The primary objective of the Library and Archives is to foster research and learning. The mandate is international in scope, determined by the institutional objectives of the National Gallery, and ultimately derived from the Museums Act (1990). The Library's collections and programs support the work of the Gallery's library, curatorial, education, conservation and research staff, the work of scholars of the National Gallery's Research Fellowship Program, the varied clientele of the museum, and the scholarly community in Canada and abroad.     

Resources support study of the National Gallery fine art collections and all aspects of Canadian art, as well as the history of western European and American art, the history of photography, and the literature of related areas such as museology and art conservation. The history and scope of the collections are described in the Library and Archives Collection Development Policy (1997).