John M. Flaxman Library

John M. Flaxman Library

The John M. Flaxman Library is located at the heart of the campus. We provide services and resources to encourage critical thinking and creative practices. We support teaching, learning, and research across the entire curriculum. Hundreds of thousands of books, magazines, movies, and sound recordings are available on interdisciplinary topics in late 20th and 21st century art and design, with several thousand new items added annually. A continuously growing number of scholarly resources are available online, including ebooks, ejournals, databases, digital images, and streaming videos. Popular Special Collections include: the Joan Flasch Artists' Book Collection, the Randolph Street Gallery Archives and the 16mm Film Study Collection.

SAIC Digital Collections is available for researchers worldwide.

Mission

The mission of the John M. Flaxman Library is to advance student learning and enrich the research environment of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

We enact our mission by participating in and preserving the teaching, learning, and research of the SAIC community. The Library is fully engaged in campus activities. We collaborate as peers with students, faculty, and staff to further the scholarly and artistic achievements of all. We develop and sustain curiosity, skills, and professionalism as an essential component of an extraordinary community.

Our goals:

-Cultivate a friendly and engaging environment to encourage curiosity and creativity.

-Partner with academic colleagues to advance critical thinking and information literacy.

-Provide collections and services that embrace diversity, inclusion and equity to stimulate creativity while meeting the curricular needs of the SAIC community.

-Promote our resources and services through outreach, engagement and events with the School’s students, faculty, staff and affinity groups.