Library services
Access and opening hours
- Access to the collections of the Library of the Museo Nacional de Antropología is free for anyone interested in the Museum's bibliographic collections. The collections can only be consulted in the reading room and personal loans outside the reading room are not permitted. In some cases, due to the poor condition of the publication you request or its special fragility, we will ask you to follow certain handling guidelines or we may even consider, with good justification, that you cannot access it, always trying to offer you an alternative, such as providing you with a digital copy of the pages you are interested in.
- The library is open from Tuesday to Thursday from 9:30 am to 2:30 pm (except holidays).
- The service is available by appointment, which should be requested by e-mail at biblioteca.mna@cultura.gob.es
or by calling 914682495. The vast majority of the library's collection is in the deposits, so we recommend that you request in advance the books you wish to consult. - To get to the library, you must enter the Museum grounds through the door located on Alfonso XII Street. Upon arrival, you must identify yourself to the security personnel, who will inform the library staff who will accompany you to the consultation room.
- In the following link, you can consult the rules of use of the library. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask for more information, we will be happy to help you. Library rules of use
- At any time you can ask for help from the library staff, who will assist you and advise you on the library resources available in the center.
General inquiries and bibliographic information
We will be pleased to answer any queries and requests for bibliographic information on subjects related to the library's holdings that you may have, either in person or by e-mail: biblioteca.mna@cultura.gob.es
Online catalogue
The library of the National Museum of Anthropology forms part of the Network of Museum Libraries (BIMUS), so its collections can be found in the BIMUS unified online catalogue.
Museum libraries also have their own space in the Virtual Library of Bibliographic Heritage, which can be consulted online. The Library's antiquarian collections also form part of the Collective Catalogue of Spanish Bibliographic Heritage. The aim of this catalogue is to identify and locate the bibliographic collections belonging to Spanish libraries which, due to their antiquity, uniqueness or richness, can be considered part of Spanish Historical Heritage.
Here are some useful links to consult our online catalogue, as well as other catalogues of interest (BIMUS General Catalogue, Collective Catalogue of Spanish Bibliographic Heritage and Virtual Library of Bibliographic Heritage).
Cultural extension activities
The MNA Library, with the help of the Museum's cultural mediation team, periodically schedules guided tours of the library to showcase its facilities and holdings, especially the antique collection. These activities are announced on social networks and in the Museum's program of activities.
Inter-library loans.
If you cannot travel to the museum, you can request publications or copies of selected pages from another centre belonging to the network of State Museum Libraries that is nearer to you or where you are already conducting your research.
Groups
Bookings for study groups are permitted, always for a maximum of 4 people and in a time slot not exceeding 2 hours.
Desideratas
Can't find what you are looking for? Don't worry, in the library we offer you a desiderata form. Fill it out with the details of the work you are interested in consulting, and we will evaluate your request to proceed with its purchase and incorporation into the collection. In this way, we "build" the library together.
Study bibliography for civil servant exams
If you happen to be preparing for the civil servant exams for auxiliary, assistant and specialist museum staff, we update and make available on an annual basis a selection of the library's publications that can help you to prepare or complete your reading list. We have also created a new section called 'cultural mediators', which includes a bibliography to help you study for the exams for the Common Services and Senior Management Technician positions, announced in the Spanish Official Gazette (BOE) on 30 January 2019.