Watson Library Visitor Guide and FAQs

Watson Library is open to visiting researchers who are 18 years of age and above.

Please register online here. You will receive a temporary library barcode that you can use to request books in advance of your visit. When you visit Watson Library in person, please show a photo ID to our staff at the Circulation and Research Assistance Desk to receive your physical library card.

Visitors can use any available museum entrance. The main entrance is located at Fifth Avenue and 82nd Street. Accessible entrances are located at Fifth Avenue and 81st Street and through the parking garage at Fifth Avenue and 80th Street. Please review the Museum Map for additional details.

Please note that all visitors are expected to adhere to the Museum's visitor guidelines. After entering the Museum, pleaseproceed to a Ticketing or Membership line. Please show your Watson Library card or email registration confirmation during library hours at a Ticketing or Membership desk and you will be issued a Met ticket. If you have a Met Membership card (not a library card), instead of proceeding to a Ticketing or Membership line, you can proceed directly to the galleries where you will be scanned in.

Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 10 am to 5 pm, and
Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm.

Please review library holiday closures here.

Lockers are provided for researchers during their library visit. Please note that coats and outerwear, laptop and tablet sleeves, and all bags larger than 8 1/2" x 11" and 2 1/2" must be stored in a locker. Lockers are 12” wide with varying heights (12-24") and depths (15-16"). As a courtesy to researchers, clear plastic bags are available for essential items to be brought into the library. Personal items are not permitted to be left unattended. If items do not fit inside the lockers, please bring them to the museum coat check. Nothing is permitted to be left in the lockers overnight.

Coats

When visiting Watson Library, researchers must store all coats and outerwear in a library locker or check these items at the museum coat check. Overcoats, heavy and/or long jackets, and outerwear are not permitted in the library. We recognize that the library may be chilly at times, and that researchers may opt to wear a thin or very light jacket to stay warm. Blazers, suit jackets, and sweaters are permitted. They must be worn or stored in the library lockers. Clothing may not be draped on library chairs and tables.

Water in a closed container is permitted. All other food and drink are prohibited.

Watson Library’s collection is noncirculating. All books must be consulted in Watson Library and cannot leave the library.

When searching our online catalog, you will see a Request button next to each book entry. After you click the Request button, you will be prompted to enter your last name and the last 6 digits of your library barcode (or temporary barcode if you are newly registered), and then click the Submit button. You will see a confirmation page indicating whether your request was successful.

If you are requesting a volume from a multi-volume set, please follow the above instructions for each volumeyou'd like to request . After you click the Submit button, you will have the option to choose the volume you need and then select the submit button again. If you need multiple volumes, you will need to submit a request for each one.

You have the option to log in to your library account with your last name and the last 6 digits of your library barcode. If you are logged in, you do not have to enter your information each time you request a book; you can just select the Request and Submit buttons for each request.

You can place up to 10 active requests at a time; once books are checked out to your account, you can place additional requests. There is no limit to how many books are checked out to your account.

Please refer to the Book Retrieval Schedule to determine when your items will be available, based on item location and time of request. You will be notified via email when your item is available.

We hold the books for one week from the time you receive an email confirmation that your requested book is checked out to your library account and on the hold shelves. You can request to renew most books in person at the Circulation Desk.

Please check your email spam/junk folder. You can also add the email address that notifications are sent from: circnotices@metmuseum.org. If you are still not receiving email notifications from us, please contact us at watson.library@metmuseum.org.

Watson Library does not provide scans from books in our collection. Overhead book scanners are available for use during your in-person visit. If you are unable to visit, we suggest checking WorldCat for libraries that may have the book you need and can assist with your scan request. You can also check to see if your local library or institution can assist you with your request.

Watson Library does not offer any meeting space for in-person or virtual meetings. Please note that the library is a quiet space designated for research.

For requests to publish images of works of art in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection or images from books in the Museum Libraries' collections, please consult the Image and Data Resources section of The Met's website.

Watson Library is dedicated to creating a respectful and welcoming environment for all. This includes using anti-racist, inclusive, and non-derogatory language when cataloging and describing our library's resources. Watson Library follows the standard practice of applying Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) to our materials to enable consistent searching across our catalog. Unfortunately, some LCSH terminology includes biased, outdated, and problematic terms. When applicable, Watson Library adopts reparative cataloging practices to support and implement the use of alternative controlled vocabularies to describe our resources.

With that in mind, we invite our patrons to email us at watson.library@metmuseum.org should they encounter any such harmful language in our catalog, and we will work to address the issue.

Please contact the Circulation Desk at (212) 650-2175 or circ01@metmuseum.org to make an appointment to use our microfilm/fiche machines. Appointments are made for two-hour time slots.

You are able to print or download scanned images from our microfilm/fiche readers.

You can bring your laptop to use. Laptop sleeves are not permitted in the library and must be stored in library lockers. The museum provides free Wi-Fi throughout the building. We kindly ask that you bring your own charger, as we do not have chargers available to borrow. Electrical outlets are available beneath the edges of most tables throughout the Reading Room and Nolen Study Room for researcher use. Please ask library staff for assistance.

There are 12 computers available for research purposes. You can access our online catalog, Watsonline, and Watson's electronic subscription databases. You may print up to 25 black and white pages per day.

There are six overhead book scanners available for use free of charge. These scanners are designed for research purposes and can produce images up to 300 dpi, which may not meet high-resolution needs. You can email the scans to yourself or save them to a USB flash drive.

Visit this page for detailed instructions on creating personal lists and adding titles to lists.