Abakanowicz Research Center

The Abakanowicz Research Center (ARC) provides access to and care for the Chicago History Museum's Research Collections, which includes printed and published materials, archives and manuscripts, prints and photographs, architectural drawings, and assorted ephemera. 

The ARC is located on the third floor of the museum. 

Visitors to the ARC include authors, university and college teachers; independent scholars; photo researchers; members of the press; primary and secondary school students; undergraduate and graduate students, including doctoral candidates; architects; building developers; and family and house history researchers.

Admission to the ARC is free. No reservations required. Children under 6 years old are not allowed. 

We recommend that you email research@chicagohistory.org to ensure that an on-site visit is best for your needs. 

The ARC is located on the third floor of the museum. 

Due to staffing reductions, the research center will have limited hours of operation and will no longer be open on Tuesdays or Saturdays. 

  Hours: Wednesday–Friday

Appointment-only hours – 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. (must be booked in advance)

Walk-in hours – 12:00–3:00 p.m.

Please note: Material will not be paged after 2:00 p.m.

Closed: November 27-28, 2025 and December 24, 2025-January 1, 2026

**Please Note: On Wednesday, November 26, the entire museum will close at 2:30.  The ARC will also close at 2:30 and will page material until 1:30. 

Researchers must check in at the Visitor Services desk on the museum's ground floor. You will be asked to complete a registration form and show a valid photo ID (driver's license, state-issued identification, student ID, or passport).

Coats and backpacks must be checked, there is a free check at the Visitor Services desk. The ARC has lockers to store small bags and purses. 

The ARC requires visitors to wear masks. We thank you for helping us maintain a safe environment for staff and visitors. Learn more about the Museum's safety policies and procedures.

ARCHIE, the Chicago History Museum's online catalog, searches published material, archival material, and photograph collections of CHM. ARCHIE is searchable from outside the museum. 

See our guide Searching CHM Collections for explanations on searching our catalog, image databases, finding aids, and other helpful suggestions. To perform a complete search of all collections available at the Research Center, use ARCHIE and the following resources: 

• Chicago History Museum Collections in CONTENTdm - Contains a selection of digitized materials, oral histories, and archival finding aids, (you can limit by institution in Advanced Search.) 

• CHM Images - Digitized historic images from CHM's collections available to search, download, license, and purchase. 

• Type your search term and "site:chsmedia.org" into any search engine, which searches across our legacy finding aids and inventories.

For more information on specific collections, material types, or subjects, see our list of guides linked on this page.

Please direct inquiries about our collection to research@chicagohistory.org. We regret that we cannot take phone calls.

Most of our collections are stored outside the ARC. Call slips must be filled out so that staff can bring you material. Call slip forms are available at each table (signage also in Spanish) and are color-coded by material type. Information to complete the call slip is found within the catalog record or finding aid.

Some materials, including color photographs, must be requested at least 48 hours in advance. The catalog record indicates when this type of restriction is applicable. 

Paging stops at 2:00 p.m. Wednesday to Friday.

Staff are available to help with questions when filling out the slips. 

Much of our material is fragile. Please observe the following to help preserve the physical and organizational integrity of the collections. 

• Pencils only.

• No food, drink, or gum.

• Cell phones silent.

• Clean hands are best for paper-based materials such as books, newspapers, archival and manuscript items.

  • Use book cradles or wedges to support the fragile spine of books, scrapbooks, oversized bound volumes, or albums.

• Gloves are required for all prints and photographic materials, including slides and negatives. If you find photographic material in a collection, notify staff and use gloves.

• Maintain the original order of materials to preserve the integrity of documents and collections. This includes unprocessed or minimally processed collections.

  • To keep the original order, turn the contents of a folder like the pages of a book.

  • Researchers are encouraged to use one box at a time and examine one folder at a time. Use an 'out card' to mark its place.

• Avoid bending the pages of materials that are clipped or stapled together. Ask staff for assistance if needed.

• Do not mark, erase or trace upon any documents.

Staff are available to answer any questions about handling materials.

Photocopying/scanning fees:

• $0.50/page 

• $0.25/page for History Day students 

Please note that photocopies/scans of city directories, newspapers, scrapbooks, maps, color photographs and original photographs that were created before 1900 may not be made. 

Camera use:

• Most of the ARC material can be photographed. If you want to use your camera, please notify the reference staff upon arrival at the ARC reception. 

• When you register at Visitor Services you agree to follow the rules outlined in the Camera Use Policy.

Due to a reduction in staffing, we currently cannot do remote scans.

Below are some suggestions and tips for citing material found at the Chicago History Museum.

• Take thorough notes while working with resources. Remember to document the collection, folder, box, publication, and/or page number where you found your information.
• Writing style guides, such as MLA, APA, and Chicago Manual of Style dictate what information is included in a citation and how to order the information.
  • The Chicago Collections Consortium's guide for more information on primary and secondary sources here.
  • The Purdue Online Writing Lab has useful citation guides, linked here.
• Published materials, like books, newspapers, or journals, can be cited as such. Few citation styles require information on where the published resource was accessed.
• Citing archival material usually requires collection level information, then lower organizational information like series, box, or folder number and heading.
• The Chicago History Museum does not need to provide permission for people to cite material found within the Research Collections. However, an exception to this is when information within a collection is legally protected. All collections with restrictions have a note in the catalog record and staff are available to talk about how to access materials.
• Citations or captions within a book can differ from the style rules required in academic settings. Authors have more leeway to decide what information is included, but citations still serve the same purpose of leading a reader back to a resource. We encourage all authors to include specific information that aids readers in the future. For example, if a brochure was found within an archival collection, cite the archival collection name and box number, instead of just the title of the brochure.

Licensing differs from citing. Licensing, such as seeking rights to reproduce an image in a publication or article, is handled through the museum's Rights and Reproductions Department. More information is available here.

There are 6 PCs in the Abakanowicz Research Center with access to our online resources: 

• the catalog, ARCHIE 

• the historical Chicago Tribune, Chicago Defender, Chicago Daily News, and Chicago Sun-Times databases 

• Sanborn Maps and more 

Have a laptop or tablet? Wi-fi is available in the Abakanowicz Research Center. Please ask for the password at the reference desk.

If your research question requires a detailed or urgent answer, we suggest that you hire an independent researcher.

Complete information about the museum's collections can be found here.