When you step inside the George Washington University Library, there’s a sense that art and academia breathe the same air. Among its many resources lies a carefully curated collection of artists’ books — tactile works that blur the boundary between literature and visual art. Once part of the Corcoran Library, these books have found a new home at GW, carrying with them a legacy of creativity and social awareness.
The collection spans limited editions, artists’ multiples, and publications from around the world. Many of the Corcoran works focus on themes of social consciousness, their handmade forms quietly reminding viewers that art often begins with empathy. For students of art and design, this collection is both a classroom and a conversation — a place to study technique, but also to feel the human pulse behind it.
Finding the Collection
The Gelman Library catalog connects researchers to the entire Washington Research Library Consortium (WRLC), a network of universities including Georgetown, American, and Howard, among others. Searching for “artists’ books” will reveal materials from across the consortium, but narrowing the results to “George Washington University” brings the focus back home.
Within the results, you’ll find two main branches of the collection: the Gelman Special Collections, which houses the artists’ books from both GW and Corcoran, and the Gelman Art and Design collection, which contains reference works about book art. Both areas serve different purposes — one preserves the original creations; the other helps readers understand the theory and history behind them.
Getting There and What to Expect
The library is just a short walk from the Foggy Bottom Metro stop, a route that feels almost symbolic — moving from the hum of the city into the quieter rhythm of a university library. Gelman Library primarily serves GW students, faculty, and alumni, though outside researchers are welcome in the Special Collections Research Center on the seventh floor.
Appointments can be made during the week by calling 202-994-7549, or via email. The center is also open on Saturdays by appointment. Visitors should bring a photo ID and register upon arrival. Meanwhile, the Art and Design collection on the first floor offers circulating materials for those who want to explore book art theory beyond the reading room.
A Quiet Continuation of the Corcoran Spirit
There’s something deeply moving about how the Corcoran Library’s collection lives on within Gelman’s walls. The artists’ books remain open to new eyes, new interpretations, and new generations of makers. In a university known for its dialogue between history and innovation, the book art collection serves as a reminder that creativity, too, deserves preservation — not just as an object, but as an ongoing story.