Library

The Ryerson and Burnham Libraries constitute a major art and architecture research collection serving the Art Institute of Chicago and scholars in the fields of art and architectural history with more than 500,000 print titles, 100,000 auction catalogs, 600 current serial subscriptions, and extensive digital collections.

LOCATION AND PUBLIC HOURS

The library is located to the south of the Grand Staircase inside the museum’s Michigan Avenue entrance. 

Monday–Wednesday 1:00–5:00
Thursday 10:30–8:00
Friday 1:00–5:00
Saturday–Sunday CLOSED

Materials are paged from the stacks until one hour prior to closing.

A reference librarian is available in the Reading Room during these times to assist you with locating resources in our closed-stack collection. We encourage you to review our discovery tools prior to visiting, and to email reference@artic.edu with any questions.

• Plan a Library Visit
  Researchers are welcome to visit during our public hours to request materials from the book stacks.
• Discover Our Collections
  The library constitutes a major art and architecture research collection of print titles, auction catalogs, serial subscriptions, and extensive digital collections.
• Online Catalog
  

  Get started—search our library catalog.

• Library Services
  Learn everything you need to know about interlibrary loan, photoduplication, reference, and reserve services.
• Request a Class Visit
  The library offers topic-driven and general library orientations for graduate and undergraduate classes.
• Policies
  These rules help preserve our library and archival collection materials for future generations of researchers
• Library FAQs
  Look here to find answers to many common questions.
• Reading Room History and Artworks
  Explore the history of the Ryerson and Burnham Libraries and the Franke Reading Room.

CONNECT WITH US

You can learn more about the Ryerson & Burnham Libraries and our collections on our social media accounts:

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