Library Card

Library Card

The Library Card can be requested by anyone aged 14 or over with an interest in consulting the collection and using the resources in the Museo Reina Sofía Library and Documentation Centre. The Card will be issued free of charge and is non-transferable and may only be used by the cardholder. Its validity depends on the fulfilment of access regulations, in addition to the correct and careful use of equipment, facilities and reference material. Users must carry their Library Card to access both the Library and to loan repository documents in the reading room.   

As of January 2020, a digital card will be issued to users requesting it for the first time and to those currently in possession of the Library Card.  


Requesting and receiving the Library Card

This can be done through the Museo Reina Sofía website by filling out the request form, or in person using the digital tablets located in the Library reception. Obtaining the Library Card means you accept the regulations governing the operation of the Library.

For general users, the digital card will be sent automatically once the corresponding application form has been filled out. For researchers, it will be sent automatically once the Library staff have validated their supporting documents.  

If users wish to have a physical Library Card, it can be collected on Floor -1 of the Library by submitting a valid ID document (ID Card, Foreigners’ ID Card, driving licence). Furthermore, people who have received the card at home must activate it by submitting their ID document the first time they enter the Library.

Personal data must be updated in the event of any relevant change (e.g. a change of address or contact details), in which case requested supporting documentation must be provided.


General Library regulations

Before entering the reading room, visitors must show their personal Library Card (digital card in Passbook or email format, or Library Card) to staff at the Library reception, who will proceed to sign them in and provide them with a pass indicating their allocated seat and a locker where they can leave their personal belongings. Should visitors leave their allocated seat for more than 30 minutes it will be lost automatically.

Once personal items that are not allowed in the reading room have been left in the cloakroom, visitors may gain access by passing their Library Card at the entrance turnstile.

Upon definitively leaving the Library, visitors must return the pass they were given at reception in order to sign out and to leave their seat and locker free.


Card losses

Should the Library Card be lost or misplaced, Library staff must be notified as soon as possible in order to proceed with cancelling or duplicating the said document. This request must be carried out personally with Library staff. 

For more information, please write to the Documentation Centre and Library at carnet.biblioteca@museoreinasofia.es.


Library Card categories

General library card
Intended for any person interested in using the resources available in the Library.

Library Card for general and specialist researchers
Intended for certified researchers, teachers, students and professionals interested in browsing the Library resources and collection. Upon filling out the request form for the Library Card, researchers must include documents certifying their status, either in PDF, PNG or JPEG formats. Researchers’ Library Cards will be valid for a one-year period and must be renewed to ensure access under the same conditions.

General researchers
Researchers from the Spanish National Research Council
Researchers from Spain’s National Library
Research fellows
PhD candidates
Members of the Museo Reina Sofía’s Foundation of Friends
Members of the International Council of Museums
Museum staff

Specialist Contemporary Art researchers
Research fellows specialised in Contemporary Art, Industrial Design and Architecture
PhD candidates in Contemporary Art, Industrial Design and Architecture
University lecturers and students from the Arts and Humanities:
Fine Art, the Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage, Design, Art History, Audiovisual Communication
Architecture students and teachers
Art critics, artists and gallerists


Digital card

All current Library cardholders and those requesting a card in the future will have a digital card. For now, however, students and teachers from the Study Centre course in progress will not be issued a digital card. The digital version will replace the physical one in terms of use, but if users also wish to have a physical card they may collect it on Floor -1 of the Library by submitting their ID document.    

For general users, the digital card will be sent automatically once the corresponding application form has been filled out. For researchers, it will be sent automatically once the Library staff have validated their supporting documents.

Users may use two types of digital card at the Library desk:

  • Card in Passbook format
  • Card in email format

Users can use either digital card format to access the Library. To access via the Library turnstile, the QR code must be placed above the reader, in the same fashion as the physical card.  

For any issues with receiving or operating the digital card, please send an email to carnet.biblioteca@museoreinasofia.es explaining the problem and in order to receive another card or for the specific case to be studied.