The Ringling Art Library is an enduring testament to John Ringling’s passion for collecting. The Library contains more than 85,000 volumes, exhibition and sale catalogs, and more than 100 current periodical titles. The Library conducts and supports research on the Museum's collection of Italian and European Baroque art, 20th Century Art, Decorative Arts, Peter Paul Rubens, Contemporary Art, and Photography. The Library collects research materials encompassing the entire history of art, art education, conservation and houses a collection of rare books from the 16th - 20th centuries, including the personal library of John Ringling. The Library has extensive ephemeral files on artists in the Ringling collection, the Museum complex, and artist and museum files from around the world.