In 1989 the Art Libraries Journal published two reports on art libraries in Madrid, by Gabriele Musidlak-Schlott and Elena Santiago. The time is ripe to present a broader profile of this same topic, and this can be done by analysing and updating the information recently published in the Guía de las bibliotecas de arte de Madrid, a directory of art libraries in the city. The directory includes the libraries of those historic institutions dedicated to art teaching (academies and universities) and to the collection and preservation of works of art (museums); it also includes national, academic, public, and other kinds of general art libraries. Current problems faced by art libraries in Madrid are very much the same problems of all Spanish libraries: overcoming the difficulties experienced by users in seeking satisfaction of their information needs, achieving wider and more effective co-ordination, and catching-up with library automation.