The museum's own library, which contains around 35,000 volumes, is both a research site and a research tool. Its core goes back to the reference library of the collection's founder Alexander Schnütgen, who donated his already extensive library together with his collection to the city of Cologne in 1906.
Since the opening of the new building in 2010, the Museum Schnütgen, together with the Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum, has had a structurally modern library. In addition to the stacks area, a large reading room is available.
Unfortunately, the library is not yet open to the public. The museum is working on a gradual digitization of the catalog of the holdings, which were previously only listed in a card catalog. The new digital catalog to be set up is connected to the union catalog of the University Library Center of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, which also lists the holdings of the state's university libraries and other museum libraries, such as the Cologne Art and Museum Library.
Notice:
In urgent exceptional cases concerning the consultation of publications that are not available in other Cologne libraries, please contact our secretary's office.
Tel.: +49 (0) 221 221 22310
E-Mail: museum.schnuetgen[at]stadt-koeln.de