(New York, October 11, 2012)—The Metropolitan Museum of Art today launched MetPublications, 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, and Journals published by the Metropolitan Museum since its founding in 1870, as well as online publications.
Readers may also locate works of art from the Met’s collections that are included within MetPublications and access the most recent information about these works in the Collections section of the Museum’s website.
“MetPublications presents a rich and fascinating record of the last five decades of Met scholarship,” said Thomas P. Campbell, Director and CEO of the Metropolitan Museum. “I am particularly pleased that this new portal allows us to share the Met’s publications with a global audience. It will extend the reach of our past, current, and future publications, and give new life to out-of-print volumes.”
MetPublications is made possible by Hunt & Betsy Lawrence.
MetPublications includes a description and table of contents for almost every title, as well as information about the authors, reviews, and awards, and links to related Met titles by author and theme. Current in-print titles may be previewed and fully searched online, with links to purchase the books. The full contents of almost all other titles may be read online, searched, or downloaded as a PDF, at no cost. Books can be read and searched through the Google Book program, an initiative to maximize access to the Met’s books.
A unique feature of MetPublications is that many out-of-print books are now available through print-on-demand capabilities, with copies offered for purchase through Yale University Press. At the launch of the program, 140 titles will be available in print-on-demand paperbound copies with digitally printed color reproductions.
Readers are also directed to every title located in the online library catalogues WorldCat, a global catalogue of library collections; and WATSONLINE, the Metropolitan Museum’s catalogue of its own libraries’ holdings.
MetPublications, as of today's launch, allows users to:
* Search 643 books published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art about art and art history by title, author, keyword, publication type, theme, or collection.
* Read, download, and search the full contents of 368 out-of-print titles.
* Preview and search the contents of 272 titles that are in print or otherwise unavailable to read fully.
* Obtain print-on-demand copies of 140 out-of-print titles.
* Access two online publications, Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History and Connections.
* Find links to locate all titles at local libraries through WorldCat, and on the Metropolitan Museum library catalogue WATSONLINE.
* Find book descriptions, tables of contents, author biographies, press releases and reviews, awards, and related bibliographies by author, theme, and keyword.
* Explore works of art from the Metropolitan Museum’s collection featured in all titles with links to updated information about each work. This makes it possible to provide updated information about older titles, linking earlier with current scholarship.
* Rediscover the scholarship of 50 years of publishing dedicated to the arts from this encyclopedic Museum.
Publications to be added to the program on a continuing basis include recently published books and online publications, and print titles published by the Metropolitan Museum from 1870 to 1964, as well as print-on-demand options for out-of-print titles.
MetPublications was created by the staff of the Metropolitan Museum’s Editorial and Digital Media departments.
About the Met’s Publishing Program
From its founding in 1870, the Metropolitan Museum has published exhibition catalogues, collection catalogues, and guides to the collections. Today it is one of the leading museum publishers in the world, and its award-winning books and online publications consistently set the standard for scholarship, production values, and elegant design. Each year, the Met produces around 30 exhibition and collection catalogues and general-audience books, as well as informative periodicals such as the quarterly Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin and the annual Metropolitan Museum Journal.
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October 11, 2012
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