The museum library is internationally renowned and possesses literature in some 25 languages, published over the course of 500 years. The subject areas covered include the prehistory and history of photography, photographic techniques, history of the camera, photography as a form of art and documentation, and all types of photographic activity and related topics.
In total, the library possesses around 20 000 volumes, including annuals and periodical volumes, catalogues and brochures.
The periodicals collection comprises around 1 000 titles, 100 of which are current. The library incorporates a number of Norwegian and international archives, foremost among them the Narath Archive.

Opening hours 2004
The library remains open even though the museum is currently closed.
The opening hours are:

Tuesday - Friday 9 am to 3 pm

Monday closed

Every first saturday of the month the library is open from 12 to 5 pm

Please phone or write in advance if you wish to request access to particular material.

Contact

Borrowing
Borrowers resident in the district of Horten are eligible for a library card. All other borrowers must request material via their local library.
The library's collection is included in the database of Nasjonalbiblioteket
(the National Library of Norway) in Oslo:
www.nb.no/baser

Books can be found in the following catalogue: Norsk samkatalog for bøker (Sambok).
Periodicals can be found in the following catalogue: Norsk samkatalog for periodika (Samper).
The standard loan time is four weeks, and loans are renewable. Some items in the collection are for on-site reference only and cannot be borrowed. This applies to the periodicals collection, large-format books (folios), older scientific literature, some monographs and valuable first editions. Photocopies of periodicals in the collection can be ordered at a minimum charge of NOK 100, which includes copies of up to 20 pages. Above 20 pages, the cost is NOK 2 per page. Orders received via e-mail which do not include the sender's postal address will not be processed.

Loss of material on loan
Compensation will be claimed for any material lost while on loan. Lost books will be priced individually or in accordance with current international values for antiquarian books. Borrowers will also be charged at an hourly rate
(currently NOK 295) for the work involved in obtaining replacements.