Creative and Scholarly Research Help
Students, faculty or staff can drop in at the Research Desk for immediate assistance between 10-5 on weekdays, email flaxman@saic.edu any time, or set up an appointment to meet one-on-one with a librarian through one of the options below:
Research Consultations - We are happy to help students with your research in-person or remotely! To set up a time to meet with a librarian, use Navigate to find the Flaxman Library and set up a Research Consultation appointment. (Information about Navigate is available here.)
Studio Visits - We are excited to offer graduate students a studio visit to connect with a librarian who can offer suggestions about resources to support your research and artistic practice. To schedule a studio visit with a librarian, use Navigate to find the Flaxman Library and set up a studio visit appointment. (Information about Navigate is available here.) We can conduct virtual visits over Zoom or come to your studio in-person.
Faculty or Staff Research Consultations - We also provide one-on-one research consultation appointments for SAIC faculty and staff. To set up a meeting, please email your discussion topics and availability to flaxman@saic.edu.
Library Chat - Use the pink tab on the right of our homepage or the gray circle in the lower right corner of library search result pages to chat live with a librarian. Anytime you see “chat with us,” a librarian is on the other side and eager to help with any questions you have. When we’re not available, you’re always welcome to email us at flaxman@saic.edu.
Class Visits / Instruction Sessions with a Librarian
Schedule classroom instruction with a librarian by filling out this form. If you have additional questions, email flaxman@saic.edu, call 312-899-5096 or stop by the library. See our Information Literacy at SAIC guide for ideas to incorporate library materials and information literacy into your course and its assignments!
Please see the Library Renovation Updates page to learn more about arranging Joan Flasch Artists’ Book Collection class visits for spring and summer 2023.
Course Materials / Reserves
Students - Find Your Course Readings
You can find books on reserve for your class using the search box in that link, then visit the library desk for access.
Faculty - Course Reserves
Academic Year 2021-22: In order to ensure access to students who are unable to be on campus, we recommend providing course reserve materials digitally as much as possible. However, the library is offering physical reserves starting Fall 2021, which will be accessible to students when the library is open. If you would like to place physical items on reserve for your class, please email flaxcirc@saic.edu to make arrangements. We will need the following information:
Faculty name, department name, course number, course title, number of students
Title/author of physical items you want on reserve
For questions relating to copyright and posting licensed content, check out the following resources:
- Posting copyrighted or licensed resources: When it is necessary to obtain permission to post copyrighted material to your course page, Flaxman Library staff offer to request the permission and to pay reasonable fees from the library budget.
- ARL Code of Best Practices in Fair Use [PDF]
Suggest Materials for the Library
Simply fill out this form with what you think we should purchase for Flaxman Library collections. Thank you in advance for your suggestion.
Thesis / Grad Projects Submission Information
See our How to Submit or Find and SAIC Thesis or Grad Project research guide for a template for a title page, information on open access options, and detailed instructions on submitting your thesis to the digital thesis repository.
