A typical morning in a typical art college library is described. Ways in which art students use libraries, and the materials they require, are summarised. The fact that art students can get by without using libraries is noted in discussion of advantages and disadvantages of decentralised art libraries and of the centralisation of art library resources in libraries of wider scope. This paper was delivered to the course on ‘The Literature of Art and Architecture’, organised by ARLIS with the Library Association, in London on 6th December 1979.