"On October 26, 1901, we entered into the possession of our new library building, the munificent gift of Mr. Martin A. Ryerson," wrote Librarian Jessie L. Forrester in the 1902 annual report. For the past 100 years, while the Art Institute grew physically across the railroad tracks and around the Loop, the Ryerson Art Library has remained a touchstone for the many students, faculty, curators, educators, and members that form the community of the museum and the School. A century ago, this resource offered 2,676 volumes; today the library has more than 330,000 titles in its collection, making it the second-largest art museum library in the country. The "good many empty shelves" of 1901 are quite full even after several expansions, the most recent in 1994. The original staff of 6 has grown to more than 30 librarians, archivists, visual-resource specialists, and support personnel, while the recently restored reading room looks as stunning as it did on its opening day in 1901.From the beginning, the library has been committed to offering efficient and up-to-date services. Noted librarian Melvil Dewey served as a consultant to the library’s then high-tech tool for collection management–the card catalogue. The library also engaged in some of the earliest professional efforts to index art literature, including the Ryerson Index, begun in 1907, and the Burnham Index, 1912. In addition to books, exhibition catalogues, and periodicals, the library has acquired materials in many formats: from early carbon photographs and lantern slides to postcards, photographs, 2x2 slides, architectural drawings, and personal archives. Most recently the library has become a leader in online and electronic technologies, providing expanded research power through library consortia, computers, and the Internet.

The library’s vast resources have attracted scholars not only of the museum’s collection but also of the visual arts at large. Numerous books have been written in this room, including Helen Gardner’s Art through the Ages, the first one-volume universal history of art, and countless discoveries have been made with the aid of the library’s research materials. Regardless of future changes in the form or nature of information, the library enters its second century near the Michigan Avenue entrance still central to the museum’s educational and scholarly mission.

The Ryerson Art Library and Burnham Library of Architecture are open to members. Library hours are Tuesday, 10:30–7:45; Wednesday–Friday, 10:30–4:30; Saturday, 10:00–4:45. Please note that coats are not permitted in the reading room and must be checked at the museum entrance.

[ED. NOTE: The hours listed above were current at the time of article publication. For current hours, please check here.]