New policies and procedures are in place for AIC staff to use the reading room. This page provides information on how to request loans of items from the Libraries' collections. Visit the tabs above for information on our new reading room hours; to learn more about the access and services available to you in this stage of our reopening; to review our circulation policy; for instructions on how to request loans or scans of library materials; for instructions on how to request research appointments; and to learn more about access and services in the Archives.
Please contact Library staff if you have any questions:
Aaron Rutt (x3-3936)
Autumn Mather (x3-3665)
Seth Vanek (x3-3667)
Click Sign In in the upper right corner of the screen.
Click AIC/SAIC login.
Enter the credentials you use to access your ARTIC email account.
If an item is marked as available in the onsite stacks, it is eligible for same-day access. This means that a request for this type of material that is submitted by 11am will yield an "On Holdshelf" notification no later than 12pm of the same day (barring any disqualifying factors due to condition or processing need). As a rule, materials from Offsite-NU may take up to two weeks from the point the item was requested to be delivered to the hold shelf in the reading room. Materials from the Backlog may also also take up to two weeks from the point the item was requested to be delivered to the reading room hold shelf for you to pick up. Materials from departmental collections in the museum (Print dept. Textiles, etc.) may take an additional week.
Input a keyword into the box and click Search to begin searching the online library catalog.
Online catalogs and databases maintained by the Ryerson & Burnham Libraries:
Make requests for materials that are not owned by the Ryerson & Burnham Libraries:
Find library information:
Search exhibitions by keyword or browse by date. Some records include photographs or digitized exhibition catalogs.
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.
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 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.