MetPublications – All Publications from the Metropolitan Museum of Art Since 1964

You know when you go see a show at a museum and they have those awesome large-format glossy exhibition catalogues in the gift shop that (if you are like me) you wish you could afford? Well, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has a resource that may soothe the sting somewhat – they have put all their publications since 1964 online. That’s right, all of the last 49 years’ worth including out-of-print works, and they plan to add to the collection. How much to access this resource? Nothing. It’s free.

The site itself is attractive and easy to use, and has robust search functionality. To improve user experience, there are also browsing galleries that allow you to check out the different categories of publication in a more visual format like… oh, shopping at that Museum gift shop I mentioned earlier.

(New York, October 11, 2012)—The Metropolitan Museum of Art today launchedMetPublications, a major online resource that offers unparalleled in-depth access to the Museum’s renowned print and online publications, covering art, art history, archaeology, conservation, and collecting. Beginning with nearly 650 titles published from 1964 to the present, this new addition to the Met’s website, www.metmuseum.org/metpublications, will continue to expand and could eventually offer access to nearly all books, Bulletins, andJournals published by the Metropolitan Museum since its founding in 1870, as well as online publications.
– metmuseum.org

I know I mentioned the search functionality, but it bears expanding on –  the publications are searchable, indexed, & cross-linked with the Met’s art collection. You can search by category (like African Art, Central Africa or European Art in the 19th century), by title, by author, by keyword, department, format, or publication type. They even have a deal with the Yale University Press to print out-of-print catalogues on demand. This is such an amazing resource that you really just need to go to MetPublications and check it out for yourself.

It’s rather appalling that this resource has existed since October 11 of  last year and I’ve only heard about it now. They even have the catalogue for the current exhibition for those of us who won’t be able to visit NYC for ourselves while the show is on.