MacLean Visual Resources Center 

Mon - Fri: 8:45am - 5:00pm

Sat - Sun: CLOSED

CLOSED: September 6

CLOSED: November 25-26

The MacLean Visual Resources Center is available to assist SAIC faculty to identify and gather digital visual images. In addition to education and assistance in the use of a variety of online databases, the Visual Resources Center also manages and develops the MDID@SAIC online image library, which contains growing collection of digital images representing visual art across all time periods and cultures of history and all media, including images of works in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago and specialized collections from SAIC faculty and departments.

The Madison Digital Image Database (MDID) is an online image database and instructional system designed to create and show Internet-based lectures using digitized images. The system permits instructors to remotely generate Slideshows, which can be annotated, placed online for student study, or archived for testing or future use. The MDID's ImageViewer allows creation of portable classroom and lecture hall presentations in the place of PowerPoint. It allows for the management and integration of personal images into its Slideshows. You may visit it at https://mdid.artic.edu/ and log-in using your ARTIC account information, although you will need to contact us to upgrade your account to full faculty permissions and functionality.

ARTstor is a non-profit initiative, founded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, with a mission to use digital technology to enhance scholarship, teaching and learning in the arts and associated fields. ARTstor is an web-based digital library of quality images, associated image records, and software tools designed to enhance teaching, learning, and scholarship. The ARTstor Digital Library contains approximately 500,000 images from a wide range of cultures and time periods, including images of architecture, painting, prints, drawings, sculpture, decorative arts, design, and archeological and anthropological objects. It incorporates many images from leading museums, including the Art Institute of Chicago. ARTstor's Offline Image Viewer allows a portable means of organizing ARTstor images for presentation, incorporating images from other databases and local sources. It also allows for the management and integration of personal images into its slideshows. ARTstor can be accessed on-campus or off by faculty, staff and students after initial registration from any on-campus computer.

TRAINING & ORIENTATION SESSIONS
The MacLean Visual Resources Center staff will gladly demonstrate and give training in MDID and other online digital image database upon request. Faculty may arrange an orientation session with a Visual Resources librarian to learn more about searching our digital collections or using MDID to create presentations. Orientations can be scheduled online at: http://www.saic.edu/webspaces/portal/library/vrc_appt.html or by contacting us directly.

REQUESTS FOR DIGITAL IMAGES THROUGH COPY PHOTOGRAPHY
Digital images may be requested at the MacLean Visual Resources Center by filling out the available request form and attaching it to the material to be photographed. Image requests are vetted by the Visual Resources Librarian for appropriateness for inclusion in MDID@SAIC. MacLean staff will work with you to create or obtain images in a timely fashion to meet your instructional needs, but up to two weeks should be allowed for scanning and inclusion in the database.

REQUESTS FOR DIGITAL IMAGES THROUGH SLIDE SCANNING
Slides from the existing collection, or faculty personal collections, may also be scanned for inclusion in the MDID online image database. Image requests are vetted by the Visual Resources Librarian for appropriateness and copyright clearance. Art History faculty may request slides from personal collections to be scanned for inclusion in the local online image database, under special project funding. MacLean staff will work with you to create or obtain images in a timely fashion to meet your instructional needs, but up to two weeks should be allowed for scanning and inclusion in the database.

The renovation planned to begin later this month has been put on temporary hold, and as such we will remain open to patrons after 5/23 despite previous announcements. Any changes to our schedule, including future closings, will be announced with as much notice as possible. Any closings of our offices will not affect the availability of MDID or other digital resources, and we will work with patrons to assure that their instructional needs are met. We thank you for your patience and will update the community as soon as we know more. You can reach us at vrc@saic.edu or 312-899-5101 if you have any questions or concerns.

The 35mm slide collection is currently being moved to storage. Starting Fall 2010, limited and periodic access will be made available. VRC staff plan to visit the storage site approximately three times per year (fall, spring, and summer) per demand to retrieve additional slides for digitization. Faculty who need direct access to browse the collection may join us on these visits. We will do our best to plan the visits to accommodate your schedule, and to provide a small but suitable slide viewing area at the storage site. Regular digitization services (including copy photography and personal slide scanning) will continue after this date.

The MacLean Visual Resources Center was formerly the home of a collection of 470,000 35-mm slides, made available for use by School and Museum staff and faculty. Circulation of slides ended January 29, 2010 and the collection has been moved into storage.

MacLean Visual Resources Center
37 South Wabash Ave, 5th Floor
Chicago, IL 60603-3103
phone: 312.899.1224
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Christopher Day
Digital Resources Librarian
phone: 312.899.5101
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Kristan Hanson
Visual Resources Librarian
phone: 312.899.1235
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Anna Di Cesare
Visual Resources Library Assistant
phone: 312.899.1224
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TBA
Visual Resources Library Assistant
phone: 312.899.6527
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