AIC staff

Research Center Resources

Online catalogs and databases maintained by the Ryerson & Burnham Libraries and the Art Institute of Chicago Archives:

• Ryerson & Burnham Libraries Catalog
• A-Z List of Databases
• Ryerson & Burnham Archives Finding Aids

Make requests for materials that are not owned by the Ryerson & Burnham Libraries:

• Request an interlibrary loan
• Request a database trial
• Request a purchase for the library collections

Digital Resources from the Art Institute of Chicago

• Art Institute of Chicago Institutional Archives
• Museum Artworks Research Guide
• Museum Exhibition History: Search exhibitions by keyword or browse by date. Some records include photographs or digitized exhibition catalogs.
• Museum History Research Guide

• Ryerson & Burnham Art and Architecture Archives: Digital Collections
• Finding Aids: Finding aids are inventories or indices that describe the contents and context of an archival collection and are the primary method of accessing information about any given group of records.
• Images and Media: Catalog of electronic surrogates of selected original archival materials from the Ryerson & Burnham Archives collections. Materials may include photographs, slides, architectural drawings and prints, correspondence, and printed papers.
• Oral Histories: Browse over 250 artists and architect oral histories.

• Ryerson & Burnham Libraries Research Guides

A list of online guides and bibliographies developed by Ryerson & Burnham librarians to assist research on a variety of art historical and architectural topics, including provenance research, building history, appraisal and preservation resources, Chicago neighborhood research, and the history of the Art Institute of Chicago.

• Digital Publications

Digital collection catalogs available freely online. Catalogs offer detailed art historical context, provenance history, and scientific analysis of artworks in the Art Institute of Chicago's collections.