Mission
The Ricker Library of Architecture and Art is a hub for participatory engagement across the School of Art + Design, the School of Architecture, and the Krannert Art Museum. We believe that research enriches all of our constituents’ practices, and we dedicate ourselves to fostering connections among all who are engaged with art and architecture across the Illinois campus and beyond. We offer passion, expertise, and care while continuously improving our resources and services through research, reflection, and dialogue with our community.
Land Acknowledgment
Ricker Library of Architecture & Art, as part of the University of Illinois, stands on the lands of the Peoria, Kaskaskia, Piankashaw, Wea, Miami, Mascoutin, Odawa, Sauk, Mesquaki, Kickapoo, Potawatomi, Ojibwe, and Chickasaw Nations.
These lands were the traditional territory of these Indigenous Nations prior to their forced removal, and they continue to carry the stories of these Nations and their struggles for survival and identity today.
As part of a land-grant institution dedicated to promoting the critical power of art of the past and present, Ricker Library has a responsibility to acknowledge the peoples of these lands, as well as the histories of dispossession that have allowed for the growth of this university over the last 150 years.
History
The Library’s Beginnings: Nathan Clifford Ricker
The foundation for the Library’s architecture and art collections was laid by the country’s first college graduate of architecture, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign professor Nathan Clifford Ricker (1843-1924), who in 1873 purchased several important architectural treatises and folios. As his personal collection outgrew his office space, first a room, and then an entire wing of the Architecture Building were assigned to house the collection. By that time, his collection included not only the folios, but also a photographic collection and several rare first editions. In recognition of this founding role, the University’s Board of Trustees in 1917 authorized the Library to name the unit in Professor Ricker’s honor.
The Library Today
Today, the collections of the Ricker Library of Architecture and Art includes more than 150,000 volumes and 40,000 serials (some housed in the Main Library’s book stacks as well as Oak Street Remote Storage Facility). The Ricker Library also provides access to several important electronic databases. The holdings cover the fields of architecture, architectural history, art, art history, museum studies, and art education.
Related collections exist in the following locations:
- City Planning and Landscape Architecture Library
- Communications Library
- Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Endowed Funds
In 1988, the Ricker Library began to create a collection of books about residential architecture, thanks to a gift from architecture alumnus John G. Replinger in memory of architecture alumnus Albert O. Bumgardner. With the passing of John G. Replinger, a memorial fund has been established in his memory.
Ricker Library currently has nine endowed funds:
- Etta Mae Arntzen
- Jack Baker
- Arthur E. Biallas
- Albert H. Nemoede
- Anthony J. Petullo
- Helen M. Reynolds
- Frederick W. Salogga (FAIA funds)
- Professor Harold A. Schultz (in honor of his dear friend and colleague, Professor Allen S. Weller)
- John E. Sweet
These monies are used to buy items in new or burgeoning areas of instruction and research that the Ricker Library cannot, presently, purchase from state funds. Each item purchased from an endowment fund is designated by a bookplate. See below for examples of current bookplates.
If you are interested in making a donation to Ricker Library, please contact rickerlibrary@library.illinois.edu.