The department of the research library is a subdivision of the A.Kasteyev State Museum of Arts and acts as a ‘further library’. It provides scientific research and information related to literature and documents. It is also a centre for knowledge distribution, spiritual and intellectual communication and culture. An important aspect of the work of the library is helping museum researchers in their observation and research in the theory of art studies, museum management studies, formation of catalogues, albums, postcards sets, etc.
The A. Kasteyev State Museum of Arts of the Republic of Kazakhstan possesses a large library (delivery desk, reference room and depository), and its rich collection consists of nearly 25.000 books, catalogues, albums from the 18th to the 20th centuries; magazines, newspapers and contemporary publications about world art. The collection of books, catalogues, posters is one of the biggest in Kazakhstan.
There are books in English, German, French. Spanish, Polish. Italian„ Hungarian, Bulgarian, Czech, Kazakh, Russian, Chinese and Arabic languages from the 18th to the 20th centuries. The books are on art, philosophy, history. ethnography, religion, cultural studies, archaeology, and also classical and modern fiction.
The rich heritage of Kazakhstan’s creativity is contained in its scientific archives managed by the museum’s longest-serving employees: Piakhotnaya Vandrovskaya Y.B, Kumarova S.B., and Polonskaya N.A. Materials about artists from Kazakhstan are kept and collected (newspaper and magazine articles, books).
Disks and video films from different sources enable readers learn about art events in different countries.
Annually the library subscribes to more than 50 periodicals.
The A. Kasteyev State Museum of Arts of the Republic of Kazakhstan is the largest artistic museum in the country and the leading research centre for the study of fine and applied arts.
