The AFAD Academic Library is a specialized library-information, scientific-research, bibliographic, coordiation and consultation center of the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava.
Status and function of Library is regulated by Organisation Manual of AFAD and by Statute of the Academic Library of AFAD. The Library is located at Hviezdoslav square 18.
The need of establishing a library as a part of the pedagogical process originated three years after the AFAD was founded. Jiří Kotalík, a famous Czech art theorist who started teaching history of art at AFAD in 1952, has significantly contributed to the creation of the Library.
Specialized tasks of the Library are aimed at regular addition and bibliographic processing of documents, offering library-information, reference, retrieval and reprographic services, protection of the library collection, providing access to licensed electronic resources, bibliographic registration for Evidence of Publishing Activities and archiving of records for Evidence of Art Activities.
The Academic Library is focused on building up the library collection oriented at documents on fine arts, architecture and related fields. At present, there are nearly 40 000 documents in the library collection (books, magazine year´s volumes, theses and dissertations, electronic documents). New additions are automatically updated in the online catalog. There are more than 60 national and foreign periodicals available. The library possesses the second biggest collection with this focus in Slovakia.
Records are kept in accession registers, card catalogues (organised by author, title or systematic catalogues), electronic on-line catalogue IPAC. Since 2004, an automated library system ARL (Advanced Rapid Library) has been used for cataloguing. The lack of free choice is compensated by detailed bibliographic processing of documents, so the users have the biggest possible comfort when searching in the on-line catalogue. Key words are listed in Slovak language as well as in English. Only documents saved in study room and news are available for the library users.
The Library is equipped with audiovisual technology with the possibility to use electronic and audiovisual media. It is involved in the NISPEZ project (National Information System – Access to Electronic Information Resources), which allows the access to specialized electronic databases. New accessions are automatically updated in the on-line catalogue as well as on the web page in the section New Books. Foto archive of the Academy is also located in the Library.
Since 2023 the Academic Library performes its services in two spaces, the original one in the building of AFAD at Hviezdoslavovo námestie 18 and within the common project of the Art Library in the SNG building at Vajanského nábrežie. More about the library services in this regime.