do not have their own libraries. So while there are over twenty departmental libraries, the number of departments that we actually serve within the Museum is much greater. Paging from and delivering to departments is mostly a behind-the-scenes business. Only a handful of offices have to be accessed through public spaces, and I'll just let you guess which ones those are. The rest of the time, we make our way through a labyrinthine network of tunnels and hallways beneath the Museum. Remembering how to get from department to department felt impossible at first, and I'm not ashamed to say I've gotten lost more than a few times. But each time I've been rescued by some kind person who can see my deer-in-headlights look and knows that I have no idea where I am.

A sign familiar to all who work in the Museum, especially those who travel through the tunnels regularly

The flipside of delivering is picking up from Museum staff. After they have finished with a book, staff members can return it to Watson themselves or ask for it to be picked up from their department. These pickups are made daily by Fredy during his normal paging rounds (or other circulation staff as necessary). Some departments have you retrieve the book directly from their desks and others have a designated area where books that are being returned to Watson go. The process varies from department to department. Since Fredy delivers, pages, and picks up books all in one trip around the Museum, his cart is never empty.

A selection of books to be returned to Watson from The American Wing

Being a part of this process has been a really rewarding part of my work at Watson (even if I did think I’d never find my way back the first time I had to go by myself). As part of the circulation team, a large part of my job is corresponding with Museum staff about research materials. Doing departmental rounds lets me put faces to names and actually meet the people I'm in contact with every day. It also opens a window into the different organizational subcultures within the Museum. Each department has such a distinct personality, and I really think the experience of doing departmental rounds helps me better understand the needs of all of our patrons.