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John M. Flaxman Library SAIC School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Low Residency MFA Research Guide

What is I-Share?

SAIC is a member of a group called I-Share, which includes 90+ libraries throughout the state of Illinois. I-Share Libraries share materials with one another, giving students, faculty, and staff, access to a multitude of materials. This tool is especially useful when Flaxman items are checked out, or if they fall outside of the scope of art + design. This page will cover searching and requesting items from other I-Share institutions. Please allow 3-5 days for I-Share items to arrive for pick up.

How to Use I-Share

1. Navigate to the library homepage at www.saic.edu/library. Once there, use the search box and select I-Share instead of Almost Everything in the drop down menu to begin your research.

2. This will bring you to a results page. Before scrolling through your results, click Sign In and enter your ARTIC username and password.

Screen shot with sign in circled

3. Now take a look at your search results. Many of the items may say Available, but others may state they are Not Available. 

Kara Walker Not available text

4. This means that our copy is in use, but we can see if other libraries have one that we can request. Click the title and a right side pane window will appear. Under Location Items you will see it says Main Library: Out of library, from here we can request this title from another library by selecting the Request from I-Share link under the Get It section.

Request from I-Share Link

5. This will open a form that is mostly pre-populated. The default pickup location is School of the Art Institute. There is no need to make changes, select the Send Request link at the bottom of the form.

Request Form

If your request was successful you should see a confirmation notification. 

6. You can check the status of your request at any time by clicking your name in the top right hand corner and selecting My Requests. This will bring you to a page with all of the requests on your account, as well as their status. 

Requested Item Status in Library Account

7. Once the item is ready, you will get an email notification from the lending institution (not Flaxman Library). When you get the email that means your item is ready! Stop by the library before the hold expires to pick up your materials.