The Cranbrook Academy of Art Library serves as a resource of visual and written materials to support the research needs of students currently enrolled in the Academy, CAA faculty and staff, and the curatorial staff of the Cranbrook Art Museum. Extensive collections are maintained in each of the ten visual arts disciplines studied at the Academy.

In addition, materials on art history, criticism, artists' writings, performance art, and other related fields are available. Small basic collections in humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences are provided for general reference and background reading.

Circulation of materials is limited to Academy students/ staff/ faculty and Cranbrook Educational Community faculty/staff. All other researchers are welcome to use the collection on a reference-only basis; please see the library's public use policies for more information. A black-and-white and color photocopier is located in the building.

The Academy library is a member of both OCLC and MeLCat and will accept interlibrary loan requests from other participating libraries. Limited telephone and e-mail reference service for the public is also available.