Please email us at risdspecial@risd.edu with questions, all of us monitor this email. 

Websites: Archives and Special Collections 

We are all responsible for the health and safety of our community and ourselves. Our guidelines below are developed to provide services with care for all.  We expect these guidelines may change as government agencies and RISD issue additional directives.  All services are contingent upon staffing being available.

By appointment only (no drop-ins).

We are offering in-person and virtual appointments:

MAKE AN IN-PERSON APPOINTMENT

MAKE A VIRTUAL APPOINTMENT

In-person appointments:

• In-person appointments are only available to the RISD community.  
• Masks are required and social distancing will be enforced.  
• In-person visits are limited to one person at a time.  
• For in-person appointments hands must be washed before handling materials.
• Materials will be provided contact free.
• Materials will be quarantined before being reshelved.

For both in-person and virtual appointment up to five items can be pulled per appointment and must be done prior to the appointment.  We currently can not offer additional item pulls during appointments. 

SCHEDULE A VIRTUAL CLASS VISIT

We are currently offering virtual classes via Zoom and our document camera from the Archives and Special Collections Reading Room.

• For virtual classes up to ten items can be pulled per class. 
• We are adding digital content from RISD Digital Commons, Artstor, and Internet Archive to class lists (arranged alphabetically by department above). 
• Questions about classes please contact Claudia Covert.

Did you know we also offer book demos (see Maze Books below)?:

Unbound 2020 is online, Unbound 2021 will be held April 10, 2021.

Student Artists' Book Contest - Items not added to the collection can be picked up by appointment.   We are happy to hold on to entries until Fall semester or mail your entry to you. Please contact us to make arrangements.

Online Exhibits

Archives - includes Brown/RISD Community Art Project, Infinite Radius, Raid the Icebox I with Andy Warhol, RISD Buildings and Open Spaces, RISD Cabaret 1987-2000, RISD Posters, Student Newspapers, TLAD External Projects, Visiting Artists.

Special Collections - includes Annual Student Artists' Book Juried Contest + Exhibition, Artists' Books, Dazzle Print Collection, Zine Collection.