Books | Dissertations - Photography Research Guide - Research Guides at School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Search the Flaxman Catalog

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Further Resources, SAIC Theses, and Dissertations beyond SAIC

I-Share
Group of college & university libraries in Illinois; request & check out books.
Ryerson & Burnham Libraries
Research library of the Art Institute of Chicago; you cannot check out books but can make an appointment to use materials in their reading room. See this link for instructions on making an appointment.

WorldCat This link opens in a new window
Search the combined holdings of over 9,000 OCLC members, and over 57 million bibliographic records. Many items can be requested using Flaxman's interlibrary loan form.

Chicago Public Library
8th floor, Visual & Performing Arts, Harold Washington Library Center (Van Buren & State Streets). Get your CPL library card -- it's not part of I-Share
Northwestern University
Can visit but not check out materials; public access hours: Monday-Saturday: open - 6pm
University of Chicago
May visit but but cannot check out books. Read UofC's rules here before you go.

Center for Research Libraries This link opens in a new window
Acquires and preserves traditional and digital resources (international newspapers, dissertations) for research and teaching and makes them available to member institutions through interlibrary loan. Please use Flaxman's interlibrary loan form to request items.

Newberry Library
Has a large rare-book collection, some cataloged in I-Share; open to all once a reader's card is obtained
HathiTrust Digital Library
Digitized books & documents from research libraries. SAIC is not a member; full-text limited to public domain items.
Google Books
Search millions of books scanned by Google. Includes books published from c1800 through 2008. Google has only scanned a limited number of newer publications.

Submitting your written thesis

Title Page Sample Thesis/Grad Project

SAIC Thesis Repository This link opens in a new window
Contains the School's theses from November 2013 to the present. Many theses are viewable on campus only (with ARTIC/SAIC login), however, some have been designated as Open Access by the author and can be read online.

Looking for SAIC theses from a specific department?

Check out our "Locating SAIC Theses" guide.

Found a dissertation or thesis but can't access the full text? A copy may be obtained through interlibrary loan; however, sometimes you can only get a copy by buying one. Check with Flaxman librarians (flaxman@saic.edu) before you buy!

Dissertations & Theses Global: Humanities and Social Sciences Collection (PQDTAFT) This link opens in a new window
Full text access to dissertations and theses in social sciences and humanities.
Center for Research Libraries This link opens in a new window
has the largest collection of international dissertations in the country; SAIC is a member. Contact CRL at least 3 days in advance before your visit.
WorldCat Dissertations & Theses This link opens in a new window
Indexes dissertations and masters theses available from OCLC member libraries.

Search for books in other libraries, special collections or booksellers

Bookfinder
Searches at once: amazon.com, Alibris, Barnes & Noble, Powell's, and Advanced Book Exchange, and it has links to all of them
Worldwide Books
A large vendor of exhibition catalogs and art books
ABBA Antiquarian Booksellers Association
Antiquarian book dealers & associations
French rare booksellers
Mare magnum liborum
William Stout Architectural Books
Includes a large selection of out-of-print and rare books and magazines.