Visit Our Library
Our library is devoted to media art, making it invaluable for artists and researchers. You will not only find books here, but also video records and archives. Together, they provide an overview of 50 years of media art history. Want to drop by? Kindly make an appointment in advance using the form below.
LI-MA has a specialised library of publications on media art. Our library has the largest offering in the field of media artists' monographs, media (art) theory and history – including publications on video, sound, performances, installations, net art, AI, VR and more. We also have a large number of publications related to media art practice, preservation and presentation, which is open to the public for research.
We also make sure to continually enter additional acquisitions to the library, representing the contemporary state of the art and discussions in these fields.
Ahead of your planned visit to our library, you can contact the LI-MA staff with any questions via the form below.
No material can be loaned out, but there is an opportunity to copy (and scan, to a limited extent). You can also reserve requested publications for a longer period of time. In addition, you can access our video artworks and video documentation.
Media art archives
Knowledge sharing lies at the core of LI-MA. Media art archives contain concepts of works of art and provide insight into the social and technical context of artistic practice. In short, they provide the context necessary to understand a work. We provide access to artists’ and institutional archives and participate in research projects and networks such as Standfield / Hooykaas, Vasulka’s, and the Nan Hoover Archive to share our knowledge on archives of media art and digital art and culture. Detailed research reports are available on request, however more information can be found in this article.
LI-MA takes care of several institutional and artist’s archives and increasingly receives requests from artists and institutions and/or their heirs to manage their archives. The urgency to do so is increasing. We also already take care of the archives of Montevideo/Time Based Arts/Netherlands Media Art Institute (NIMk) and LI-MA, including analogue and digital press clippings, curatorial archives, papers, photos, publications and videos. We do the same for a selection of artists and institutional archives such as Daniel Brun, Nan Hoover, Livinus Van der Bundt, Ulisses Carrion, Lijnbaancentrum, SERVAAS and more.
Archives at LI-MA can be consulted upon request, and by appointment only.
Audiovisual material
Artworks – together with their documentation and archives – taken care of by LI-MA are accessible on request. LI-MA takes care of over 50 collections and has a rich documentation and archival audiovisual collection. You can also view the LI-MA collection here
Audiovisual and computer equipment / datascan station
Almost all artists – as well as presentation and heritage institutions and archives – have obsolete videotapes, discs, floppies, drives and sticks containing artworks and archival material. This material is in danger of being lost, since its content can no longer be accessed. For the Endangered Digital Heritage on Physical Carriers project, LI-MA collaborates with the Netwerk Digitaal Erfgoed (NDE).
LI-MA collects and maintains obsolete equipment. We installed a series of obsolete video tapes and disks stations as well as computer viewing stations. Here, artists and cultural organisations can view their discs, floppies or tapes with artworks and documentation and transfer them to modern devices, on request.
