Royal Danish Academy Library Digital Content (Architecture, Design, Conservation, Performing Arts)

Overview

The Royal Danish Academy Library's Digital Content portal provides online access to the digital holdings of Denmark's most comprehensive library for architecture, design, conservation, and the performing arts. The library serves as a public research library affiliated with the Royal Danish Academy – Architecture, Design, Conservation (Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi), supporting education and research at the Academy and open to the general public.

History and Background

The library was known as the KADK Library until a name change in 2020, derived from the Academy's Danish name Kunstakademiets Skoler for Arkitektur, Design og Konservering. The current library came into being in 2011 as the result of a merger of three creative schools' libraries: the School of Architecture Library, the Design School Library, and the School of Conservation Library. In the same year, the joint library took over management of library services for the Danish National School of Performing Arts. The library is housed in a former naval smithy on Holmen, built 1918–19 by architect Olaf Schmidth and engineers Christiani & Nielsen.

Collections and Holdings

The library's digital content portal gives access to a wide range of digital and electronic resources across its four subject areas. Collections include e-books, online journals, databases, digitised architectural photographs, graduation programmes and master's theses from 1972 to the present, and PhD dissertations. The Arkitekturbilleder.dk database contains over 1,800 buildings by more than 750 Danish architects and design studios, with photographs available under Creative Commons licensing. ARKIV, a Royal Danish Academy database, holds over 100,000 items including digitised photos, drawings, books, journals, and pamphlets. The library also provides access to Mediestream for historical newspapers, radio, and TV.

Access and Usage

Digital content is accessible at royaldanishacademy.com/en/library/digital-content. Employees and students of the Royal Danish Academy can access subscribed electronic resources from home. Physical facilities are located at Danneskiold-Samsøes Allé 50, 1434 Copenhagen K.