I wanted to put aside a page dealing specifically with my visit to the library of the Van Gogh Museum since this visit was one of the great highlights of my entire holiday.

I had definitely wanted to visit the library and documentation centre of the Van Gogh Museum in order to see just what sort of work they were undertaking, what sort of holdings they had, what sort of database tools they used to organize their information, etc. I was extremely impressed with the building itself (the staff of the library had only been in this new location for two weeks), but even more so I was completely overwhelmed with just how professional, courteous and incredibly friendly and welcoming the staff of the library were to me.

I stopped in two days before leaving Amsterdam and chatted with one of the main documentation people. We spoke briefly and agreed that I would come back the next day when I could speak with a number of different people about the topics that interested me.

I showed up the next morning to be greeted by the incredibly friendly staff and presented with a huge package of information, including a number of back issues of the Van Gogh Bulletin, the publication of the Van Gogh Museum. In addition to the information package, the staff of the library took time out of their busy schedules to answer a number of questions, provide me with a look at some of their database files, as well as a brief tour through one their one of their incredibly extensive filing rooms.

While extremely well organized myself, I was absolutely amazed at how incredibly well organized the huge amount of material is. The library has a massive collection of research materials concerning Van Gogh and his works--in fact, three people are currently working on a five year project researching the vast amount of correspondence which Van Gogh produced.

As I mention, the staff of the Van Gogh library couldn't have been more helpful and accommodating. Indeed, I'd say that each and every one of them bent over backwards to make my visit a rewarding one. In addition, not only is the staff of the library more than friendly and courteous, they also showed themselves to be consummate professionals. Each and every one of them takes a real pride in their work and this was clearly evident in the incredible devotion to detail as well as the admirable level of organization.

If you're interested in Van Gogh and his works, then I couldn't recommend highly enough a visit to the Van Gogh Museum Library. My visit and the time I spent with the staff will always remain one of the most pleasant and rewarding memories of my visit to Amsterdam.

Many thanks to everyone at the Van Gogh Museum library, both for their courtesy as well as their professionalism. I truly envy this wonderful group of people--both for the incredible work they've accomplished so far, as well as for the great work that awaits them in the years to come.

Van Gogh Museum Library and Documentation Centre
Hours: Mon.-Fri. 10.00-12.45 and 13.30-17.00 (or 10-12.45 a.m. 1.30-5.00 p.m.)
Library: 020-5705978
Documentation: 020-5705953 or 020-5705205

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