I step into American University Library and the quiet hits me first, soft and steady between the shelves. Here are artists’ books, small worlds carefully crafted, resting in both the Visual Arts Collection and Special Collections. Special Collections rarely takes in new works now, but it holds a permanent loan from the Watkins Art Gallery. Each book carries a story and a weight of hands and ideas. The air feels different just knowing they are here.
Searching for Artists’ Books
Finding these books is like following a trail of whispers across the Washington Research Library Consortium. The catalog reaches through several universities—American, Catholic, Gallaudet, Georgetown, George Mason, George Washington, Howard, and Marymount—so you can explore more than one campus without leaving your chair. Typing in “artists’ books” brings up both physical treasures and digital references. For those curious about the Watkins Collection, searching its name reveals a quiet corner of Special Collections, holding the gallery’s work like a secret.
Visiting the Library
The library stands where Nebraska Avenue meets New Mexico Avenue in Northwest DC. I usually walk from the Tenleytown/AU Metro station, tracing Wisconsin Avenue past the neighborhood library and down toward Tenley Circle. The city hums around me, but as I turn onto Nebraska Avenue and enter campus, the world softens. Bender Library appears as the second building on the left, familiar and reassuring. It is a place where time slows and pages speak.
What to Expect
Some books rest in the Visual Arts Collection; others are kept in Special Collections. The public is welcome to explore, but only university community members or consortium affiliates can borrow them. Researching items in Special Collections works best with an appointment, arranged by phone or email. Sitting among these books, flipping through the pages, it is easy to forget the clock and feel the presence of the people who made them. A library is more than a building—it is a space where ideas quietly gather and linger.