History
In the years 2001 to 2004 (Dresden) and 2005 to 2010 (Heidelberg/Munich), two virtual libraries were established for the subject of art history with the support of the German Research Foundation (DFG): Since then, the SLUB Dresden has been operating "ViFaArt -Virtual Library of Contemporary Art" as a special collection library for "Contemporary Art since 1945, Photography, Industrial Design and Commercial Graphics". The Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte (Central Institute for Art History), together with the LMU München (Institute for History of arts) and the Heidelberg University Library responsible for the special collection "European Art History up to 1945 and General Art Studies", operated "arthistoricum.net - Virtual Library of Art History".
After expiration of the DFG funding, it was decided to merge the two services and to present an integrated virtual library of art to the expert community under arthistoricum.net. The new offer started in January 2012 and will - after the Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte in Munich withdrew from the project at that time - only be operated by the above mentioned partners.
The new conception of the now jointly maintained platform was carried out under consideration of the modules existing in arthistoricum.net and ViFaArt. A graphically and functionally convincing sum of the offers of both predecessor portals was aimed at. For this purpose, a critical appraisal of each previous component was carried out, various elements were reworked and, when necessary, modified.
Since 2014, the existing offerings have been expanded to become a specialist information service for art, photography and design as part of the new DFG programme "Discipline-Specific Information Services"
